With the theme ‘Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration,’ the World Wildlife Day-2022 will be observed today (March 3) in Bangladesh as elsewhere in the world.
Green activists and environmental organisations will observe the day in the country by holding various programmes, including discussions and seminars.
On this occasion, the Bangladesh Forest Department will arrange a seminar at its headquarters at Agargaon in Dhaka in the morning.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin is scheduled to attend the seminar as the chief guest. Chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry, Saber Hossain Chowdhury and secretary of the ministry Md Mostafa Kamal will attend the meeting as special guests.
Experts and green activists said that wildlife, including elephants, are being killed rampantly in the country, while many wild animals are struggling for survival due to lack of forest and other needs, including habitation and food. They called upon the authorities concerned to take proper steps for saving the wildlife.
Muhammad Anowarul Hoque, secretary-general of Save Our Sea, on Wednesday (March 2) told the Bangladesh Post that a gang is active to kill elephants and other wildlife in Bangladesh, while the Forest Department is also responsible for the killing of a vast number of elephants and other wild animals in the country. It is a demand of time to take proper and immediate initiative to save the wildlife. The law must be amended to ensure punishment for those responsible for wildlife killing, he added.
According to Bangladesh Nature Conservation Alliance (BNCA), at least 34 elephants were killed in Bangladesh only in 2021.
On the other hand, the number of tigers in the Sundarbans is decreasing day by day and the number has come down to only 114.
However, the killing of elephants and tigers is a punishable offense under the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012. An initiative has been taken to amend the law with a provision that the killing of endangered species will be considered as a non-bailable offense.
As per the proposed amended law, alongside elephant and tiger, the killing of other endangered wildlife, including cheetah, leopard, owl, deer, crocodile, alligator, whale, dolphins and migratory birds, will also be considered as a punishable offense. In that case, there will be a provision of seven years imprisonment and a fine of Tk 10 lakh for killing an animal declared endangered.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, informed that the work is underway to amend the law.
The parliamentary watchdog in a recent meeting recommended that necessary measures be taken to make the killing of endangered species a punishable and non-bailable offense.
Section 36 of the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act mentions punishment for killing endangered wildlife tigers and elephants in the country. It said that if a person kills a tiger or an elephant mentioned in Schedule 1 without obtaining a license under section 24, he would be considered to have committed a crime.
There is a provision of imprisonment for a minimum of two years and a maximum of seven years and a minimum fine of Tk 1 lakh and a maximum of Tk 10 lakh for this offense. If the same offense is repeated, he will be punished with imprisonment for a maximum of 12 years and a fine up to a maximum of Tk 15 lakh.
Experts said that Bangladesh is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). The country is committed to controlling the legal trade of endangered wildlife as well as preventing illegal trade.
The enactment of this amendment to the law is an important step in reducing the risk of extinction of endangered species. Experts called for ensuring its effective implementation. They also said that the provision of compensation for damage to wildlife, especially elephant crops, should be widely disseminated.
The recent meeting of the parliamentary committee also discussed the issue of killing endangered wild animals, especially elephants.
Forest Conservator Amir Hossain Chowdhury told the meeting that there have been cases of killing elephants with electric wires and shooting them.
The elephants are killed after they come to the locality as corridors of their movement and their habitats are destroyed due to various development activities on forestland. The elephant corridor was also forcibly occupied by illegal occupants. Many elephants attack homes and farms due to acute crisis of their shelter and food. Illegal activities in forests, various farms, enclosures, electricity connections and different other activities have led to wider threats to elephants and other wildlife. As a result, the elephant-human conflict is increasing day by day. For this reason, people are getting involved in incidents like killing elephants.
“Not so many elephants have died before. It needs to stop. According to the Wildlife Conservation Act, it is our responsibility to protect elephants,” said Muhammad Anowarul Hoque of Save Our Sea.
Secretary of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry Md Mostafa Kamal said that steps have been taken to create a place for elephants to eat. Elephants don’t usually come to the locality when food is provided. In addition, if elephants damage people’s crops, there is a provision to pay compensation up to Tk 50,000. Many people don’t know about the compensation. Many people will not be able to kill elephants easily if the issue is publicized and the issue of punishment is known, he added.