Feb

WTI conducts Wildlife Crime Prevention Training in Valmiki Tiger Reserve

Valmikinagar, 20th January, 2024: WTI, in collaboration with DoEFCC, Govt. of Bihar and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs conducted a two-day training on Wildlife Crime Prevention at Valmikinagar Van Sabhagar from 19th to 20th of January, 2024.

Wildlife Trust of India, throughout its journey in the past 25 years, has been playing a pro-active role in assisting the state forest departments and other enforcement agencies in curbing down wildlife crime across India and across her frontiers. As a part of this relentless effort, the organisation has been conducting Wildlife Crime Prevention trainings across the country, under the aegis of Van Rakshak Project (VRP). Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR), the sole tiger reserve of Bihar and home to around 54 Bengal Tigers, has been a key area of focus, as the protected area shares an international border with the Indo-Nepal frontier and the Bihar-Uttar Pradesh interstate boundary, and is an indispensable part of the Chitwan-Parsa-Valmiki-Sohagibarwa sub-landscape of the Eastern Terai.

Mr. Lovish Sharma training frontline forest staff of Valmiki Tiger Reserve | Photograph by Pavel Ghosh/WTI

The latest training was held around the 2022 amendment in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. Inaugurated by Dr Nesamani K., IFS, the Hon’ble Conservator of Forests and Field Director of VTR, the training was attended by 47 frontline personnel, comprising of foresters and forest guards, representing all the 8 ranges of the protected area. Dr. Nesamani acknowledged the role of WTI in assisting the Forest Department in wildlife crime control at VTR by means of Anti-Snare Walks and capacity building among the frontline staff. Following his speech, a pre-training evaluation test was conducted to measure the knowledge levels the participants prior to the training. Day-1, led by Monesh Singh Tomar (Senior Field Officer, WTI), comprised sessions on the overview of wildlife crime in India and session on wildlife crime trends in VTR by Pavel Ghosh (Field Officer, WTI). The second day, led by Advocate Lovish Sharma (Delhi High Court), focused on Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 and its amendments in 2022, the other relevant wildlife laws in India, documentation of wildlife crime cases and case presentation. Mr Monesh Singh Tomar also demonstrated the salients of conducting criminal investigations at wildlife crime scenes. A post-training evaluation test was conducted to monitor the changes in the knowledge base of the participants after they completed the refresher training. The program was concluded with distribution of essential field kits among the participants.

“The trainings conducted previously in 2021 and 2022, along with the small scale Orientation Programs conducted at Range and Beat levels throughout 2022 and 2023 have created a confidence among the forest department in conducting anti-snare walks and other anti-poaching initiatives. We hope that this training will further enhance the confidence of frontline forest staff in VTR”, said Debobroto Sircar, head of Wildlife Crime Control Division at WTI.

“This training was funded [in part] by a grant from the United States Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the author[s] and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of State.”