The first meeting of the Provincial Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) in Bagmati Province successfully concluded on 8th April in Hetauda under the chair of Dr. Kedar Baral, Forest Secretary of Bagmati Province. As per the Wildlife Crime Control Directive 2023, Provincial WCCBs are chaired by the related provincial forest secretary.
During the meeting Secretary of the Ministry of Forests and Environment Dr. Deepak Kumar Kharal, Director-General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Dr. Ram Chandra Kandel, Secretary at the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers of Bagmati Province Mr. Ritesh Kumar Shakya, and several provincial secretaries, senior conservation officers from Chitwan and Parsa National Parks, divisional forest officers, representatives from the Forest and Biodiversity Division of Bagmati Province, and security agencies including the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police, National Investigation Department, along with stakeholders from conservation partner organizations were present.
At the meeting, the current status of wildlife crime and issues at the provincial and national level were presented. In-depth discussions on the roles and responsibilities of the crime control units and bureau officials were discussed. Critical need for inter-agency coordination, community engagement and multi-stakeholder collaboration to effectively tackle wildlife crime issues were elaborated.
With the conclusion of this, NTNC has now completed support for the first Provincial WCCB meetings in all the seven provinces of Nepal, under the ‘Combat Wildlife Trafficking in Nepal’ project funded by the U.S. Department of State (USDS) INL. This is a major development in an effort to better institutionalize coordinated roles and capacities to combat wildlife crime in Nepal.
Globally wildlife trafficking remains a serious transnational crime reported in 162 countries. Often linked with organized crime, including corruption and money laundering, it affects some 4,000 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and plants.
The Government of Nepal approved the establishment of Provincial WCCBs in June 2023 through the Wildlife Crime Control Directive 2023. Since then, NTNC has supported their institutional development by building the capacity of focal officers and facilitating provincial-level coordination across the country. Notably, NTNC is working to ensure enhanced collaboration and capacities between WCCBs, conservation partners and local-level networks to curb wildlife crime.
