Tigers, lions and elephants in India get all the attention when it comes to protection. But all this may soon change as experts and environment ministry officials feel that other critically endangered animals require equal if not more focus.
This was proposed at a meeting of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this month. The Prime Minister is chairperson of the board.
“One board member pointed out that not much attention is given to the other critically endangered species, including those on the verge of extinction,” a senior official in the environment ministry said.
Ministry gives the list
India’s environment ministry in 2011 came out with a detailed list of 57 critically endangered species, including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, spiders and corals.
It also started a species recovery programme for 16 of them but was hampered by financial crunch and monitoring of the project.
“It was not possible to focus on all the 57 species together; so after talking to experts, the ministry started a species recovery programme for saving 16 species along with their habitats. Funding and implementation of the project are two areas that need to be strengthened,” said the official.
Among the 16 species for protection are Jerdon Courser (bird), vulture, gharial, wild buffalo, Great Indian Bustard and Gangetic dolphin.
He added, “Both the ministry officials and panel members agreed with the suggestion, but it will take some time before anything concrete is arrived at.”
Hike in compensation
The ministry has already appealed to the Planning Commission to increase the monetary support for the species recovery programme from Rs 73 crore to Rs 600 crore.
The NBWL is a statutory body and advises the central government on framing policies and measures for conservation of wildlife in the country.
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