Guwahati, Sept 30: Around 35 border police personnel were sensitized on the burgeoning trend of wildlife crime and illegal wildlife trade as part of the interaction session with border team of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
The session was organised by 64 Bn of SSB, Barama in Assam. Aaranyak’s Project Officer and Analyst Ivy Farheen Hussain spoke on how border police like SSB can play an important role in deterring wildlife crime and illegal trade on wildlife. It was part of a two-day course arranged for the SSB border interaction team, who are deployed on Indo-Bhutan border.
Since the boundary area of Manas landscape is an international border, it increases the importance for efficient surveillance measures by border police force against wildlife smuggling.
For the past few years, SSB has been very active with seizures of illegal wildlife products in the Manas Landscape and its neighbouring villages.
Today’s event also falls under Aaranyak’s DETERS © (Disrupt and End Trade of Endangered and Rare Species) initiative to tackle and deter wildlife crime and illegal wildlife trafficking. Important questions regarding the elephant tusks and rhino horns being trafficked were discussed, including the costs involved in such illegal transactions.
Ms. Hussain apprised the participants about the non-disclosure of such products values as per the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA) and also explained the various modus operandi regarding illegal trade in wildlife products.
The SSB were appreciated Aaranyak’s novel endeavour against wildlife crime and requested to keep up this stakeholder relationship in order to effectively work towards deterring wildlife crimes in the region together.