KARACHI: Unmoved by reports of illegal wildlife trade and destruction of protected areas, the government is yet to approve the Sindh Wildlife Protection Act — an important piece of legislation meant to replace the outdated Sindh Wildlife Ordinance 1972 — that has been pending for many years.

According to sources, the first draft of wildlife act was prepared in 2010 following consultation with stakeholders. Later, the draft was amended multiple times following administrative reshuffles.

“The approval of an updated wildlife act is critical to curb the rising trend in illegal wildlife trade across the country. While it is heartening to see that the governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Azad Kashmir have revised their wildlife laws, Sindh and Punjab are yet to follow suit,” Humaira Ayesha, the wildlife manager at World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan, said while talking to Dawn.

KP, Balochistan and AJK have revised their laws

She said her organisation had been part of efforts to revise the wildlife law in Sindh with other stakeholders and had also held meetings with the secretary for forest and wildlife in this regard.

Speaking about the importance of an updated wildlife law for Sindh, she said: “The scale of illegal wildlife trade here is quite high because of multiple factors, including the fact that the province serves as a transit region for consignments of wildlife. A law taking care of all local and international sensitivities on wildlife is the first step towards preventing illegal wildlife trafficking.”

In recent years, she said, a number of consignments of freshwater turtles had been confiscated in Sindh. “And these were only reported cases; one can imagine how big the scale of wildlife trade could be in the province.”

The Wildlife Ordinance of 1972, she pointed out, had many flaws. For instance, it treated a wildlife offence as a low-risk crime and set very low fine and punishment for the offender. The relevant department also needed to work on capacity building, training and enhancing collaboration with various agencies, she said.

Definition of wildlife widened

A reading of the wildlife act draft shows that contrary to the old law, it takes care of all international obligations and developments with regard to wildlife as well as local sensitivities on the subject and has actually broadened the definition of wildlife that was earlier restricted to wild animals only.

It seeks establishment of the Sindh Council for Conservation of Wildlife consisting of relevant minister and secretary as its chairman and vice chairman.

The document widens the list of protected areas and enhances powers of wildlife department officials. There are also clauses pertaining to cruelty to wild animals and killing in self-defence.

It bars people from keeping a zoo without registration and suggests establishment of the Sindh Wildlife Conservation and Development Fund.

It recommends enhancement in fines and imprisonment on violation. For instance the fine for illegal hunting and illegal construction in protected areas has been raised from Rs50,000 and one-year imprisonment to Rs1 million or five-year imprisonment or both.

The draft consists of a number of new concepts, for example, clauses pertaining to community engagement and public-private partnerships for wildlife conservation. There is a clause on introducing exotic/alien species that may threaten indigenous species and carries a fine of Rs1m or six-year imprisonment or both.

The most important feature of the proposed act, however, is abolition of the honorary post of district game wardens. They are generally appointed by the government on political grounds and have long been held responsible for the destruction of wild flora and fauna.

Sources said that this clause would be a litmus test for government sincerity towards wildlife if the new act made it to the assembly.

According to sources, similar efforts were made to revise the Forest Act 1927 but nothing came out of the lengthy deliberations held with stakeholders.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a forest department official said the idea to revise the forest act had been officially abandoned because the revised document was seen as too “complicated” to understand and implement.

“The consensus was to continue with the old British law, which is quite simple and comprehensive,” he said, adding that only a few clauses in the old law needed amendments.

When contacted, Forest and Wildlife Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, who has recently taken over the post, explained that the wildlife act draft had been sent to the law department for vetting and soon would be presented in the assembly.

“I have taken over this job only two months ago. We are keeping our fingers crossed on the new act,” he said.

On the Forest Act, he said it was already in place in each province, including Sindh, which might bring some amendment in the (forest) law if it is found to have some conflict with the national forest policy.

“This policy will serve as a guideline and help provinces take a uniform approach towards forests,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2017