Poachers become the prey

NEW DELHI: A Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) would be set up in the country for more effective action against poaching of endangered animals and illegal trade in their parts. This was discussed here on Monday at the third meeting of the National Wildlife Board, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The creation of the WCCB would require an amendment in the Wildlife Protection Act. A Bill for the purpose would be brought in the monsoon session of Parliament, said Environment and Forest Minister A Raja.  The ministry has received the opinion of the Law Ministry to which the proposal had been referred to. An enabling section will have to be added to the existing Act to set up the Bureau, Raja said. The WCCB, which will work under the Ministry of Forest and Environment, will have investigative power at par with the Narcotics Control Bureau, and will coordinate with other forces in its job, the minister said.

It would act as a multi-disciplinary agency with officers from forest and wildlife departments, various para-military forces, police, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau and customs.

Moreover, the Ministry of Environment and Forests would be bifurcated into a Forest and Wildlife wing and an Environment wing, each headed by a secretary.

There would be a forest officer as secretary for the Forest and Wildlife wing, while the Environment wing could have an IAS officer heading it. According to a Wildlife Board member, Manmohan Singh has directed that the matter be given concrete shape by the end of July.

The Board also agreed to provide legal powers under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 to Army Commanders, for containing poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and their derivatives in border areas under their charge. Other major decisions arrived at were the setting up of a National Tiger Conservation Authority and conservation of wetlands.

The Board noted at the meeting that increasing deforestation and encroachment on forestland in the past two years has meant a decline of 26 per cent in tiger habitation in the country's 28 tiger reserves.

Members of the Board, who met at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence for their annual meeting, said the reserves in Sariska (Rajasthan) and Sunderbans (West Bengal) were the worst affected.

There has been a steady decline in tiger habitation in all the reserves in the past two years although the impact on the population of tigers due to the decline is not known yet. The decline in tiger habitation was noted in 97 districts of the country. The main reasons for this are the felling of trees, encroachment of forest land and cattle feeding. The findings of tiger census, still on in the tiger reserves of the country, were not discussed in the meeting.