15 Dec 2020


The Maharashtra forest department is set to be the first state in India to have a dedicated action plan for conservation of pangolins – the world’s most trafficked animal.

Pangolins are listed in Schedule I of India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, implying the highest degree of protection. The principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF-wildlife) recently got nod from the state for its proposal to form a study group to prepare a five-year conservation action plan for pangolins. “We have been informed that the proposal has been accepted,” said Nitin Kakodkar, PCCF-wildlife, adding, “The committee will look into aspects such as population estimation, distribution, habitat protection and most importantly, illicit trafficking hotspots. Unlike tigers and leopards, these are species that have never been in focus despite having a huge ecological role.”

M Maranko, regional deputy director (west), Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), said, “Maharashtra will be the first state to have such a plan.

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