Training on Wildlife Crime Investigation to Prosecution

A training program on 'Wildlife Crime Investigation to Prosecution' took place from 09 to 14 December 2024 in Sauraha, Nepal. The event was organized by SAWEN in cooperation with the Government of Nepal and in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Nepal and Himalayan Nature (HN). The training was financially supported by the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) Challenge Fund. It brought together 24 officials from Protected Areas and Division Forest Offices across Nepal. The training aimed to equip law enforcement officials with the necessary knowledge and skills covering different aspects of wildlife crime investigation to prosecution.

The six- day program was divided into theoretical and practical sessions. The facilitators with extensive experience in wildlife crime enforcement and prosecution served as resource person for the training program. From Nepal, Secretary from the office of Attorney General, Nepal; officials from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police; officials from DNPWC, Focal Person of WCCB Central Secretariat, Forensic Expert, representatives from the Money Laundering Department, Sitting Judges, District Attorneys, Province Secretary, Chief Conservation Officers were present as the resource persons. Similarly, SAWEN also leveraged its regional network by inviting experts from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) of India to facilitate some of the training sessions.

Some of the key topics covered were Biodiversity conservation in Nepal, Institutional structures to combat wildlife crime, Reflection of conservation policies and gaps, Custody Management, Association of Money Laundering and Wildlife Crime, Human rights respect in wildlife crime investigation. Similarly, hands on practicals sessions on topic such as Wildlife Crime Investigation and Crime Scene management along with documentation, Suspect Interviews, Crime Scene management, Wildlife parts and products identification were carried out.

A pre and post training questionnaire was carried out to evaluate the understanding of participants in different topics such as Policy, Legal Framework, and Institutional Structures to fight against IWT, Planning, Documentation, Wildlife Crime Investigation, and Crime Scene Management, Identification and Analysis of Seized Wildlife Parts and Derivatives, Human Rights and Ethical Consideration , Money Laundering and Wildlife Crime in Cyberspace. By the end of training, the total score improvement of participants was 86%, indicating a significant positive impact on their learnings from the training program.

This training program was an important step in strengthening the capacity of Nepali front-line officers from areas most prone regions to IWT. Participants gained essential theoretical knowledge and practical skills, improving their ability to investigate, document, and prosecute wildlife crime and IWT cases effectively.