Concerned by recent reports from India of dramatic declines in some local populations of the tiger, Secretary-General Willem Wijnstekers of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has written Tuesday to the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, to offer him the full support of CITES in promoting stronger conservation and anti-poaching measures.
Mr Wijnstekers has requested a meeting with the Prime Minister at his earliest possible convenience in order to accelerate cooperation between CITES and India and to engage the international community more fully in addressing the tiger crisis, Cites writes in a press release Tuesday.
– Even if some of the alarming reports emerging from India are not wholly accurate, there can be no doubt that Indias wildlife continues to be plundered by poachers and unscrupulous traders, said Mr. Wijnstekers.
– These wildlife criminals are exploiting the poverty that exists in some rural areas of India, treating villagers as disposable pawns used to poach tigers and leopards or to smuggle skins to neighbouring countries, he said adding:
– There is a highly-organized criminal structure behind the destruction of wild tigers, and organized crime requires an organized response. We at CITES want to be a part of Indias response.
CITES has long been concerned about the growing threat to India’s remaining tigers, especially from the illegal trade in the skins of poached tigers or those killed as a result of conflict with humans and their livestock.
In response, the CITES Secretariat has scheduled the next meeting of the CITES Tiger Enforcement Task Force in New Delhi from 17 to 19 May.
This meeting will give CITES and Customs and police officials from China, India and Nepal the opportunity to discuss the illegal trade in skins of Asian big cats.
The participants are also likely to discuss the continuing illegal trade in the wool of the rare Tibetan antelope, which affects the three countries represented.
From a population of over 100.000 in the 19th century, Asias wild tiger population has plummeted to an estimated 5.000 to 7.000 individuals.
Indias tiger population has been put at 3.500 to 3.700, although this may be an overestimate. Som estimates go as low as beneath 2.000.
Tigers range from India and Russia (the Siberian Tiger) to China and Southeast Asia. Tiger hunting is now illegal everywhere, and international trade in tigers and tiger products is completely banned under CITES.
Nevertheless, habitat destruction continues at a rapid pace, live tigers enter the illegal exotic pet trade, tiger skins are bought and sold, and tiger parts are sought for presumed health benefits.
The CITES Tiger Enforcement Task Force met in 2001 in New Delhi and produced guidance on intelligence gathering, analysis, and dissemination and on specialized wildlife law enforcement units.
It also prompted a training initiative that led to a two-week course, held in 2002 at the National Police Academy of India, that was attended by 28 law enforcement officers from 12 countries throughout Asia.
Her Wijnstekers brev til premierminister Manmohan Singh:
Your Excellency,
India was the twenty-fifth nation State to become a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
India has always played a very active role in the implementation of CITES, at a national, regional and international level. It has been both a member of the Standing Committee and a host country for a meeting of the Conference of the Parties.
The CITES Secretariat has enjoyed a long and close working relationship with Indias national CITES Management Authority. Indias biodiversity is known and
treasured throughout the world and its various habitats contain several examples of the worlds most endangered animal and plant species.
In the case of animals, in particular, the population numbers of “flagship” species such as the Royal Bengal tiger and Asian elephant are important indicators for not only the health of Indias wildlife but they also serve as pointers towards the health of our planet as a whole and the success, or otherwise, of the conservation efforts of homo sapiens.
It has been my pleasure and privilege to see both tigers and elephants in the wild in India. It is, therefore, with considerable personal and professional concern that I have learned recently of the results of initial surveys in some tiger reserves in India indicating what appears to be an alarming reduction in tiger numbers.
As you may know, CITES as a whole, and especially the CITES Secretariat, has worked closely with officials in India to try to tackle illegal trade in wildlife and to combat the looting of your countrys natural resources.
For example, in 2002 a major training course was held at the National Police Academy of India, involving wildlife law enforcement officials from 12 countries in Asia.
Even before the recent disturbing tiger population survey reports, we had started planning a meeting of the CITES Tiger Enforcement Task Force.
This will take place in New Delhi in May 2005 and will bring together CITES, Customs and police officers from China, India and Nepal to exchange information and criminal intelligence and to help design strategies for increasing cross-border cooperation and coordination of investigations.
Whilst there have been positive initiatives, such as those described above, the CITES Secretariat has for some time, however, had concerns as to whether the coordination and collaboration between some of Indias agencies with a responsibility for wildlife law enforcement has been as effective as it might be; especially in the face of what appears to be a highly organized nature to much of the wildlife crime that India suffers.
We have made these concerns known to the relevant CITES officials in India and have regularly offered technical advice and support. In response, officials of the Government of India have repeatedly assured the CITES Secretariat, the Standing Committee and the Conference of the Parties that our recommendations were being followed and, in particular, that a specialized wildlife crime unit was being established.
It seems, for reasons unknown to us however, that internal developments have either not taken place or that such work is moving slowly.
In December 2004 a recommendation was issued by the Standing Committee, on behalf of the Conference of the Parties, to suspend trade with India because of its failure to provide information regarding its progress in developing legislation for implementation of the Convention. Fortunately, we were able to withdraw the recommendation in March of this year.
India is currently in arrears regarding its contributions to the CITES Trust Fund.
We have also noted that the State of Jammu and Kashmir continues to engage in the processing of wool of the highly-endangered Tibetan antelope, which our research clearly indicates is smuggled into India from China where many thousands of these animals have been poached in recent years.
It would be possible to interpret some of the above points as indicative of a lessening of Indias commitment to CITES.
I wish to stress, however, that my purpose in writing is not to criticize India or its officials but to offer the support of the CITES Secretariat as your country responds to these disturbing reports from tiger reserves.
I believe that this office is ideally placed to provide technical expertise and to help facilitate the communication and coordination that will be needed to combat and target the poaching that occurs in India, the cross-border smuggling and the final destinations where consumers create a demand for your natural resources.
Not only do my staff and I stand ready to assist but the CITES Secretariat may be able to assist in coordinating the support that I know can also be called upon from governments and nongovernmental organizations around the world.
In early 2000, I had the pleasure to meet in New Delhi with Mr Ram Jethmalani, the then Cabinet Minister for Law, Justice and Company Affairs and he indicated that he shared many of my concerns and agreed with many of my proposals.
Your Excellency, I respectfully request you, at your earliest convenience, to grant me a personal audience with you where we can discuss these issues and determine how best CITES and the international community can come to Indias aid.
Your country remains the worlds stronghold of many of Earths most endangered species; none more so that the Royal Bengal tiger. It will be a tragedy of the utmost proportions if Indias tiger populations are allowed to fall any lower and a striking indictment upon all our conservation efforts.
CITES is not willing for such a charge to be laid against it and I am confident that neither is India. I sincerely hope that you will agree to meet with me and I am ready to travel to India whenever is convenient for you.
Yours sincerely,
Willem Wijnstekers
Secretary-General
cc: CITES Management Authority of India and the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva.
