KINZANG DORJI TSHERING
Thimphu
In a decisive move to combat one of the world’s most lucrative and destructive criminal trades, the Department of Forests and Park Services (DoFPS) has launched the National Zero Poaching Strategy 2025–2029, aiming to eliminate wildlife poaching and illegal trade in Bhutan.
An evolution of the first strategy implemented from 2017 to 2021, the new plan forms a crucial pillar in Bhutan’s ongoing biodiversity conservation efforts, which face mounting pressures both locally and globally. Globally, illegal wildlife trade is a multibillion-dollar black market valued at between USD 7 billion and USD 23 billion annually.
It ranks alongside drugs, arms, and human trafficking as one of the most profitable and dangerous illicit trades. Operated by transnational criminal networks, the industry targets thousands of species across more than 160 countries including elephants, tigers, rhinos, pangolins, and bears.
Its impacts extend beyond ecological devastation and risk of extinction to human costs, with park rangers losing their lives and communities caught between survival and conservation.
Despite its small size and extensive protected landscapes, Bhutan is not immune to the illegal wildlife trade. Since 2016, poaching incidents and wildlife contraband seizures have risen noticeably.
The country’s strategic location bordering India and China — with porous high-altitude routes and limited detection capacity at check posts — has made it both a source and a transit point for trafficking.
Domestically, illegal trade in species such as musk deer, Asiatic black bears, and protected flora like red sanders is growing, often driven by demand in traditional medicine and luxury goods markets. Between 2020 and 2023, poaching was detected in all districts, with incidents ranging from one to 37 per 25 square kilometres. Smuggling hotspots include Thimphu, Sarpang, Chukha, Haa, Paro, Mongar, Samdrupjongkhar, and Trashigang.
The strategy will be implemented in coordination with the Royal Bhutan Police, Royal Bhutan Army, judiciary, customs and immigration services, and international partners. Financial and technical support has come from WWF-Bhutan, the Bhutan for Life Project, and the US Department of State through the Countering Wildlife Trade Project.
Oversight will be led by the National Wildlife Crime Control Committee, established in 2023, to ensure interagency coordination and policy enforcement.
This high-level body will meet annually to review progress, address legal gaps, and adapt to emerging threats. Frontline enforcement will be carried out by more than 1,200 technical staff across 14 divisional forest offices, 10 national parks, and nearly 100 range and beat offices.
The National Zero Poaching Strategy is built on six interconnected pillars. The first calls for improved data gathering on poaching trends through SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) patrolling and geospatial analysis using FIRMS (Forest Information Reporting and Monitoring System).
While Bhutan has achieved a 27 percent increase in its tiger population and earned international recognition through Conservation Assured Tiger Standards accreditation, enforcement gaps persist, especially in hotspots such as Thimphu, Chukha, Sarpang, and Trashigang.
The second pillar focuses on expanding the use of technology. Less than 10 percent of enforcement units previously had access to modern surveillance tools. The strategy prioritises scaling up drones, sensor-triggered camera systems like PoacherCams and TrailGuard, and integrating SMART with criminal intelligence databases. DNA forensics remains a challenge, as Bhutan currently depends on overseas laboratories.
The third pillar addresses institutional capacity building. While forest officers are empowered under the Forest and Nature Conservation Act 2023 to search, seize, and arrest without a warrant, weak legal training has led to the loss of court cases.
Plans include strengthening legal education, producing species identification manuals, and providing specialised wildlife crime training for investigators and prosecutors.
The fourth pillar emphasises community engagement. With only eight percent of Bhutan’s land arable, many rural livelihoods rely on forest resources, making communities vulnerable to participation in illegal trade.
The strategy proposes strengthening local stewardship, promoting alternative incomes such as ecotourism, formalising community patrols, and creating a structured, incentivised network of informants.
The fifth pillar seeks to improve legal proceedings and judicial outcomes. The 2023 Forest and Nature Conservation Act introduced stricter penalties, including fourth-degree felony charges three to five years’ imprisonment for poaching Schedule I species. The strategy aims to ensure more effective prosecution and sentencing.
The final pillar focuses on enhancing regional and international cooperation. Recognizing the transboundary nature of wildlife crime, the strategy aims to strengthen partnerships with neighbouring countries, share intelligence, and participate actively in global networks to combat trafficking and ensure coordinated enforcement across borders.
