I welcome you all to the 6th Meeting of the National Board for Wildlife. Some new members have joined the Board, and I trust their association with the Board will add value to our efforts to conserve and protect the precious wildlife of India.

In the last meeting, several important suggestions were made by members. Many of these issues arise from systemic problems so we need sustained discussion and follow up to address them. There is now a lot on the wildlife agenda of Ministry of Environment and Forests and that is a good thing. I hope that the deliberations today will provide valuable guidance on the way forward in dealing with some of the challenges we face in our conservation efforts.

Our efforts to promote and institutionalize wildlife conservation have yielded some results. The coverage of Protected Areas in our country has improved significantly. At present they include 668 national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves, and conservation & community reserves.

The increase in the number of Protected Areas carved out from the forest areas identified as potentially rich wildlife habitats is a welcome step. But we have the responsibility to safeguard the livelihoods of local communities dependent on forest resources.
 
Proper utilization of natural resources by promotion and adoption of non-invasive livelihood options can go a long way in supporting socio-economic development of our forest dependent communities, including tribal populations. Management of wildlife in such human dominated landscapes requires an ‘inclusive’ approach involving the local people, who are primary stakeholders.

Voluntary and fair relocation of villages and settlements is crucial for wildlife conservation. Clearly lack of adequate funds for such purposes is an issue. We should assess the experience of using State CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) funds for voluntary relocation from Protected Areas. This is an issue on which further discussions are required with the concerned state governments.

One of the issues that has been raised at our meetings is the importance of conserving endangered species other than large mammals like the tiger. As you are aware the government initiated a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme entitled Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats to focus, among other things, on the need to ensure better protection of wildlife outside the protected areas and initiate recovery programmes for saving critically endangered species. I am happy that a number of species have been covered under the scheme including marine life and birds. I would be happy to hear from Members their feedback on the performance of the scheme.

The government will try its best to ensure adequate allocations under such schemes aimed at achieving policy objectives related to conservation of wildlife habitats. Along with enhanced allocations, the monitoring mechanism would also need to be strengthened. I would advise that the Ministry of Environment should strengthen its Regional Offices by inducting wildlife experts in these offices not only to monitor the implementation of wildlife schemes, but also to ensure strict adherence to conditions of wildlife clearances.

The Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972 provides us with the statutory framework for wildlife conservation and it is essential that its provisions keep up with the times. We had processed a number of amendments to the Act to increase penal provisions and incorporate provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Poaching is a major problem affecting our wildlife conservation efforts. We are assisting the States in strengthening their anti-poaching operations. The demand for the body parts and derivatives of wild animals is posing a serious threat to our conservation efforts and these illegal trading networks have cross border linkages. To counter this threat we need greater coordination between the intelligence agencies and enforcement agencies. International cooperation including our joint efforts with China, Nepal and Russia for tiger conservation also needs to be intensified to break the nexus between poachers and illegal wildlife markets.

I am happy that the Ministry of Environment & Forests is taking steps to strengthen the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau. A proposal for expanding the number of regional offices, field units and forensic labs is under process as is the creation of a national database on wildlife crime and criminals.

These are some of the issues I thought I should dwell upon to kick off today’s meeting. I look forward to hearing the views of our members and also the State Governments whose active involvement and effort is crucial to our conservation effort.

I extend my best wishes to all of you with the hope that we will have a meaningful discussion today to find ways to further strengthen our wildlife conservation efforts.