Save Wild Life free essay sample

Reflecting on the conservation measures adopted during the past year, point out that through political will and commitment most of the threatened wildlife and their habitats can still be saved We were only 300 million Indians when the British left their most prized imperial possession. In just over half a century we have more than tripled our population and lost more than 50 lakh hectares of our natural forests. With the country needing to find food, water, shelter, energy, timber and medicine for a new mouth every alternate second, our forests and wild landscapes face fresh and bigger threats. With this burgeoning growth in human population certain species of our wildlife face risk of extinction than ever before.The Indian Cheetah has been driven to extinction, the brow-antlered deer is facing the risk of extinction, the natural habitat of the tiger has shrunk to less than one percent of its former ranger, the home of Asiatic lion is pushed to one small corner in Gujrat, the habitat range of the Indian one-horned rhinoceros is now restricted to a few pockets in North East India, the rainforest habitat of the lion-tailed macaque is diminishing faster than we expected, the great pied hornbill which shares its habitat with the lion tailed macaque can fly away forever , well protected habitat of the Indian Elephant could be less than two percent of our countrys land area. As natural history writer Tim Radford truly commented in his recent article in the Guardian about wildlife extinction â€Å"the first five great extinction of life in the history of the planet were all natural: from volcanic catastrophe, climate change, asteroid impact, or even deadly radiation from an exploding star. But, this one is the unwitting work of humankind†. Wildlife week and the year that was Yet another year has quietly passed by. Many of us might not have given a serious thought to wildlife conservation.While we believe that this should be a hotly debated issue, the tangible and intangible benefits we receive from wildlife conservation directly concerns over 75 percent of our countrys population who depend upon the traditional occupation rainfed agriculture. This apart, it concerns most of us in several different ways both known and unknown. It is time again for all of us to think about the needs of wildlife conservation and pull up our socks to perform the onerous task of conservation on-the-ground. We need to analyze the various aspects that have affected the future survival of our wildlife species. However the last year has seen some major gains for wildlife conservation.There have been several positive initiatives and victories for the conservation corps of our country. Various policies, decisions and initiatives by the government, judiciary and interested conservation organisations have directly or indirectly affected the management of our wild areas. Strong laws-stronger enforcement Amidst all the gloom and doom for wildlife, the year 2003 has actually seen major gains on the legal front. In a rare show of consensus the parliament of India passed the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2002. The amended (Wildlife Protection) Act, is stronger with several new clauses and important amendments making it the bulwark and guardian of wildlife and its habitat.Penalties for hunting wild animals have been increased to a minimum of three years in order to ensure that killing of endangered animals including the tiger and elephant, now qualify as non-bailable offenses. A new clause now empowers enforcement authorities to effect forfeiture of property derived from illegal hunting or trade of wildlife. To ensure better protection of wildlife habitats, illega l encroaches within national parks or wildlife sanctuaries can now be evicted and structures removed; no construction of commercial tourist lodges, hotels and zoos can be allowed without the prior approval of the National Board for Wildlife. The commercial exploitation of forest produce has now been made illegal. The judiciary too has joined hands towards conservation of forests and wildlife.To assist and effectively monitor the implementation and compliance of several landmark orders, the Supreme Court directed the Union Government to constitute the Central Empowered Committee (CEC). Since then the CEC has gone on to make several important recommendations on critical matters concerning wildlife that include winding up of mining in Kudremukh, complete ban on logging including removal of dead and wind fallen trees in protected areas and ban on regularisation of encroached forest land. All these have been major gains for wildlife conservation that conservationists can actually cheer about. Events in Karnataka The past year has been a fruitful year for the conservation scenario in Karnataka.Several important events and initiatives were taken up during this period that would set a new trend in the protected areas of our sta te. The apex court of our country passed a landmark judgment ordering the closure of the ecologically devastating mining operations carried out in Kudremukh National Park. This rainforest habitat is a biodiversity treasure trove and home to several endangered wildlife species