Guwahati: The inaugural event for the year-long event to celebrate the 35th Anniversary Celebration of pioneer biodiversity conservation organization Aaranyak took place in Guwahati today. Arvind Kumar Chaurasia, Additional Commissioner, of the Indian Revenue Service ( Customs and Indirect Taxes) and the current Deputy Director of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) attended the event as the keynote speaker. And he emphasised the importance of the conservation of nature and wildlife in his speech.
“Given that the burgeoning illegal wildlife crimes/trade pose a grave threat to national and global security because of the intricate link with terrorism, illegal drug trade and arms smuggling, the global chain of this crime must be busted with a suitable global law that will facilitate synergy in action against wildlife crimes across the world so as to ensure certain punishment to wildlife criminals,” Chaurasia said.
The WCCB official further emphasized on use of AI tools for the prevention of wildlife crimes. “Investigation officers across the world must be empowered to carry out scientific investigation. That way, wildlife criminals can be punished with certainty,” he said. He congratulated Aaranyak for its enormous efforts that has sustained and matured the organisation over the years.
Doyen of nature conservation in the Northeast and a former civil service officer Anwaruddin Choudhury who is known as the “Birdman of Assam” was conferred the Third Lifetime Achievement Award of Aaranyak on the occasion. The Chief Secretary of Assam Ravi Kota who couldn’t attend the programme as the Chief Guest conveyed a congratulatory message to Aaranyak on the completion of its 35-year-long conservation journey.
Founder Secretary-General and the CEO of Aaranyak, Dr Bibhab Kumar Talukdar made a presentation depicting the 35-year-long journey of Aaranyak which, he said, has provided a platform and employment opportunities to the young generation of conservationists across the region to pursue their career goals in the field.
A documentary film produced by Aaranyak on its 35-year-long journey, a photography exhibition and release of a photography bookmarked today’s programme. Team Aaranyak paid rich tributes at the beginning of the programme to four of its conservationists – Meherun Nesha, Ananta Borah, Salina Sultana and Bipul Das — who had died very young.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, the president of Aaranyak Ranjan Kumar Bhuyan said, “Setting up of an organization is much easier than sustaining it meaningfully for a long sticking to its basic goals and Aaranyak has accomplished this Herculean task over the last 35 years because of its spirited team efforts and hoped that it would continue for years to come.
Noted wildlife forensic scientist Udayan Borthakur, an executive committee member of Aaranyak and convenor of the core committee for the celebration of the 35th Anniversary expressed his profound gratitude to the entire team of Aaranyak for relentless efforts to make the event a success. He also explained the road map of the year-long anniversary celebration. He also announced the plan to confer the Grassroots Conservation Award 2024 as part of the celebration.
