Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB): Role, Functions and Importance

Explore the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), its role in combating wildlife crime, and its importance in conservation efforts in India.

Context: A study reveals that Punjab, one of India’s least forested states (less than 3.6% forest cover), has become a critical hub for high-intensity wildlife crime and international trafficking networks.

Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB)

The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) is a statutory body established by the Government of India to combat organized wildlife crime and illegal trade in wildlife and their products. Functioning under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the bureau plays a crucial role in coordinating enforcement efforts across states, strengthening intelligence networks, and supporting agencies in the implementation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. With rising threats to biodiversity from poaching and trafficking, WCCB serves as a key institution in safeguarding India’s rich wildlife heritage.

Statutory Body: Established under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (amended in 2006).
Headquarters: New Delhi.
Regional Offices: Five regional offices are located in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, and Jabalpur. It also maintains three sub-regional offices and various units at major border points.

Mandate

Intelligence Collection: To collect and collate intelligence related to organised wildlife crime activities and disseminate the same to the State and other enforcement agencies for immediate action.
Centralised Database: Maintaining a data bank on wildlife crimes and criminals to help in identifying patterns and repeat offenders (e.g., the Wildlife Crime Database Management System).
Inter-Agency Coordination: Coordinating actions among various stakeholders, including the State Forest Departments, Police, Customs, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
International Cooperation: Acting as the nodal agency for international organisations like INTERPOL, the CITES Secretariat, and the World Customs Organisation (WCO) to track transboundary trafficking.
Capacity Building: Conducting specialised training for enforcement officers on wildlife laws, species identification, and digital forensics.

Major Initiatives

Operation Save Kurma: Focused on the illegal trade of live turtles and tortoises.
Operation Soft Gold: Targeted at the illegal trade of Shahtoosh shawls (derived from the Tibetan Antelope).
Operation Birbil: Aimed at curbing the illegal trade in wild cat and bear species.
Operation Thunder Bird: A multi-national operation coordinated with INTERPOL against wildlife crime.
Operation Wildnet: Launched to monitor and counter the increasing use of social media and e-commerce platforms for illegal wildlife trade.