The working of some minds is certainly baffling. Even a child will be able to tell you that when a species is on the decline, steps must be taken to immediately stem the problem and then strengthen protective mechanisms. Indira Gandhi did that in the 1970s, when she initiated Project Tiger and put some of the most capable and committed foresters at the helm. They delivered.

Post the Sariska debacle, our government, instead of focussing on the implementation of existing laws, chose instead to pass The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act , 2006 which removes the fragile mantle of protection that was tentatively keeping scores of species and habitats alive. It also decided to dilute the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and the Coastal Regulation Zone Rules.

There is virtually no understanding at all of the connection between the survival of tropical forests and the stabilisation of our climate, or our water and food security. With single-minded devotion to the profit and vote motive, one Protected Area after the other is being ripped apart to cater to commercial interests.

The Forest Rights Act will open up new channels for destructive commercial exploitation, including agriculture, and will fragment wildlife habitats, including sanctuaries and national parks.

What a mess we see around us.  India's tiger population is destined to decline further from the abysmal level of 1,300 animals said to be alive today. The Asiatic lion confined in Gir and its adjacent areas, has even less time to survive than the tiger, given the enhanced pace of poaching and industrial encroachments.

The snow leopard is challenged by poachers, receding glaciers and habitat degradation. The peacock, is being poisoned to cater to the tawdry trade in its feathers that are sold to foreign tourists, or otherwise exported. The Great Indian Bustard is declining at an alarming rate because its grasslands are vanishing. More than 100 elephants have been killed by speeding trains since 1998. A variety of marine species are in trouble because of the construction of ports and shipping channels. Commercial fishing has begun to attack breeding grounds in the breeding season, even as mangroves and corals face their worst ever crisis. Critical forest corridors are vanishing, aggravating the human-elephant conflict.   Not a single species is truly safe. We should be collectively ashamed of ourselves for allowing things to come to this pass.

Working to improve things

Fortunately there are people working to improve things in India. Of course, all eyes are now on the Central Government's Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) where some crucial issues listed below are being deliberated. Sanctuary promises to keep Sunday Herald readers informed. Those who wish to be kept even more fully informed can write to us to be put on our mailing list for an electronic newsletter that will enable you to add your strength to our campaigns.

WILDLIFE AGENDA ON HAND

• Creation of a separate Department of Forest and Wildlife within the MoEF.
  nLooking at and rescinding dilutions in the WPA, 1972 and plugging loopholes to ensure effective enforcement. The amendments committee should include a member from the Supreme Court appointed Central Empowered Committee.
• Redefining the role of the National Tiger Conservation Authority to ensure that its mandate is to encourage voluntary relocation from inside critical tiger habitats.
• Setting up a committee comprising members of the National Wildlife Board and the CEC to go into the ramifications of the Forest Rights Act to ensure that the Protected Area Network is out of the purview of the Act. Also to ensure that commercialisation of forest land and conversion to non-forest use is prohibited.
• Implementation of the recommendations of the National Wildlife Action Plan 2002-2016.
  nDeclaration of a 10 km radius around Protected Areas as ‘ecologically-sensitive’ under the Environment Protection Act.
• Ensuring that the Wildlife Crime Bureau becomes both functional and effective by creating the necessary budgetary support for intelligence-gathering, anti-poaching measures and prevention of crime.
• Ensuring effective and timely financial flows between Centre and State for wildlife conservation to remove finance department impediments in wildlife protection.Creating financial and technical support for wildlife conservation field research with guidelines to prevent the victimisation of researchers.
• Implement pending proposals for Project Bustard and Project Snow Leopard.
• Create a special cell within the MoEF to deal with all marine conservation issues.
• Implement the relocation of the Asiatic lion to create another population away from Gir in Palpur Kuno, Madhya Pradesh, while simultaneously enhancing protection within Gir by making financial support available to the Gujarat State Government.
• Tackling the problem of human-animal conflict.
• Drafting and implementing a comprehensive national policy for the identification and protection of critical wildlife corridors, particularly un-classed forests.
• Notifying wetlands of significance as sanctuaries under the Wildlife (Protection) Act with State Wildlife Wings responsible for their protection.
• Training staff and officers of forest departments and raising the quality of new staff through an improved selection process.
• Handing over the implementation of all Ecodevelopment programmes to Rural Development Agencies.
• Turn Protected Areas into model alternate energy sites through the use of solar and wind power and water harvesting.
• Working with local universities at the State and Central level to calculate the carbon storage and sequestration role of every single Protected Area in India and to evaluate the ecosystem services of such areas to upstream and downstream areas.
• Financing research on the impact of climate change on flora and fauna, with a priority to high altitude and vulnerable habitats.