The government is working sincerely to curb the illegal wildlife trade in the country, said environment minister Md Shahab Uddin.
The minister said that a strategic plan will also be formulated among the concerned sectors as a joint effort to curb such illegal trade.
Significant progress has been made under the leadership of the Forest Department in strengthening the capacity of law enforcement officials in detecting, identifying and prosecuting wildlife crimes, he added.
“Initiatives are being taken to expand and strengthen the government's efforts to curb the illegal wildlife trade. With the help of all, we must win the fight against the illegal wildlife trade,” he continued.
The environment minister said this while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural function of the "Consultation Meeting on Strengthening Law Enforcement in combating Illegal Wildlife Trade" organised by the Forest Department and Wildlife Conservation Society at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon in Dhaka on Wednesday.
He said that initiatives will be taken to effectively implement laws, programmes and projects enacted to curb wildlife crime.
He called upon the concerned agencies to take practical steps to eradicate illegal wildlife trade regulators. Strict punishment will be ensured by bringing the wildlife criminals to justice, he added.
Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Md Mostafa Kamal chaired the meeting while deputy minister Habibun Nahar spoke at the programme.
Following the inaugural ceremony, officials from various agencies, including USAID, UNODC and NGO Bureaus, and officials from various ministries and law enforcement agencies spoke on what needs to be done to strengthen law enforcement to curb the illegal wildlife trade.