Ashok Kumar Memorial

Wildlife Law and Enforcement Conference March 11-12, 2019, Pune, India

at

Institute of Environment Education and Research

Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune, INDIA

Jointly Organized By

Welcome

On behalf of the Wildlife Trust of India, New Delhi, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau,

Govt. of India, Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy, Stetson University College of

Law, USA, International Master of Environmental Science Programme, University of

Cologne, Germany, we at the Institute of Environment Education & Research and New

Law College, Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune, India, welcome all the speakers and

delegates to the Ashok Kumar Memorial Wildlife Law and Enforcement Conference, 11-

12 March 2019.

All of us here in Pune are extremely happy to host the conference which is being held in

memory of the late Ashok Kumar, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Wildlife Trust of

India to whom Wildlife Crime Control in India owes its existence. The conference brings

together wildlife law and enforcement veterans, practitioners and aspirants to the field

from the governmental, NGO and academic sectors. We are delighted at the attendance

and the diversity and high standard of submissions we received and we hope that the

scientific program will be both stimulating and informative.

The conference has a multidisciplinary focus, addressing issues relating to international

wildlife accords and treaties, challenges in controlling wildlife trade across the borders,

national policy and legal frameworks to curb wildlife trade, approaches to wildlife law

enforcement, capacity building for wildlife law enforcement and culture, tradition and

wildlife law.

We welcome each of you to the Ashok Kumar Memorial Wildlife Law and Enforcement

Conference and wish you the very best in your deliberations. Thank you for visiting us

here in Pune. We hope you return home with many fond memories.

Team BVIEER

Day 1 Monday 11 March 2019

08.00–09.30 hrs

(90 min) Registration

9.30 -11.00 hrs

(90 min)

Inaugural Session (Venue: Soonu Naval Godrej Auditorium)

Welcome Remarks

Prof. Dr. Erach Bharucha (10 min)

Director, Institute of Environment Education and Research, Bharati

Vidyapeeth University, Pune

Short AV on Late Ashok Kumar (10 min)

Felicitation of guests (10 min)

Traditional lighting of the lamp by dignitaries led by Chief Guest (10

min)

Address

Mr. Vivek Menon (10 min)

Founder, ED & CEO, Wildlife Trust of India, New Delhi

Address

Mr. Nitin Kakodkar (10 min)

PCCF & Chief Wildlife Warden (Maharashtra)

Presidential Address

Prof. Dr. Manikrao Salunkhe (10 min)

Vice Chancellor, Bharati Vidyapeeth University

Chief Guest and Keynote Address

Dr. Manmohan Singh Negi (10 min)

Additional Director General of Forests (WL), Ministry of

Environment and Forests and Climate Change, New Delhi

Vote of Thanks

Dr. Shamita Kumar (10 min)

Professor and Principal, BVIEER

11.00-11.30 hrs Tea break

11.30 -12.30 hrs

(60 min)

PLENARY SESSIONS (Venue: Soonu Naval Godrej Auditorium)

Chair: Shri. MS Negi, Additional Director General of Forests (WL),

Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change, New Delhi

Co-Chair: Shri. Nitin Kakodkar, PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden,

Maharashtra

Plenary Session 1

Mrs. Tilottama Varma

Additional Director, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Ministry of

Environment, Forests and Climate Change, New Delhi

Topic: Wildlife crime: Extent and magnitude in India and the role

of enforcement agencies (20 min)

Plenary Session 2

Mr. Vivek Menon

Founder, ED & CEO , WTI

Topic: Wildlife Crime: A Global perspective (20 min)

Discussion (20 min)

12.30–13.30 hrs

(60 min) Lunch

13.30-15.15 hrs

(105 min)

PARALLEL SESSION: Parallel session 1: Track A: National

legal framework to curb wildlife trade (Venue: Soonu Naval

Godrej Auditorium)

Shri Raj Panjwani, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

(Lead Invited speaker) (20 min)

Chair: Shri Raj Panjwani

Co-Chair: Dr. A.K. Jha (IFS Retd), Former PCCF, Maharashtra

State

1. Saranya Mishra and Priya Sondhi: Evolving jurisprudence of

Green Crimes in India: Issues and Challenges (10 min)

2. Nandini Tripathy: Constitutional Law and the Legal Framework

for Protecting Environment and Wildlife in India (10 min)

