Regional Wildlife Forensics Needs Analysis

April 5th 2010: This week the ASEAN-WEN Programme Coordination Unit (PCU) circulated questionnaires to all ASEAN nation focal points for dissemination to scientific laboratories and enforcement agencies where wildlife offences are dealt with. The questionnaires form part of the project’s Needs Analaysis, and aim to gather information on the current capacity and training needs of the ASEAN region.

Two types of questionnaire were circulated: one for enforcement officers, asking questions about the type of scenes that officers encounter, which species they need to recognise, and what is done with samples when forensic testing is appropriate. The second questionnaire asked laboratory scientists about their current capacity to conduct various forensic tests, as well as their training needs.

The questionnaires form a substantial part of a systematic regional Needs Analysis. Any information in addition to the questionnaires can be extremely helpful to make sure that the training and network development from this project is appropriately focused. If you would like to contact the project manager with any information or questions, please use the Contact link on this website.

If you have received a questionnaire, please follow the instructions on the questionnaire to complete it, and email it to the project manager Dr Jennifer Mailley by 23rd April.

If you have not received a questionnaire and would like to participate, please first check with your managers whether a questionnaire has been received by your division, agency or university. It is possible that questionnaires have been sent to colleagues. If no questionnaire has been sent, please use the Contact link on this website to inform the project manager, detailing where you work and who you have checked with about the questionnaire. The project manager can then liase with your national focal point via PCU.

Any contact from forensic scientists, researchers, enforcement officers and associated agency management is welcome at any point in the project. Please use the Contact link on this website to email the project manager Dr Jennifer Mailley. You can send questions, comments or information you think might be of interest. Thank you.