Bahrain Strengthen Actions against Wildlife Trafficking

Al-Areen Wildlife Park, Bahrain — (ARAB NEWSWIRE) — The Supreme Council for Environment, represented by the Department of Biological Diversity in the Kingdom of Bahrain, works in collaboration with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to build the capacities of the relevant authorities through a three-days training workshop that begins on December 7. This workshop will focus on providing the participants with the knowledge and skills needed to identify the wild species that are most liable to illegal trade according to the afore mentioned convention across the globe, with some focus on those species targeted in the region in particular, and hence to prevent illegal trade and disrupt the wildlife trafficking networks at Bahrain’s borders and checkpoints.

The training workshop will explain the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international agreement between governments aimed at ensuring that international trade in samples of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of species — to which the Kingdom of Bahrain has acceded in 2012— by providing materials and exercises which will support the participants in implementing these protocols, national legislation, and procedures for issuing the necessary licenses. Moreover, IFAW will share with the participants previous smuggling case studies from the field to sharpen their skills and provide ways to overcome challenges that may arise during confiscation or seizure operations.

IFAW has delivered over 75 DISRUPT trainings around MENA alone, as stated by Dr. Akram Eissa Darwich, IFAW Regional Programme Manager “The training materials we use vary from workshop to another depending on where the training is being held based on the updates that CITES appendices have according to its CoPs and based on the place of delivering the training because the species differs within regions and even countries”, he continues, “Our trainings stand out because they bring people from different sectors and departments together which strengthens the cooperation on a national level and helps build a work structure in the case of seizure operations and confiscations and determine the fate of these confiscated individuals and samples”.

Bahrain’s interest in conservation and wildlife is not unwonted, the Kingdom joined the Convention on the Conservation of Wildlife and its Natural Habitats in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)  in 2004. It also acceded CITES in 2012, CBD in 1996 and more recently CMS. In addition, it well adopts national legislation which aim to regulate the local and international trade of wildlife. Furthermore, and to strengthen and tighten this trade, Bahrain recently took the lead by being the first country in the region by issuing the CITES permits electronically using the Q code system. It has also in place the proper regulation that control hunting in order to protect resident as well as migrating species with special focus on endangered species.

ENDS

About the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) – The International Fund for Animal Welfare is a global non-profit helping animal and people thrive together. We are experts and everyday people, working across seas, oceans and in more than 40 countries around the world. We rescue, rehabilitate and release animals, and we restore and protect their natural habitats. The problems we’re up against are urgent and complicated. To solve them, we match fresh thinking with bold action. We partner with local communities, governments, non-governmental organisations and businesses. Together, we pioneer new and innovative ways to help all species flourish. See how at ifaw.org.