Krishna Prasad Acharya Chief enforcement Coordinator

Krishna Prasad AcharyaChief enforcement Coordinator

South Asia: Unique but loaded with dilemma A region of great cultural, linguistic, religious andbiological diversity 60% of the World’s wild tigers population Last remaining home for greater one horned rhinos andAsiatic elephant The only home for Asiatic Lion Greatly suffers from illegal poaching, harvesting andtrafficking of many iconic wild animal and plant speciesincluding:Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Rhinos, Elephant, Musk Deer, Bears,birds, marine and fresh water turtles, red sandal-wood, medicinal plantsetc.

Fairly porous borders across most countries Unequal forensic capacities Inconsistent inter-agency cooperation Low levels of international cooperation on wildlifecrime control Difficulty in sharing of real time intelligence onwildlife crimes Absence of collaborative actions:Joint training and operationsJoint patrollingTrans-boundary intelligence network

Tiger Trade ‘Hotspots’Boundaries and names shown, and thedesignations used in this map do notreflect official endorsement

Increased Law Enforcement Co-Operationand Networking in South Asia prioritizedas essential to protect Tigers and otherprotected wildlife species

Convention on Cooperation on Environment in South Asia signedat the 16th Summit of SAARC in Thimpu, Bhutan - April 2010Includes regional co-operation on “wildlife conservationand combating illegal trade in wildlife and bio-resources”as a focal component of the Convention

1 st Meeting of South Asia Experts Group on Illegal WildlifeTrade (May 2010)

Government leaders from TRCs adopted St. PetersburgDeclaration Conservation of tiger is primarily a national responsibility and thatincreased cooperation and coordination of efforts among the tiger rangecountries is essential Collaborative efforts to eradicate poaching, smuggling, and illegal tradeof tigers and their parts Strengthened regional law enforcement activities through bilateral andmultilateral arrangements, such as SA-WEN

Official launching of SAWEN Structure of SAWEN and adoption of draft workprogramme Agreed to have SAWEN Secretariat in Nepal

Aims Increase efficiency of intelligenceexchange Catalyze efficient inter-agencyenforcement Move from seizures throughprosecutions and sentencing toincrease deterrents Reduce illegal activity at sourceincluding poaching

Strategy National Core Groups on wildlifecrime – CITES, Customs, Police/lawenforcement, judiciary Regional Network of focal points forexchanging information on illegalwildlife trade Links with consumer/supply regions(East Asia, EU, North America,Southeast Asia)

Focal points nominated by all countries Continued fundraising efforts and technicalsupport Technical support - TRAFFIC/WWF Financial support - IDA/GTI/TRAFFIC/WWF GTF/NTCA

Regional capacitydevelopment activities SAWEN's first Wildlife LawEnforcement Training ProgrammeGujarat, India – July 2011Strengthening communication SAWEN bulletin, brochure andwebsite

Establishing linkages with similarnetworks/agencies Collaboration with ASEAN-WENParticipation by 3 SAWEN member countries in ASEAN-WEN’s RegionalTraining on PROTECT Managers, Bangkok, 2012Secretariat visit to ASEAN-WENCollaboration with InterpolParticipation in First Tiger Crime Seminar, Bangkok, 2012Collaboration with Project PredatorCollaboration in ‘Operation Prey’

Meeting with the Chinese Ministerof State for Forestry AdministrationJia Zhibang in Nepal in February,2012Requested to join as an observer inSAWENChina’s positive response to getinvolved and cooperate SAWENRegular coordination with ChineseGovernmentInvitation to participate in 1 stSAWEN meeting in Sri-Lanka

1st Meeting in Sri Lanka (3-6 June, 2012) Update the SAWEN Work Programme/implentation Initiate Afro-Asian Rhino Conservation Programme Regional linkage with WB - Regional Wildlife Project Fund raising for SAWEN Programmes/Activities SAWEN linked with SAARC

Thank You!