'They're animals of a lesser god' - by Prerna Singh Bindra

[and/or www.mantra.com/jai]

THEY’RE ANIMALS OF A LESSER GOD

By Prerna Singh Bindra
Op-Ed
The Pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Wednesday, April 24, 2013

While wildlife within Protected Areas enjoys the best of
conservation efforts and even legal cover, that which
thrives outside national parks and notified sanctuaries
is very often forgotten and left to fend for itself

On April 14, two tiger cubs were killed by a speeding
train as they trustingly followed their mother in the
forests just outside Tadoba Tiger Reserve. Four days
later, in Ramnagar Forest Division on the edge of
Corbett, the carcass of a young tigress was found riddled
with bullets. This was not too far from the forest where
another tiger had been found dead along with a leopard in
early March, probably  poisoned.  Elsewhere, in Odisha,
six elephants were mowed down by a train in the Ganjam
district, and a few miles further, in the same district
at Bhetnoi, herds of India’s endemic antelope, the
blackbuck, glide across fields of moong.

The common thread here is that these are reports from
outside National Parks or sanctuaries, indicating that
while wildlife thrives within Protected Areas, which
constitute less than five per cent of India’s
geographical area, it is vulnerable outside. However,
wildlife management and protection strategies, funding
and other support are targeted almost exclusively at this
five per cent PA. India has a rich repository of wildlife
outside this PA network, which includes wolves, jackals,
hyenas, smaller cats such as  jungle cats and leopard
cats and even large carnivores like the leopard.

A recent study led by Ms Vidya Athreya, wildlife
biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society-India,
revealed a very high density of both leopards and striped
hyenas (five adults per 100 sq km) in a heavily human
dominated landscape (350 people per sq km), where
virtually all habitat is agricultural, with no PA or
forest in the vicinity. Also, tigers and elephants are
not just occasional visitors to human-dominated areas,
but indeed have significant breeding populations and good
densities outside the PA network. According to ‘Gajah’,
the Elephant Task Force’s report, only 27 per cent of
Elephant Reserves constitute sanctuaries or national
parks.

According to the all-India tiger estimation of 2010, the
Ramnagar Forest Division that abuts Corbett Tiger Reserve
holds no less than 14 tigers per 100 sq km, a density
that rivals, and in fact exceeds, many tiger reserves.
Yet, the wildlife here are ‘animals of a lesser God’,
lacking the management, funding and technical support
that is granted within the boundaries of Corbett.

There is nothing new in the presence of wildlife in rural
or even semi-urban landscapes. But the stringent legal
protection extended to wildlife coupled with expansion of
urban and agricultural landscapes, at the cost of natural
habitats, has brought humans and wildlife into increasing
proximity. The challenges of such a situation are many
and complex.

First, we simply cannot afford to ignore or wish away
wildlife that exists and thrives outside PAs. While most
of our energies and effort must still continue to
conserve — on a war footing —Protected Areas,
concentrating only on these essentially will result in
creating islands of wilderness which are genetic dead
ends for a wide range of species from tigers to
elephants. One major concern of such human-wildlife
interface is conflict, even fatal conflict, which is no
witnessed across the country.

A recent paper authored by Dhanwatey et al cites that the
landscape around Tadoba (Maharashtra) has witnessed 132
carnivore attacks on humans, 54 per cent of which were
lethal to humans. Dhikuli and Sunderkhal villages outside
Corbett constitute yet another human-tiger conflict zone.
And, who can forget the horror of a tigress being beaten
to death last year near Bamni in Chhattisgarh? In
Uttarakhand, over 50 people are reportedly killed by
leopards every year, and a greater number of leopards are
killed in retaliation.

How can we best address the issue of wildlife outside
PAs? While solutions have to be site specific — factoring
in habitat, wildlife species and density — there are some
issues that need to be taken up on an urgent basis. For
example, areas with high wildlife  densities  that are
largely free of human habitation must be notified as
parks or sanctuaries, while those with a larger community
dependence may be considered as Conservation or Community
Reserves. Also, corridors which connect PAs and other
such ecologically fragile areas can be notified as Eco-
Sensitive Zones. ESZs do not impact the livelihoods of
local communities but merely restrict and regulate heavy
infrastructure activity such mining and other ‘red’
category industries which drastically alter land use,
devastating not just natural habitats and biodiversity
but also local livelihoods.

However, it is utopian to imagine that all wildlife areas
can be given legal cover. What we must do is manage and
protect areas outside PAs better.  Currently, the focus
on forests outside PAs is related to commercial forestry,
with no place for conservation, unless driven by a
committed manager. The need of the hour is to ensure that
wildlife conservation is an intrinsic part such
management. These forests must have wildlife management
plans, protection strategies and trained staff. Even the
district administration needs to be sensitised, given
that they play a crucial role in conflict situations.

Community participation is also critical outside of PAs.
Tolerance comes easier if there is a culture connect to
the species. But this frays in the face of loss of
livestock, and worse, human injury and fatality. It is
critical to ensure fair and prompt compensation for such
loss. Work carried out in some parts of Maharashtra where
the Forest Department has used science-based inputs finds
that conflict can be reduced to a great extent if
innovative ideas geared toward reducing losses are
explored.

In some areas eco-tourism centred around wildlife has
ensured that the local community views wildlife as a
boon, not a bane. The community-driven snow leopard
tourism project, for instance, is a good example wherein
the animal from being viewed as the one that depleted
livestock now brings in visitors,  and is, therefore,
seen as the source of a respectable livelihood. Since
these non-PA areas do not have legal protection,  and are
largely human-dominated, the need for intervention is
even greater.

A small beginning has been made with the National Tiger
Conservation Authority which now provides funding to the
tigers of Ramnagar. But this, while welcome, is simply
not enough. Currently, we only have band-aid solutions to
issues that confront wildlife outside PAs. What is needed
instead is a vision  and a strategy, as envisaged and
defined in the National Wildlife Action Plan 2002-2016.

(The columnist is senior consultant, WCS India, and
founder-director of ‘Bagh’. She is also a member of the
National Board for Wildlife)

More at:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/oped/theyre-animals-of-a-lesser-god.html

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.jai-maharaj

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