including the lion-tailed macaque. The decision to stop mining would not only save such niche specialist species but also protect the livelihood of millions of marginal farmers dependent on the Bhadra, Tunga and Nethravathi rivers that originate in the forests of Kudremukh.The court clearly rejected the arguments of economic benefits in favour of the ecological benefits for the society from these fragile eco-system. This is viewed as a land mark judgment in the history of wildlife conservation in India. ‘Wildlife First’ a pro-active wildlife organisation had approached the Supreme court against the continuation of the mining activity and in association with several other wildlife, environment and farme rs organisations spearheaded a major campaign against renewal of the mining lease. Positive Political Will The Chief Minister of Karnataka in response to public opinion took an environmentally sound and socially responsible decision to save the Kudremukh National Park from the ravages of mining. In yet another positive move in August 2003 the Chief Minister, in response to an appeal by conservation organisations, took a visionary decision of stopping timber extraction from the forested catchments of Kodagu; directed senior officials of the Government to develop a plan for consolidation of the area as a wildlife reserve and approach the UNESCO which is considering a proposal to notify the area as a World Heritage Site. This decision assumes greater importance in the wake of poor monsoons in Kaveri delta and the severe drought faced by the state and will go a long way in protecting the watershed of Kaveri, the river of hope and prosperity of several million farmers in the states of Karnataka and Tamilnadu. For such positive political will to actually translate to on the ground action a dynamic and responsive bureaucracy needs to be in place. The new Chief Wildlife Warden of Karnataka has exhibited such dynamism by proactively initiating several systemic changes after taking ch arge of the Wildlife Wing which urgently needed priming.He has already articulated a strategy that includes consolidation of habitats, strengthening of protection and minimal developmental works like roads, buildings and so on inside wildlife reserves. Emerging Solutions The voluntary resettlement of people residing inside Bhadra Tiger Reserve has emerged as a model project and is more or less complete with most of the families shifting out of the reserve. Signs of wildlife returning to the earlier inhabited areas are already clear. This project is also an archetype of excellent co-ordination between government officials and non-government organisations. The success story of Bhadra has infused hope in several thousand villagers severed from the world inside our wildlife reserves and bereft of even basic amenities.There have been instances of villagers and forest officials from other areas already visiting the Bhadra voluntary resettlement project to note down the crucial points of the project. While the entire country is groping for an ecologically correct and socially practical solution to the vexed problem of forest encroachments, a small but effective initiative has been implemented in Kudremukh National Park. In an innovative effort, eight pastoralist families who had encroached forest land in Kudremukh National Park were voluntarily resettled outside the national park with support from individual private donors. The families were given suitable compensation and provided support to purchase agricultural lan d outside the national park by wildlife organisations.We believe that these kinds of initiatives that offer pragmatic solutions to consolidate prime wildlife habitats and permanently resolve human-wildlife conflict holds considerable promise since this unique effort can also be replicated in other important protected areas through constructive private public partnerships. Though wildlife conservation is largely perceived as the protection of large charismatic mammals for the indulgence of urban elite, the overall benefits for the entire society accrue through saving an entire ecosystem that includes even micro-organisms is immense. We might not understand the prominence of our wildlife both large and small, until the consequences emerge, which by then would be irreparable. These complex ecological webs which contain yet unexplored wild genes of food plants, fibers, chemicals and designs are invaluable biodiversity assets that is critical for survival of human kind.So many intangible benefits our forests provide human beings across the world without any expectations in return. It is therefore imperative for this generation to save this biological treasure for the future. This casts an important duty on wildlife organisations, forest officials, governments, communities and donors to focus and redouble efforts for the cause of long-term conservation of our countrys wild heritage. We still have nearly four percent of our land area protected as wildlife reserves, if we have the political will and the commitment of our wildlife managers we can still save most of the large threatened wildlife and their habitats. The future can be bright and it is not a lost cause, lets be a bandwagon of optimists.