March 20, 2026 10:27 am (IST)
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India to join South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network
New Delhi, Apr 13 (IBNS) The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval on Wednesday for India adopting the Statute of the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN).
The cabinet has also approved India becoming a formal member of SAWEN in order to strengthen ties with the member countries in controlling the trans-boundary wildlife crime through communication, coordination, collaboration, capacity building and cooperation in the region.
SAWEN, a regional network consists of eight countries in South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It aims to work as a strong regional inter¬governmental body for combating wildlife crime by attempting common goals and approaches for combating illegal trade in the region.
Adoption of SAWEN statute envisions India being part of the regional inter¬governmental body in combating wildlife crime in the region and beyond.
Following objectives have been set to attain the goal:
• To take initiatives for bringing harmonization and standardization in laws and policies of member countries concerning conservation of fauna and flora;
• To document the trend of poaching and illegal trade, and related threats to the natural biodiversity within and across countries in the region;
• To strengthen institutional responses to combat wildlife crime by promoting research and information sharing, training and capacity building, technical support, sharing experiences and outreach; and
• To encourage member countries to prepare and implement their National Action Plans in curbing wildlife crime and to collaborate towards effective implementation.
South Asia is rather vulnerable to illegal traffic and wildlife crimes due to presence of precious biodiversity and large markets as well as traffic routes for wildlife products in the south-east Asian region.
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