Government of Nepal

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

National Forensic Science Laboratory

Forensic Wildlife Parts and their Product Identification and Individualization Using DNA Barcoding

Earth is losing wildlife at an alarming rate and only a few new species are being discovered each year. Illegal trade of wildlife parts and their products is worth more than 20 billion per year in the black market [1]. In Nepal, every year millions worth of animal parts such as ivory, tiger skin and bone, bear bile, rhino horn, and other wildlife materials are illegally transported across the borders mostly via Tibet. This kind of illegal trade creates a serious threat to the global as well as to the local diversity either directly or indirectly.

Consequently, the role of international organizations such as WWF (World Wildlife Fund), IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and CITIES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) becomes more valuable than ever in protecting
wildlife and their habitat. Habitat destruction causes an increase of wildlife poaching due to their ever increasing the vulnerability of being caught by humans, so that wildlife trade should also be cautiously examined and monitored for any critical illegal transactions