3. Gouri Joshi: Do India’s wildlife law need strengthening? (10 min)

4. Deepashree Prasad: An Understanding of the Legal

Conceptualization and Interpretation of Conservation of

Corridors (10 min)

5. Kirk Junker and Mrinalini Shinde: Horse before the cart: Animal

Personhood in India (10 min)

Discussion (25 min)

13.30-15.15 hrs

(105 min)

PARALLEL SESSION: Parallel session 1: Track B: National

agencies combating wildlife crime (Venue: Aakash, First Floor)

Ms Tilotama Varma, Additional Director, WCCB (Lead Invited

speaker) 20 min

Chair: Ms Tilotama Varma

Co-Chair: Jose Louies, Chief of Enforcement and Law, WTI

1. Mr. Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director, WCCB (10 min)

2. Ms Barawakar, SP Law and Research, Maharashtra Police (10

min)

3. Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Commdt. (Ops) DG SSB (10 min)

4. Mr. Sanjay Kishore, IG, Crime and Intelligence, Railway

Protection Force (10 min)

5. BK Singh, Comdt (JG) Indian Coast Guard (10 min)

Discussion (25 min)

15.15-15.45 hrs

(20 min) Tea break

15.30 -17.00 hrs

(90 min)

PARALLEL SESSION: Parallel session 2: Track A: Curbing

Wildlife Crime: New Approaches (Venue: Soonu Naval Godrej

Auditorium)

Dr. S.P. Goyal, Wildlife Forensic expert, Wildlife Institute of

India: Lead Invited speaker (20 min)

Chair: Dr. S.P. Goyal

Co-Chair: Dr. Kranti Yardi, Professor, BVIEER

1. Aristo Mendis: Identifying Wildlife Trafficking Hubs in India by

using Media Reports (10 min)

2. Jose Louies: Using technology in wildlife crime management (10

min)

3. Jayshree Sharma: Wildlife Trafficking & its Sinister association

with superstitions in India (10 min)

4. Erin Okuno: Extinct Species and CITES: Listing the Woolly

Mammoth to Protect Elephants (10 min)

5. Navraoze Maneckshaw, Tejaswini S., Nishant Vaze, Monesh

Tomar: Myths and truths about wildlife law and crime: A

community perception (10 min)

Discussion: 20 min

15.30 -17.00 hrs

(90 min)

PARALLEL SESSION: Parallel session 2: Track B: Capacity

Building for Wildlife law Enforcement (Venue: Aakash, First Flor)

Mr. Samir Sinha, APCCF, Uttarakhand Forest Department :

Lead Invited Speaker (20 min)

Chair: Mr. Samir Sinha

Co Chair: Prof. Dr. Shamita Kumar, Vice Principal, BVIEER

1. Ms Radhika, WTI: Training and insurance of the forest staff and

occupational hazards (15 min)

2. Ms Dilpreet, TRAFFIC India: Protecting India’s Wildlife: Traffic

India’s Journey (15 min)

3. M.Maranko, WCCB (15 min)

4. Mr. Prasenjeet, WCT: Capacity building of forest staff (15 min)

Discussion (20 min)

17.00-18.00 hrs

(60 min)

PLENARY SESSIONS (Venue: Soonu Naval Godrej Auditorium)

Chair: Prof. Dr. Kirk Junker, Director, International Master in

Environmental Sciences Program, University of Cologne, Germany

Co-Chair: Dr. Dinesh Tyagi (IFS), APCCF, Directorate of Social

Forestry, Maharashtra State

Plenary Session 3

Mr. Samir Sinha (IFS)

APCCF, Uttarakhand Forest Department (20 min)

Topic: International institutional framework towards curbing

wildlife crimes

Plenary Session 4

Mr. Ravi Wankhede (IFS)

Conservator of Forests, Maharashtra Forest Department (20 min)

Discussion (20 min)

Cultural event (18:15 hrs onwards) (Venue: Soonu Naval Godrej Auditorium)

Dinner for all participants 7.30 pm onwards

Day 2 Monday 12th March 2019

9.30-10.30 hrs

(60 min)

PLENARY SESSIONS (Venue: Soonu Naval Godrej Auditorium)

