Wildlife NGOs and activists plea to give Kaziranga respite from human pressure

NGOs approach Dispur with a plea to develop other national parks and sanctuaries

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Leading wildlife NGOs and activists have approached Dispur with a plea to reduce human activities including tourists flow to Kaziranga National Park to maintain ecological balance in the park.

“The unique biodiversity of Kaziranga National Park is priceless.

Kaziranga’s advantageous location by the arterial national highway as well as the Brahmaputra waterway, the park that boasts of a treasure trove of one-horned rhinoceros is always in the limelight from the aspects of tourism as well as conservation initiatives. However, overcrowding of human activities is not going to augur well for the park in the long run,” Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, CEO & secretary general of Aaranyak told The Sentinel on Friday.

Talukdar who is also an internationally acclaimed wildlife expert and foremost authority on Asian rhinos, said the most effective way to lessen the pressure on Kaziranga is to develop and promote other national parks and wildlife sanctuaries such as Manas, Orang, Pabitora, Nameri, Dibru-Saikhowa etc. He said developing other national parks will also create new vistas for the nature buff to exploit and take recourse too.

“Once other national parks are developed at par, all will enjoy equal importance from conservation and tourism points of view,” Talukdar said.

Aaranyak, the State’s leading NGO in the field of wildlife has already approached the Forest department and Kaziranga authority to reduce human pressure in the park. Other NGOs have also supported Aaranyak’s move and said it is high time Kaziranga needed respite from human pressure.

Talukdar said the policy makers of all the North Eastern States resort to out of the box thinking to work out well coordinated policy covering the region-wide conservation issues given that State boundaries are man-made only. The entire region needs uniform and need-based strategy and regional coordination among policy makers for conservation of its nature and resources which is so very precious, he said.

“Off course economic progress and infrastructure development is required for the strategically positioned Northeastern region. However, conservation of nature and its resources should also be given equal priority in the region where it provides livelihood options and sources of sustenance for millions. It is of prime importance to realise that some infrastructures found suitable (like multi-lane highways) for the rest of the country may not be required at all in the Northeast where building such infrastructure is bound to cause irreparable damages to resourceful hills, forests and rivers. We need infrastructure that suits the environment in the region, not those,” Talukdar said.

Also read: Kaziranga National Park to reopen from Oct 12