Tackling One of the World's Most Overlooked Wildlife Trade Crises

The Gangetic Plains of northern India are globally important for freshwater turtles and tortoises, supporting more than half of India's turtle diversity. Yet this landscape is also a major source for the illegal wildlife trade, which continues to drive declines in some of South Asia's most threatened turtle species. While law enforcement records document thousands of turtles being seized from traffickers over the last decade, these seizures represent only a small fraction of the animals removed from the wild. The trade affects at least 14 threatened species in the region, including Critically Endangered and Endangered turtles whose populations are already under immense pressure from habitat degradation and river modification. Conserving these species requires more than rescue operations and law enforcement. It demands an understanding of the people, motivations, and systems that enable the trade to persist. At the India Turtle Conservation Programme (ITCP), we work at the intersection of conservation, communities, and crime prevention to reduce the illegal trade in turtles while creating pathways for long-term coexistence between people and wildlife.

Why We Work on Turtle Trade

Illegal turtle trade is not only a conservation issue; it is also a social and economic challenge. Many of the communities linked to poaching operate under conditions of limited livelihood opportunities, social marginalization, and restricted access to government services. In several areas, wildlife harvesting has become embedded within local economies and social networks over generations. Experience has shown that enforcement alone cannot solve this problem. Lasting change requires a combination of strong law enforcement, community engagement, alternative opportunities, and a deeper understanding of the factors that drive participation in illegal trade. Our approach is therefore built around reducing both the supply of turtles and the incentives that sustain trafficking networks.

What We Do

Rescue, Rehabilitation and Return to the Wild. Thousands of turtles confiscated from traffickers arrive dehydrated, injured, stressed, and often close to death. Working closely with government agencies, we provide emergency care, rehabilitation, species- specific husbandry, and scientifically informed release protocols to maximize survival and recovery. Over the past decade, our team has supported the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of more than 41,000 turtles belonging to 15 species, including several of India's most threatened freshwater turtles.

Strengthening Frontline Enforcement

Effective conservation depends upon capable and confident frontline staff. We work with Forest Departments and enforcement agencies across northern India to improve capacity for species identification, wildlife crime investigation, evidence collection, legal procedures, and safe handling of confiscated animals. To date, more than 2,500 personnel have been trained through our programmes, creating a growing network of practitioners equipped to respond to turtle trafficking and related wildlife crimes.

Working with Communities

Illegal wildlife trade is not solely a conservation issue; it is also a social and economic challenge. Long-term solutions require addressing the factors that drive people to participate in poaching and trafficking. Our work focuses on the Kanjar community, a historically marginalized nomadic group living in several trade-prone landscapes of Uttar Pradesh. Through seizure records, law-enforcement intelligence, and field investigations, we identified Pakri (Sultanpur) and Gandhinagar (Amethi) as key source villages linked to turtle trade. More than 50% of documented turtle consignments in our focal landscape have been associated with these areas.

Over the last four years, we have invested in building trust and long-term engagement with these communities through youth sensitization,women's empowerment initiatives, skill development, and linkages to government welfare schemes. We have trained 71 women in alternative livelihood skills, with 10 women currently engaged in candle-making enterprises. To support income generation, we are facilitating product sales through online platform and a dedicated retail outlet in C. G city wetland in Lucknow near Phoenix Palassio Mall, Gomti Nagar. Through these efforts, we aim to reduce dependence on illegal turtle and associated aquatic wildlife trade while improving community well-being.

Understanding the Drivers of Trade

Reducing wildlife crime requires understanding the people and systems behind it. We apply conservation criminology and social science approaches to investigate the motivations, trade routes, supply chains, and financial incentives that sustain turtle trafficking. By generating evidence on how illegal trade networks operate, we are able to identify strategic intervention points, strengthen enforcement efforts, and inform conservation policy and practice. Our

Vision

We envision a future where freshwater turtles thrive in healthy river ecosystems and local communities benefit from sustainable and legal livelihood opportunities. By combining rescue and rehabilitation, enforcement support, community engagement, and research, ITCP is developing a scalable and evidence-based model for reducing illegal turtle trade across the Gangetic Plains. Through this integrated approach, we aim to secure the future of some of the world's most threatened turtle species while improving outcomes for the people who share their landscapes.