Combating illegal wildlife trade and conserving biodiversity in Bangladesh through legal provisions

Abstract

Despite numerous domestic legislations, international treaties, agreements, conventions, and protocols to curb wildlife crimes, Bangladesh's illegal wildlife trade (IWT) crime rate has increased significantly in recent years. The provision of the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act 2012 sets the highest seven and lowest two years punishment for killing tigers and elephants, a maximum of two years, and a minimum of six months imprisonment for killing birds. Nevertheless, the country has only 17% forest land; in this small area, wildlife crime increased 28 times in 2020, and nearly 4,000 live wild animals have been rescued, while more than 300 cases have been registered in the last ten years. We suggest that ineffective legal enforcement is the main reason for the illegal transaction of wild species through insecure border areas. Hence, successfully controlling the IWT problem in Bangladesh requires reducing the demand for wild animals, stopping the route of supplies, and combating global transnational wildlife crime.