Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury has said that the government has taken initiatives to use digital technology and services to ensure sustainable conservation of wildlife.
Action will be taken again illegal wildlife trade through using the digital technology in the interest of coexistence of humans and wildlife, the minister said while speaking as the chief guest at function at the Forest Department in the capital on Wednesday (March 6).
The event was arranged on the occasion of the World Wildlife Day 2024. The theme of this year’s day is ‘Connecting People and Planet: Exploring Digital Innovation in Wildlife Conservation’.
Chief Conservator of Forest Md. Amir Hossain Chowdhury presided over the function, while Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr. Farhina Ahmed; and Additional Secretary of the ministry Iqbal Abdullah Harun were present as special guests. Chief Executive of WildTeam Dr. Mohammad Anwarul Islam and Chairman of Nature and Life Foundation Mukit Majumdar Babu also spoke on the occasion.
In his speech, Saber Hossain Chowdhury said that diverse digital technologies are being explored to accelerate wildlife conservation. Civil society, technocrats, and conservationists must be committed to the sustainable adaptation of nature and the application of digital innovation in wildlife conservation, he added.
The environment minister said that the tiger survey of the Sundarbans is going on through camera trapping.
At present, crime monitoring and management activities in Sundarbans are being conducted through drone technology and smart patrolling. Wildlife conservation and prevention of illegal trade in wildlife through advanced tracking systems, real time data analytics and radio collaring are continuing, he added.
He also said that DNA barcode database creation through genetic sequencing and species identification from trophy or wildlife samples at the Wildlife Forensic Lab under the Wildlife Crime Control Unit (WCCU) of the Forest Department is a milestone in wildlife conservation activities. For the 1st time in Bangladesh, in 2022, the activity of determining the distribution and movement of elephants in the Cox's Bazar forest area through the radio collaring of elephants has been undertaken.
The minister said that a wildlife crime reporting tool has been developed for the coordinated use of law enforcement agencies including the Forest Department to speed up wildlife crime control activities.
Through which the picture of wildlife crime across the country can be easily found.
We need to commit and work together to protect our country's wildlife.