Forest Department frontline staff trained in Dachigam
Dachigam National Park (Jammu & Kashmir): The Department of Wildlife, Jammu & Kashmir and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), supported by the Care for the Wild International (CWI) organised a two-day intensive training for frontline staff of Dachigam National Park recently. Field kits to facilitate anti-poaching activities in the protected area were distributed among the participants.
Known to support a high density of Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus), Dachigam National Park is also one of the confirmed strongholds of the rare Kashmir red deer (Cervus elaphus hanglu) or Hangul – that was once widely distributed in Kashmir. Poaching for bile and skin, and increasing conflicts with humans are among the major threats to the Asiatic black bear in the Kashmir valley.
“The training was designed to facilitate anti-poaching activities, effective prosecution of wildlife offenders and help manage human-animal conflicts. The WII has been studying the ecology of Asiatic black bears in Kashmir. Studies are being conducted on hangul too. All these aspects are vital for effective wildlife conservation,” said Dr Rakesh Kumar Singh, Coordinator, WTI, and one of the resourcepersons of the training.
The module of the training included effective field crafts like patrolling techniques, crime detection, intelligence gathering by development of a network of informers, basic understanding of the law, etc.
A total of 48 individuals participated in the training, organised under WTI’s Van Rakshak Project (VRP), which has trained and equipped more than 7500 frontline field staff in over a hundred protected areas across India.
