Crackdown on Wildlife Trafficking Intensifies: From Sharks to Asiatic Black Bears

The fourth meeting of the National Working Group to Combat Wildlife Trafficking was held, focusing on countering the trafficking of endangered species and strengthening cooperation among responsible agencies.

The fourth meeting of the National Working Group to Combat Wildlife Trafficking was held with a focus on dealing with the trafficking of endangered species and strengthening the cooperation of the responsible agencies.

According to Ambassador Arjan's report, the fourth meeting of the National Working Group to Combat Wildlife Trafficking was held with the aim of strengthening the mechanisms to deal with crimes against biodiversity and promoting coordination among the responsible agencies, with the presence of representatives of related executive agencies and military, law enforcement and security agencies.

Hamid Zohrabi, the head of the National Committee to Combat Wildlife Trafficking and the Deputy of Natural Environment and Biodiversity of this organization, emphasized in this meeting the need to strengthen inter-sectoral cooperation and adopt a systematic approach to prevent, identify and deal with wildlife species trafficking.

Referring to the various aspects of wildlife trafficking, he said: dealing with this phenomenon requires the effective cooperation of the responsible agencies, identifying the bottlenecks of trafficking, strengthening the monitoring of the movement routes and illegal trade of animal species, and using the specialized and information capacities of the relevant agencies.

Zohrabi added: Achieving these goals requires precise determination of responsibilities and establishment of operational coordination between institutions in charge of wildlife protection and responsible institutions in the fields of supervision, law enforcement and security.

In this meeting, solutions to deal with the smuggling of table fish and sharks, as well as the trafficking of the Asian black bear, as one of the valuable and threatened species of the country's wildlife, were discussed.

Also, strengthening the cooperation of security agencies to identify the identity and follow up of offenders who are active in the cyber space in the field of wildlife trafficking was one of the other topics discussed in this meeting.

Examining the cooperation mechanisms between the Environmental Protection Organization and the devices related to the road and rail transport network, customs and airports was also on the agenda of this working group. In this section, it was emphasized on the use of the supervisory and executive capacities of the mentioned devices to identify and control possible routes of illegal transfer of animal species, prevention of unauthorized movement of wildlife and identification of suspicious shipments.

Examining the implementation mechanisms of the instructions for the application of prohibitions and restrictions on the entry, distribution and keeping of animals was also one of the other topics of this meeting. The effective implementation of this directive required coordination between relevant institutions, clarification of legal responsibilities, and strengthening of monitoring and follow-up processes.

According to the announcement of the Deputy of Natural Environment and Biodiversity of the Environmental Protection Organization, the news and report of the executive actions of the responsible bodies in connection with the approvals of this meeting will be informed subsequently.