Wildlife Wars: India's battle against eco-terrorism and global trafficking

India's biodiversity crisis has escalated into a national security threat, as wildlife trafficking increasingly funds terrorism, insurgency, and organized crime.

- PROF. NISHAKANT OJHA

FROM CONSERVATION TO COUNTERING TERRORISM A new policy vision is imperative.

India, home to some of the planet's most iconic and endangered species, is facing an escalating crisis: wildlife trafficking is no longer just an environmental issue—it is now a matter of national security. Criminal syndicates are targeting India's tigers, elephants, rhinos, and pangolins to fund terrorism and insurgency, often in alliance with transnational networks operating across Southeast Asia and Africa. As the line between ecocrime and terrorism blurs, India must evolve from traditional conservation to adopting counterterrorism-grade technology, intelligence, and cooperation.

This ground level findings presents a comprehensive policy analysis and proposes a futuristic Anti-Wildlife Poaching System (AWPS), drawing lessons from global best practices—especially South Africa's Rhino DNA Index System (RhODIS)—to address India's critical conservation and security gaps.

NEW FACE OF ECO-TERRORISM Eco-terrorism—the use of environmental crimes to fund insurgency or militant activity—has become a strategic weapon in the hands of traffickers. In India's Northeast and along the Indo-Myanmar border, tiger bones, rhino horns, and pangolin scales are trafficked to finance insurgent operations. In South Africa, rhino poaching syndicates with military-grade weapons breach parks like Kruger, with funds allegedly linked to transnational arms and drug networks.

These networks not only threaten biodiversity but also challenge sovereignty, destabilize rural communities, and corrupt law enforcement institutions.

INDIA'S BROKEN SHIELD A. Weak Law Enforcement and Judicial Apathy

B. Understaffed, Underequipped Forest Forces