The Minister was speaking at the inaugural function of the Zonal Conference of Field Directors of Tiger Reserves of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, organised by the State Forest Department.

The proposed bureau will include personnel from all the law enforcement agencies in the country and will work as an institutionalised structure on the national and regional level.

Prabhu said while the main aim of this bureau is to break international links in the wildlife trade, it will also be a specialised agency to control domestic wildlife trade.

Prabhu said the basic aspect of conservation of wildlife was prevention of poaching. Despite several efforts, however, incidents of poaching are on the rise. He said unless the domestic and international wildlife trade linkages were broken, poaching could not be curbed. The specialbureau would seek to smash these linkages with the help of forest officials, especially those on the field, he said.

The Minister called upon field directors to discuss their role in this regard during the workshop. ``Unless you provide the intelligence in the form of clues and hints, no action can be initiated in the matter,'' he said.

Earlier, the Minister said forest officials faced the twin challenge of convincing citizens that whatever was being done to protect wildlife, particularly tigers was necessary, and the international agencies, that efforts are being made in this direction.

Prabhu indicated that tiger conservation projects may be opened up for adoption by international as well as domestic agencies. He, however, clarified that adoption would only entail monetary involvement, while the management will be controlled by the Department.

Khaire said he would ensure immediate implementation of suggestions made at the workshop.

Satish Tripathi, Secretary (Forests), Government of Maharashtra,called upon officers to develop a love for their job, so that they could sensitise the common people regarding the issue. He also asked them to discuss the scientific aspects of conservation.