Chair: Prof. Dr. Erach Bharucha, Director, BVIEER

Co-Chair: Dr. Vilas Bardekar, Chairman, Maharashtra State

Biodiversity Board

Plenary Session 5

Prof. Dr. Royal Gardner

Professor of Law and Director, Institute for Biodiversity Law and

Policy

Topic: Global wetland outlook: State of the world’s wetlands (20

min)

Plenary Session 6

Dr. Hem Pande

Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)

Topic: Global Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 on

conservation of ecosystems and species: India’s Progress (20 min)

Discussion (20 min)

10.30-11.00 hrs

Tea break

11.00-13.00 hrs

(120 min)

PARALLEL SESSION: Parallel Session 3: Track A:

Transboundary Crime and International Policy (Venue: Soonu

Naval Godrej Auditorium)

Dr. Saket Badola, Head, TRAFFIC-India (Lead Invited speaker)

(20 min)

Chair: Mr. Saket Badola

Co- Chair: Dr. Erin Okunu, Professor, Stetson University, US

1. Jaclyn Rios: The Cecil Effect: The Unintended Consequences of

Airline Bans on Transporting Hunting Trophies (10 min)

2. Charu Sharma and Dhiren Sehgal: Cultivating Illicit Wildlife Trade

(10 min)

3. Jessica Deowolf: The Importance of Enforcement at the Sub-

National Level: Case Study on U.S. Freshwater Turtles (10 min)

4. Hannah Yoder: Shifting Specimens and Scales: The Controversy

Surrounding the Pangolin’s Move from CITES Article II to Article

I (10 min)

5. Jennifer Winn: Climate Change and CITES: The Saiga Case Study

(10 min)

6. Katie Welch: Challenges Associated with Live Endangered

Species as Evidence (10 min)

7. David Weiger: From Living Fossil to Modern Commodity: The

Need for Review of Significant Trade of the Nautilus (10 min)

8. Amika Jeffries: Enacting Proactive Regulation to Prevent Over-

exploitation of the Manta Ray (10 min)

9. Maria White: Black Market Trade and Other Hazards to Four

Seahorse Species Necessitate Listing under CITES Appendix (10

min)

Discussion: 10 min

11.00-13.00 hrs

(120 min)

PARALLEL SESSION: Parallel Session 3: Track B: Biodiversity

Act: A Critical Review (Venue: Aakash, First Floor)

Shri T. Narendran, Technical Officer (IPR) (Lead Invited

speaker) (20 min)

Chair: Dr. Vilas Bardekar, Chairman, Maharashtra State

Biodiversity Board

Co-Chair: Shri T. Narendran, Technical Officer (IPR)

1. Dr. Ajay Deshpande, Former Expert Member, National Green

Tribunal (Western Zone)

2. Adv. Saurabh Anant Deshpande: Wildlife protection through Bio-

Diversity Management Committees (10 Min)

3. Jyoti S Dharm: Biodiversity Act 2002: A Critical Analysis (10

min)

4. Rahul Mungikar: Integrated approach for conservation of

Wildlife habitats outside the Protected areas using People’s

Biodiversity Register (PBR) and OCEM tool (10 min)

5. Dr Oommen: Biodiversity Act and Rules for wild life protection

(10 min)

Discussion: 20 min

11.00-13.00 hrs

(120 min)

PARALLEL SESSION: Parallel Session 3: Track C Stopping the

Bleeding: Anti-Poaching as an Enforcement Strategy

(Venue: Seminar Hall, First Floor)

Chair: Mr. Samir Sinha APCCF, Uttarakhand Forest Department

Co-Chair: Mr. Jose Louies, Chief of Enforcement and Law, WTI

1. Aavika Dhanda: Complexities of curbing wildlife poaching in

tribal lands: Insights from Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya, Northeast

India (10 min)

2. Rajat Bhargava: Live bird trade in India - the past and the

present scenario (10 min)

3. Ritesh Sarothiya (STF, MPFD) (10 min)

4. Vishal Mali (DCF, MTR) (10 min)

5. Rohini Saikia (DFO, KNP) (10 min)

6. HV Girish (CF, UP FD) (10 min)

7. Sreelakshmi A (DCF, Pune) (10 min)

8. Prazual Gurung (WTI) (10 min)

Discussion (20 min)

13.00–14.00 hrs

Lunch

14.00 -15.00 hrs

(60 min)

PLENARY SESSIONS (Venue: Soonu Naval Godrej Auditorium)

