Environmental law, also known as environmental and natural resources law, is a collective term describing the network of treaties, statutes, regulations, common and customary laws addressing the effects of human activity on the natural environment. ?CITES? is such a treaty to curb the wildlife trafficking. 

CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of IUCN (The World Conservation Union). For many years CITES has been among the conservation agreements with the largest membership, with now 183 PARTIES. 

But in some parts of the world, there are still cases of illegal wildlife trafficking at an alarming rate. Bangladesh is one of them. According to the END (Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt) Wildlife Trafficking Report-2017, Bangladesh has emerged as one of the 26 Focus Countries which are usually used as wildlife trafficking destinations or as transits to different other destinations. Prepared and published by the US Department of State, the report is disappointing for us in the sense that Bangladesh has enlisted its name among the countries worldwide where crimes related to wildlife take place. 

The report, come out on 16 November, says that all the 26 countries, including Bangladesh, are involved in three types of wildlife crimes. First, wild animals are illegally traded from these countries. Second, the terrains of these countries are used as routes to transport those animals. And third, those trafficked animals are used in these countries. We are more or less aware of wildlife trafficking all over the world and also of the poignant impacts of their trafficking. Transnational organized criminal networks earn more than 10 billion US dollars a year through trafficking wildlife, illegally poaching, transporting, trading and selling them alive or their limbs.

That the US report unveils the three types of wildlife crimes is reflected in a more recent incident when, only in the last week, a couple of cubs of leopard and lion each were recovered by police from a car in Jessore district. That they were being trafficked is worth believing because lion is not born in the forests of Bangladesh while leopards have gone extinct long back. Even, no lion or leopard in any zoo or safari park has recently given birth to a cub as confirmed by the forest department.

Source: ResearchGate, The daily Star, CITES

Image Source: eiaconsultency.com