Aizawl, Sep 13 : The judiciary is expected to bring justice to not only to human beings, but also to the wildlife.
A two-day orientation programme concluded here today, organised jointly by TRAFFIC India and WWF India, in partnership with The Gauhati High Court, for judicial officers of Mizoram, primarily aimed to sensitize the judiciary about issues related to wildlife conservation.
Mizoram principal secretary, environment and forests and PCCF Dr Garbyal, in his inaugural speech, said that while the Supreme Court and High Courts are very proactive on conservation issues, the judiciary of north east needs to be enlightened on the various environmental aspects.
State like Mizoram having such rich biodiversity demands greater association of its people and specially judiciary towards environmental protection and conservation, he said and urged the judicial officer to play a catalytic role in wildlife conservation.
Dr Garbyal thanked TRAFFIC India and WWF for having organised such an important programme. Expressing his concern about building awareness on environment and wildlife related laws among the judiciary members in Mizoram, the PCCF said, Implementation of wildlife laws will depend on the perception of the judicial officers and judges.
When environment and wildlife related cases come to court, the understanding of the judges towards such issues is necessary for undertaking the right decisions. Therefore, without proper orientation and training towards these laws, the Judiciary will not be able to do justice to our environment.
Mizoram, being sandwiched between Myanmar and Bangladesh, provides a lucrative bed for illegal wildlife traders to smuggle their goods.
This makes Mizoram vulnerable to illicit wildlife trade. This is also a major route for pangolin scales smuggling, live birds, Red Sanders and medicinal plants, officials said.
Director, Centre for Environmental Law, WWF India Moulika Arabhi providing the background of the programme, stated, We want to work in co-ordination with the judiciary to protect the rich biodiversity of Mizoram.
TRAFFIC India s coordinator (research & training) Khalid Pasha also voiced concern over the emergence of organised trans-national wildlife crime and stressed the need for co-operation, collaboration and awareness to meet this challenge.
This is the fifth in a series of TRAFFIC India and the Centre for Environmental Law-WWF India training programmes to be conducted for the judiciary across north eastern states.
It was attended by 30 judges and judicial officers of Mizoram Bench of Gauhati High Court.
0 comments:
Post a Comment