Karnataka Forest Department launches HAWK, a centralized wildlife crime management system supported by NTT DATA

Bengaluru, India – October 27, 2023 – The Karnataka Forest Department and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is pleased to announce that NTT DATA, a digital business and IT services leader, is supporting the development of the HAWK (Hostile Activity Watch Kernel) system. This is a specialized software system, which will be the nerve center of the state forest department as part of their modernization initiatives.

HAWK is used to monitor all aspects of forest and wildlife crime, such as the death of wildlife, suspected criminal activities, and movement of suspicious vehicles. Information regarding these and other incidents of interest from the field are input into a centralized system so that effective and pre-emptive responses, including counteraction, can be initiated.

Sri. Subhash K. Malkhede, IFS, PCCF (Wildlife) & Chief Wildlife Warden, Karnataka Forest Department said, “The HAWK system will help the department to manage and monitor data regarding forest and wildlife crime across the state in real-time. This will increase the overall efficiency of the department in crime management.”

Further, Mr. Vivek Menon, Founder and Executive Director of Wildlife Trust of India stated, “We initiated the development of HAWK as there are no such systems present in the country to manage information regarding wildlife crime and criminal activities. We are grateful to NTT DATA for their support in bringing this visionary initiative to fruition.”

A team from the Karnataka Forest Department's IT cell headed by Mr. Biswajit Mishra initiated the customization process of HAWK approximately one year ago to ensure that the migration from a manual system into a fully digital one is a smooth transition.

The state has already started the digitization of legacy data into the new system which will help the department build various databases covering information about habitual offenders, locations, methods of hunting, etc. So far, over 300 forest officers have undergone online training and this year, there is a plan to train 500 more officials. At least 5 staff members from each forest range in the state will be trained by an expert team to use the HAWK system and a technical team is in place to provide real-time assistance to the new users.

“We take pride in championing this exceptional program that empowers wildlife and forest conservation while harmonizing perfectly with NTT DATA’s mission to foster technological innovations for a sustainable world,” said Gauri Bahulkar, Director, Global Corporate Social Responsibility, NTT DATA Services. “We are equally delighted to be a part of the positive influence driven by the Wildlife Trust of India in raising awareness in this critical conservation issue. Their unwavering commitment and efforts will bear fruit for generations to come.”

“Forest and wildlife crime is a major conservation challenge faced by the department. Migrating from the paper-based system into digital systems will help us greatly in countering criminal activities and is essential to keep our system updated to meet the new challenges including wildlife crime in cyberspace,” said Mr. Ajay Mishra Conservator of Forest, Head of the Information Communication & Technology Department ICT cell.

Frontline forest staff will be trained to use the system across the state and a dedicated helpdesk will assist them in the integration process under the supervision of the Chief Wildlife Warden’s office.

About Wildlife Trust of India Wildlife

Trust of India (WTI) is a conservation organization established in 1998 with a mission to conserve nature, especially endangered species and threatened habitats, in partnership with communities and governments. In its 25 years of operations, WTI has saved more than 48,000 animal lives, trained and equipped over 20,000 frontline forest staff, and assisted the govt. in creating 7 Protected Areas, sensitized 26 lakh children to conservation, protected almost 1200 sq km of natural habitat including mangroves and coral reefs and assisted enforcement agencies in combatting wildlife crimes.

About Karnataka Forest Department

The Karnataka Forest Department has the primary mandate of protecting the forests and wildlife, conserving the rich biodiversity of the state and ensuring that the ecological balance of the forest ecosystems is maintained. The total recorded forest area of the State is 43,382 sq. km and it has a network of Protected Areas with 5 Tiger Reserves, 30 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 15 Conservation Reserves and 1 Community Reserve.