THE RACE IS ON: WHICH COUNTRY WILL BE THE FIRST TO SUCCESSFULLY USE DNA BARCODING EVIDENCE TO CONVICT WILDLIFE CRIMES IN A COURT OF LAW!
Google, famous for their
internet search engine, has made a US$3 million Global Impact Award to
the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC for a project on endangered
species. South Africa is one of six countries selected as partners in the
project. The others are Kenya, Nigeria, Mexico, Brazil and a Southeast
Asian country to be selected soon. The Barcode
of Wildlife project will take DNA barcoding to the next level in terms of
real-world practical applications were we will test the effectiveness of
DNA barcode evidence in investigation and prosecution of wildlife crime by
combining scientific research and law
enforcement to protect endangered species. This is an effort to assist border
and law enforcement officials, park rangers and other regulatory officials in
the detection of illegal trafficking of protected species, which is currently ranked amongs the most
lucrative industries in the world, slightly less than illegal drugs, human
trafficking and arms dealing. The identification of species is generally
work for the taxonomists, but this is not possible at every border post, and in
many cases the specimens have crossed the border before an identification could
be made by a professional. If border officials, for example, confiscate a box
of white powder - is it ground up rhino horn, lion bone, an endangered plant
root or something more innocent? If a piece of red meat is presented - does it
come from a cow, or from a primate? Identification can be difficult as
traffickers are taking more drastic measure to cover their tracks. These
questions, and many others like them, can only be answered by using DNA
technologies such as DNA barcoding.
DNA barcoding was proposed
in 2003 as a way to identify species rapidly and cheaply using a short,
standarised DNA sequence. According to Dr David Schindel from the Smithsonian
Institute in Washington, it can be used to identify a species in the same way that
the universal product code - the barcodes used on products in a supermarket -
distinguish the product that you are buying from countless others on the shelf.
DNA barcoding is similar in the sense that once a reference library has been
created (by sequencing the barcode region of DNA) it would allow the user to
quickly look up and identify the species in hand.
BWP takes this to the DNA barcoding to the next level in terms of real-world, practical applications.
South Africa has been especially active in the collection of DNA material from both plants and animals for this data bank.
BWP takes this to the DNA barcoding to the next level in terms of real-world, practical applications.
The project will bring
together people from all sectors to ensure that all the relevant officials have
access to this technology. Meetings have already been attended by a variety of
parties, including the Department of Environmental Affairs, airport customs
officials, the South African Police Service, SANBI, prosecutors, as well as
scientists from universities and museums to ensure that this truly is a
cross-frontier operation, with all participants realising the importance of the
opportunity at hand, and tackling their respective roles with passion and
commitment.
The ultimate goal of the project is that towards the end of 2014 DNA
barcoding evidence will be used in a court of law. That implies that within two
years, somebody will go to jail for illegal poaching and trafficking, due to
this unique and groundbreaking research and technology.
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