Time to celebrate and introspect

Time to celebrate and introspect

Dr Naveen Pandey

(The writer serves the Corbett Foundation as its Deputy Director and Veterinary Advisor and is based in Kaziranga, Assam. He could be reached at naveen.vet@gmail.com)

WILDLIFE WEEK

Celebrating special days provides a unique opportunity to share the joy of accomplishment, reflect on the journey, obstacles faced and collectively chart out a path for the future generation. Wildlife Week is such an occasion when we rise above species-centric welfare thoughts and cherish vision for a better and safer world for every free-living being.

Frogs croaking behind our rural hamlets in little pools, rat snakes twining in a territorial battle, hornbills locking themselves in wooden trunks of old trees to ensure the progression of their lineage, a mother rhino protecting her calf from the stripped predator – all of them have captivated human thoughts and compassion. A legal framework in the form of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 is provided to safeguard India's wild heritage.

What do we mean when we say 'wildlife'? The simplest definition would be that wildlife includes all the organisms living in their natural habitat. When we use the term 'biodiversity', it consists of all wildlife as well as domestic organisms, laboratory animals and our animals on farmlands. But the term 'wildlife' implies to the organisms living outside the direct human control. More often, a mere mention of wildlife brings pictures of large animals to our subconscious minds, yet it is important to understand that wildlife encompasses all wild organisms – plants and animals, big and small.

And when we talk about wildlife, we cannot talk about it without its immediate environment which includes all the natural resources and abiotic components that provide safe habitat to wildlife. Wildlife Week, celebrated since 1952, invites us to reflect on the status of wildlife and the health of its habitat in one of the Biodiversity Hotspots in the world, Assam.

While we all believe that wildlife doesn't necessarily restrict itself to the Protected Areas, certain areas have been demarcated as Protected Areas where human interference is controlled, reduced, regulated or abolished so that these areas could act as the last refuge for some of the threatened species of plants and animals. Assam's Protected Area network expands to nearly 4000 sq. km, which is around 5% of the state's geographical area. Which other states in India would match Assam's treasure of 5 National Parks, 17 Wildlife Sanctuaries, three proposed Wildlife Sanctuaries, four Tiger Reserves, two Biosphere Reserves, and two World Natural Heritage sites? It is not a small feat for a state with a population density of nearly 400 persons per sq. km and a livestock population of around 18 million.

From an area of 697 sq. km Reserve under the Act of 1865 to nearly 4000 sq. km of Protected Area network of today, Assam has embarked upon a remarkable journey for wildlife conservation. One of the most successful in situ conservation stories in the history of humankind has been exemplified on the soil of Assam when the population of one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) recovered from a two-digit figure to a reassuring four-digit figure. The ex-situ conservation of pygmy hog (Porcula salvania) is also an interesting success story. Assam has also displayed how a state can actively engage in protecting its wild flora and fauna.

Thousands of people including students, teachers, villagers joined hands, thronged the highway in 2018 when Kaziranga National Park and The Corbett Foundation jointly organized a 30-km long Rhino Yatra, first of its kind, with a larger-than-life-size rhino tableau. People sang, danced and shared joy over the protected cultural heritage of Assam. The visuals and narratives of the programme sent a strong message to the world at large on how people's participation was an integral component of a successful conservation story.

In the middle of all the jubilation, we need to turn back and ponder if we have delivered our best to safeguard the lesser flora and fauna, less-known forests, wetlands feeding thousands of birds and reptiles outside formally defined Protected Areas. Commonly seen blatant flaunting of rules in corridor areas could potentially choke wild animals to near extinction. A recent data shared by the government in response to an RTI indicated that the forest area under encroachment in Assam has gone up from 8077 hectares (in 2010) to a frightening 2,59,700 hectares (in 2019). Illegal wildlife trade today threatens to thwart all the excellent work collectively done by the Forest department and conservationists across India.

We should introspect if we could have acted smartly and anticipated these changes to halt the progression of a large number of species towards extinction. Is it possible that our approach has been mammals centric and in no small extent, only around a few large animals? Same applies to wetlands or beels as we locally know them. Reptiles and birds thrive beyond the boundaries of a Protected Area and beels of various dimensions, which were an integral part of our rural lifestyle, had supported them thousands of years. These beels are threatened due to encroachment, weed infestation and over exploitation. Many beels like Kaziranga beel and Hukuma beel - are now ecologically fragile and threatened. The species surviving on these wetlands' ecosystem are at risk too. Let us use this special week to reflect on non-charismatic species, their role and the challenges they face for their existence.

A state has to protect both people residing in the state and the wildlife within the state. The government is a custodian of all life forms. People must be protected along with their properties, agriculture and families. In the same way, wildlife must be protected along with their habitat, populations and natural resources. It is often challenging for a state to balance the two but every effort must be made in the direction of the co-existence of human beings and wildlife. A farmer sobbing with damage due to elephants' march in his paddy field can't be left alone, and similarly, we can't let elephants die due to electrocution in paddy fields. It is painful to note that nearly 250 elephants and 750 people have lost their lives as a result of human-elephant conflict in Assam alone in the last 10 years. Effective conflict mitigation asks for further research, communication and community engagement.

A greater emphasis should be given on research in the field of wildlife so that we develop a pool of scientific knowledge. Scientific observations should govern our management practices. There is an untapped niche for social scientists to guide wildlife managers on socio-economic dimensions of wildlife conservation. Eco-development committees should come forward and help the villages reap benefits of wildlife tourism. Home stays and cultural tourism would drive home the benefits of wildlife tourism to many households in rural Assam.

Assam has protected and preserved substantial genetic heritage despite pressure for development. Every citizen of Assam who has contributed to the wellbeing of the wild flora and fauna deserves appreciation.