Govt to use digital technology for wildlife conservation: Saber

The government has taken initiatives to use digital technology and services to ensure sustainable conservation of wildlife and legal wildlife trade and coexistence of humans and wildlife, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury said today (6 March).

"Diverse digital technologies are being explored to accelerate wildlife conservation. Civil society, technocrats, and conservationists must all be committed to the sustainable adaptation of nature and the application of digital innovation in wildlife conservation," the minister said while speaking as the chief guest at a programme.

Chief Conservator of Forest Md. Amir Hossain Chowdhury presided over the event on the occasion of World Wildlife Day 2024 under the slogan "Connecting people and Planet: Exploring  Innovation in Wildlife Conservation" at the Forest Department.

 Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr. Farhina Ahmed;  Additional Secretary Iqbal Abdullah Harun were present as special guests in the event. 

Dr.  Mohammad Anwarul Islam, Chief Executive, WildTeam and Mukit Majumdar Babu, Chairman, Nature and Life Foundation also spoke on the occasion.

The environment minister said the tiger survey of the Sundarbans is ongoing through camera trapping, the research program on tiger prey.  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, radio collaring etc. are continuing.

Saber said DNA barcode database creation through genetic sequencing and species identification from trophy or wildlife samples at the Wildlife Forensic Lab under the Wildlife Crime Prevention Unit 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 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.