Chair: Dr. Erach Bharucha, Director BVIEER

Co-Chair: Mr. Vivek Menon, ED and CEO, WTI

Plenary Session 7

Prof. Dr. Kirk Junker (20 min)

Chair, International Masters in Environment Sciences, University of

Cologne, Germany

Topic: Irrational Humans and Wildlife Law in a Post Factual World

Plenary Session 8

Dr AK Jha, IFS (Retd)

Former PCCF and DG (Social Forestry), Maharashtra

Topic: Wildlife Crime Control: Integration of approaches and

instruments (20 min)

Discussion (20 min)

15.00-16.00 hrs

(60 min) Concluding Session

16.00 hrs onward High tea

Institute of Environment Education and Research, Bharati Vidyapeeth

University, Pune, INDIA

Bharati Vidyapeeth University is a multi-faculty University (NAAC accredited ‘A’ and

reaccredited ‘A’ grade) with eleven faculties and conducts 305 varied courses. The

Institute of Environment Education and Research, Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune

conducts doctoral and masters programs in Environment Science and Technology,

Geoinformatics and Wildlife Conservation Action along with several diploma programs.

The Institute has made major contributions to environmental policy formulation in the

country including preparing the Maharashtra State Biodiversity Strategy and Action

Plan (2016-2026). The Institute is the Maharashtra State Resource Agency for the

National Green Corps Program of the Ministry of Environment and Forests,

Government of India.

Prof. Dr. Shamita Kumar Email: admin@bvieer.edu.in Website: http://ieer.bharatividyapeeth.edu

Institute of Biodiversity Law, Stetson University, USA

Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy serves as an interdisciplinary focal

point for education, research and service activities related to global, regional and local

biodiversity issues. The Stetson International Environmental Moot Court

Competition(IEMCC) is the world’s largest moot court competition devoted exclusively

to global environmental issues. Stetson is the only law school in the world with a

memorandum of cooperation with the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on

Wetlands, an international environmental treaty dedicated to conserving wetlands. It

organizes the International Wildlife Law Conference every year in collaborations with

various global partners.

Prof. Royal C. Gardner Email: biodiversity@law.stetson.edu Website: http://www.stetson.edu/law/biodiversity/

Wildlife Trust of India, New Delhi, INDIA

Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is a leading Indian nature conservation organization in

India committed to the service of nature. Its mission is to conserve wildlife and its

habitat and to work for the welfare of individual wild animals, in partnership with

communities and governments. WTI’s team of 150 dedicated professionals work

towards achieving its vision of a secure natural heritage of India, in six priority

landscapes, knit holistically together by seven key strategies or Big Ideas – Wild Lands,

Wild Aid, Enforcement and Law, Communities for Conservation, Awareness for

Conservation, Wild Rescue and Conflict Mitigation and Species Recovery.

Mr. Vivek Menon Email: info@wti.org.in Website:http://www.wti.org.in

International Master of Environmental Sciences, University of Cologne,

GERMANY

Founded in 1388, the University of Cologne was the sixth university to be established

in Central Europe and is one of the largest universities in Germany. It has gained a

consistent and outstanding reputation for maintaining the highest standards in research

and education and has recently been awarded as university of excellence in Germany.

In 2003, five of the six schools of the University of Cologne started the interdisciplinary

International Master of Environmental Sciences (IMES) program which is taught in

English and addresses environmental matters from a natural and social science

perspective. With its interdisciplinary and international approach IMES allows students

to develop ‘outside the box’ thinking for creating new enhanced environmental solutions

for the future.

Prof. Dr. Kirk Junker Email : imes-info@uni-koeln.de Website: http://www.imes.uni-koeln.de

Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Government of India

Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is a statutory multi-disciplinary body established by the

Government of India under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, to combat

organized wildlife crime in the country. Under Section 38 (Z) of the Wild Life

(Protection) Act, 1972, it is mandated to collect and collate intelligence related to

organized wildlife crime activities; co-ordinate actions by various agencies and

international organizations; capacity building of the wildlife crime enforcement

agencies and advise the Government of India on issues relating to wildlife crimes having

national and international ramifications, relevant policy and laws. It also assists and

advises the Customs authorities in inspection of the consignments of flora & fauna as

per the provisions of Wild Life Protection Act, CITES and EXIM Policy governing such

an item.

Ms. Tilottama Verma

Email : addldir-wccb@gov.in

Website: http://wccb.gov.in/