A fifteen days long ‘Conservation Law Enforcement Training’ for officials of the Department of Wildlife Conservation from Sri Lanka has started from 31 October 2022 at the National Trust for Nature Conservation – Biodiversity Conservation Centre (NTNC-BCC), Sauraha, Chitwan.
A total of 18 Sri Lankan officials are participating in the capacity building training focusing on law enforcement. NTNC in coordination with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) is supporting the US Forests Service (USFS) who are the main organisers of the training. USFS personnel and three resource persons (retired USFS personnel) are conducting the training sessions. The training will focus on both knowledge and tools being used in conservation law enforcement in Nepal as well as their practical applications and implications in the field.
At the inaugural session, Mr. Ranjan Marasinghe, Director, Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka, expressed his gratitude to NTNC and DNPWC for the warm welcome and hospitality, thanking the USFS for organising the training. Mr. Marasinghe emphasised that the training was an important platform for cross-learning and experience sharing, serving as a necessary means for strengthening regional cooperation in wildlife conservation.
Dr. Naresh Subedi, Programme Manager, NTNC, welcomed the participants, facilitators, and officials from USFS. Dr. Subedi emphasised on the role and success of coordinated efforts and actions being employed for the conservation of biodiversity in the country. Mr. Ajaya Karki, Deputy Director General, DNPWC, underscored the decades-long relationship between Nepal and Sri Lanka in nature conservation and empahasised on the growing role of regional collaboration for the prevention of wildlife trafficking of endangered species. He also highlighted about some of Nepal's recent wildlife conservation achievements, like, the sustained efforts in its Zero Poaching Year for Rhinoceros, and its success in nearly tripling the country's tiger population.
USFS in partnership with NTNC and DNPWC is in the process of developing a standardized training manual to build the capacity of frontline staff of protected areas and division forest offices for controlling wildlife crime. In coordination with Sri Lanka’s Department of Wildlife Conservation, the USFS is already working on preparing the standardized training manual. To this end, the occasion also serves as a great opportunity for Nepal to learn the process of preparing the manual and readying its implementation.
