Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 27: The Central University of Jammu (CUJ) in collaboration with the J&K Wildlife Protection Department organized one-day symposium cum training workshop on combating illegal wildlife trafficking for the frontline staff of Wildlife Protection Department, Forest Protection Force and Forest (Territorial) Department at Nature Interpretation Centre, Wildlife Department, Manda, today.
The event was organized to sensitize and for spreading awareness among the front line staff about the issues of illegal wildlife trafficking and the methods to tackle this for the conservation of faunal diversity.
During the inaugural session the Vice Chancellor, CUJ graced the occasion while Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, Commissioner/ Secretary, Forest Department was the chief guest during valedictory session.
The Vice Chancellor while stressing on the importance of conserving flora and fauna of the State, suggested strengthening of frontline staff with the current knowledge of wildlife and environment related issues.
In the opening session, Professor N K Tripathi, Dean School of Life Sciences and HoD, Department of Zoology, CUJ delivered the welcome address.
Suresh Kumar Gupta, Chief Wildlife Warden, Jammu and Kashmir, in his address, laid stress on the importance of conducting capacity building workshops and trainings for frontline staff while Tahir Shawl, Regional Wildlife Warden, Jammu spoke about the workshop and its relevance to the illegal trafficking in wildlife.
Dr SP Goyal, Emeritus Scientist, a pioneer in the fields of Wildlife Forensics and Conservation Biology, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun was the keynote speaker for the event. He spoke on the topic of ‘Development and role of forensics in wildlife conservation: What we learn from 3000 offences’.
Dr Vinita Sharma, Assistant Prof, Department of Zoology, CUJ gave presentation on ‘Illegal wildlife trafficking of horn trophies in India: Tools for species characterization following morphometric approach ‘HORNID’. Dr Puneet Pandey, Assistant Prof, Amity Institute of Forestry and Wildlife, Amity University, Noida, spoke on ‘Conserving big cats through technical and scientific cooperation in Asia’ while Dr Vipin, UGC-Dr DS Kothari Postdoctoral Fellow at Department of Zoology, CUJ spoke on “Recent advances & future perspectives in diseases, age determination and forensics in wild animals”.
Prominent forest officers present were Asif Mahmood, Director, Forests Protection Force, J&K, Frankoi, Chief Conservator of Forests, Ecotourism, Sameer Bharati, Chief Conservator of Forests, Jammu, Shahzaad Chowdhary, Wildlife Warden, Jammu, Dr Vinay Vishal Sharma, Veterinary Officer, Manda Deer Park and Amit Sharma, Wildlife Warden, Jambu Zoo were present from Forest Department of J&K.
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