Wildlife Protection Society of India

Wildlife Protection Society of India
Name	Wildlife Protection Society of India
Formation	1994
Founders	Belinda Wright
Type	Non-governmental organization
Purpose	Wildlife conservation and anti-poaching
Headquarters	New Delhi
Region served	India
Leader title	Director
Leader name	Belinda Wright

Wildlife Protection Society of India is an Indian non-governmental organization dedicated to wildlife conservation, anti-poaching enforcement, and legal advocacy. Founded in 1994, the organization works across protected areas, collaborating with enforcement agencies, judicial bodies, and international partners to address wildlife crime and species decline. Its activities intersect with wildlife law, forensic science, intelligence networks, and community engagement in biodiverse landscapes.

History

The organization was established in 1994 amid rising concern over illegal wildlife trade following incidents linked to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and enforcement gaps in Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Early collaborations involved personnel from the Indian Forest Service, Central Bureau of Investigation, Interpol, and regional police units near Kaziranga National Park, Sunderbans, and Gir National Park. In the 1990s and 2000s the group developed links with international bodies such as World Wide Fund for Nature, TRAFFIC, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and International Union for Conservation of Nature to build capacities in forensic techniques, legal prosecution, and transboundary investigations involving routes through Myanmar, Nepal, and Southeast Asia. High-profile operations supported prosecutions under provisions influenced by cases adjudicated in the Supreme Court of India and directives from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Mission and Objectives

The society’s mission emphasizes enforcement of wildlife law, reduction of illegal trade, and strengthening of institutional capacity linked to statutes like the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and international agreements such as CITES. Objectives include training personnel from the Indian Police Service, Forest Department (India), Customs (India), and judicial officers associated with National Green Tribunal benches, improving forensic evidence presentation used in courts like the High Court of Delhi and regional courts in Chhattisgarh, Assam, and Rajasthan. It seeks to support conservation of emblematic species including tiger, elephant, rhino, leopard, pangolin, and migratory taxa traversing corridors like the Western Ghats and Northeast India.

Programmes and Activities

Programmes include training workshops for rangers and officers from the Indian Railways anti-poaching teams, intelligence gathering with liaison to Interpol, and forensic casework developed with laboratories akin to those at the Wildlife Institute of India and university departments such as Jawaharlal Nehru University and Indian Institute of Science. Activities encompass anti-poaching operations near reserves including Manas National Park, Bandipur National Park, and Periyar National Park, legal support for prosecutions in courts like the Calcutta High Court, and public awareness campaigns modeled on initiatives by National Geographic Society and BBC Natural History Unit. The society also conducts monitoring of markets linked to illegal trade routes via ports such as Chennai Port and borders with Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Organizational Structure and Governance

Governance comprises a board of patrons and a directorate drawing from conservationists, former enforcement officers, and legal experts who have served in institutions such as the Indian Police Service, Armed Forces (India), and academia at University of Oxford or University of Cambridge through collaborative fellowships. The society partners with research bodies like Wildlife Institute of India, NGOs such as Conservation Action Trust and Centre for Environment Education, and international funders including IUCN UK and philanthropic foundations connected to Tata Trusts and global donors. Internal divisions handle training, legal support, forensic services, intelligence liaison, and outreach in landscapes spanning the Himalayas, Deccan Plateau, and Eastern Ghats.

Major Campaigns and Achievements

Notable campaigns include contributions to high-profile sting operations and seizures that influenced enforcement practices around ivory and rhino horn trade, collaborations that aided rulings citing forensic evidence in the Supreme Court of India, and initiatives that reduced illegal trafficking in species such as pangolin across borders with Myanmar and Thailand. Achievements include successful training of thousands of frontline staff, facilitation of convictions in cases tried in district courts in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and partnership roles in multinational efforts coordinated with TRAFFIC and WWF International to disrupt syndicates operating from ports like Kolkata Port.

Publications and Research

The society issues technical manuals, case reports, and policy briefs used by enforcement agencies and academic partners including Wildlife Institute of India, University of Delhi, and think tanks such as the Observer Research Foundation. Publications cover forensic protocols, legal toolkits referencing statutes like the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and analyses of trade routes through Southeast Asia. Research collaborations have produced peer-reviewed studies in journals that often cite methods from laboratories at institutions like Central Forensic Science Laboratory and contributions by scholars affiliated with National Centre for Biological Sciences.

Challenges and Criticism

Challenges include operating in the complex legal landscape shaped by tribunals such as the National Green Tribunal and the backlog of cases in the Indian judiciary, confronting transnational syndicates linked to networks in Southeast Asia and Africa, and addressing resource constraints common to NGOs working in remote reserves like Dibang Valley and Hemis National Park. Criticisms have occasionally focused on tensions between enforcement-driven approaches and community-based conservation models promoted by organizations such as Center for Wildlife Studies and activists associated with the People’s Science Movement; debates involve land-use issues in regions including the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and policy choices by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Category:Conservation organizations of India