Expert Recommends Dedicated Wildlife Crime Control Division in Maharashtra, Modelled on Kerala’s HAWK and FIC Systems

Maharashtra: In a significant policy suggestion aimed at strengthening wildlife protection, noted conservationist Rohan Bhate Shah has proposed the establishment of a dedicated Wildlife Crime Control Division in Maharashtra, drawing inspiration from Kerala’s advanced enforcement frameworks, including the Hostile Activity Watch Kernel (HAWK) and the Forest Intelligence Cell (FIC).

Shah, a former Honorary Wildlife Warden based in Karad, Satara district, has formally communicated his proposal to the state’s Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), headquartered in Nagpur. He currently serves on the governing council of the Bombay Natural History Society and has previously volunteered with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Highlighting the growing complexity of wildlife crime, Shah noted that illegal hunting, trafficking of wildlife derivatives, and organised transnational networks have transformed the nature of such offences. “Addressing these challenges requires specialised intelligence gathering, coordinated enforcement mechanisms, and robust digital systems to track offenders and wildlife-related crimes,” he stated.

As a model, he pointed to Kerala’s HAWK system, a centralised digital platform developed in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust of India. Operational since August 2020, the platform enables authorities to document wildlife crimes, maintain offender databases, track wildlife mortality, and monitor ongoing investigations. The system has significantly improved transparency, intelligence sharing, and accountability by reducing reliance on manual record-keeping and minimising the risk of data manipulation.

Complementing this technological framework is Kerala’s Forest Intelligence Cell (FIC), a specialised unit tasked with investigating and preventing serious wildlife offences, including ivory poaching, organised trafficking, and sandalwood smuggling. The cell plays a pivotal role in intelligence gathering, inter-agency coordination, and dismantling organised criminal networks.

Shah further emphasised that Kerala’s enforcement model is strengthened through close coordination with national agencies such as the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, alongside regular capacity-building initiatives and training programmes under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The success of the HAWK system has already prompted adoption in other states, including Karnataka.

Given Maharashtra’s vast biodiversity and ecological significance, Shah argued that the creation of a dedicated Wildlife Crime Control Division—supported by a digital intelligence and monitoring platform—would be both timely and essential. Such a unit could focus on intelligence collection, crime analysis, offender database management, coordination with national enforcement bodies, and monitoring wildlife crime trends across the state.

He also recommended incorporating the registration, investigation, and successful prosecution of wildlife offences as a Key Responsibility Area (KRA) for wildlife officers, a move he believes would enhance accountability and encourage proactive enforcement.

Drawing from his own experience, Shah noted that he has informally supported the Maharashtra Forest Department over the years by developing an intelligence network and sharing actionable inputs. These efforts, he said, have contributed to enforcement actions leading to the arrest of approximately 175 individuals involved in wildlife crimes, along with significant seizures, including live protected species, ivory, tiger and leopard skins, antlers, corals, and other wildlife derivatives.