World Day Against Child Labour 12 June 2011 This year's World Day against Child Labour puts the spotlight on the plight of 115 million children involved in hazardous work – more than half of the estimated 215 million child labourers in the world. ... He is engaged in tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) seedlings (locally named ‘meen’) collection in Dayapur, West Bengal, India, very near to the tiger population (other side of the river bank) of Sundarbans Reserve Forest. Tiger Prawn Seed Collection : The Hazards Children engaged in tiger prawn seedlings collection leave the education system early in favour of lucrative on the spot earning of about Rs.10–15 (U.S. $25–30 cents) per day. They are prone to tiger attack and as they are always working in the waist-deep river water, so shark (locally named ‘Cammot’) and crocodyle (Crcodylus porosus) attack is also common. In addition, due to direct and prolonged contact with the seawater, they also develop waterborne diseases, skin infections, reproductive tract disease (in girl children) and some contiguous diseases. Children are also subjected to varieties of economic exploitation by the traders and brokers of the prwan seed trade network who collect the seedlings from the river bank and transport them to the main market. Tiger Prawn Seed Collection : The Ecological Impact Shrimp exports constitute 75% of total marine products exported to US and European markets from West Bengal. There is also a large demand for tiger prawn seedlings from Bangladesh, resulting in substantial illegal crossborder trade. Tiger prawn seedlings collection is one of the greatest threats to the Sundarbans’ mangrove ecology. Thousands of people have turned to collecting tiger prawn seedlings for ready cash. They use nylon nets, which are dragged along the riverbanks. In the process of harvesting of prawn seedlings, around 50 species of finfish juvenile and 28 species of shellfish juveniles are wasted per net per day, making the activity highly unsustainable. The destruction of seed of finfish and shellfish has been estimated at a total of 454.6 million during the collection seasons in a year. Collectors also destroy juveniles of other prawn species, crabs, mollusks and a huge bulk of holoplankters and meroplankters. Constant dragging of nets along the coast and tidal creeks leads to soil erosion, uprooting the mangrove seedlings and saltmarsh vegetation (like Ipomea pescarpae, Sueda maritima sp.). Many environmental activists think that tiger prawn seedlings collection is one of the causes of recent ecological disaster in Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve. Source: Arabinda N. Chowdhury, Ranajit Mondal, Arabinda Brahma and Mrinal K.Biswas (2008) Eco-psychiatry and Environmental Conservation: Study from Sundarban Delta, India. Environmental Health Insights 2 : 61–76

This is where wildlife crimes are solved using forensic methods. Illegal wildlife parts (e.g. skins, hair, organs, bones) seized from wildlife criminals are studied here, as well as products made from them, and fake/imitation products too. For instance, seized shaatoosh shawls (made 100% from Chiru wool) are brought here for analysis, as well as other shawls that are being falsely passed off as shaatoosh. The same with genuine tiger skins and fake skins e.g. painted cattle skins. In a positive (who'd believe it?) example of Indo-U.S. cooperation, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service was consulted when this lab opened in 1995, and Indian scientists affiliated to this Institute still cooperate with their American counterparts on various joint projects.