Rewilding for Better Environment & India

Why Rewilding? 

Rabid Urbanization  

As urbanization makes en route to natural ecosystems, the habitats lose ground, and a large number of species comprising local flora and fauna begin to vanish. The first impact is the destruction of the niche with small water bodies and surrounding greenery giving into concretization and unsustainable land use. Wildlife cannot survive in manicured environments and this is one major reason for species extinction on Earth. 

Protect One and All

Like the buffer zones of protected areas, the cornered niches are vital for sustaining species in our neighborhoods in urban and rural localities. The presence of natural elements including diverse life forms sustains the environment in the vicinity and impacts favorable climate patterns. They prevent temperature variations that are not in tandem with the geographical features that have prevailed throughout the ascent of evolution on Earth.  

We have lost swathes of forests, aquatic ecosystems, grasslands, and deserts in wake of economic progression. The major impact has arisen through infrastructure build-up, ingress, and pollution. The deforestation process is continuous and is engulfing or degrading the natural ecosystems. Coupled with uncontrolled emissions due to fossil fuels consumption and irresponsible biotic and abiotic indulgence, climate change due to increasing Co2 generation is warming up the planet rapidly and the impact is being felt all around the globe irrespective of the source of emissions.     

Besides reducing carbon footprints, it has become imperative to recover lost ground but in absence of any rewilding policy, there is a strong need for structural reforms in land use and energy consumption besides tending to the complex systems we dwell in. The use of alternative energy is one solution that will reduce the negative impact of fossil fuels. Another solution that the world is looking forward to is locomotion using electrical or solar energy which is imminent if not on a commercial scale yet. Rewilding is another imperative for tempering greenhouse gases and creating a life-sustaining equilibrium on Earth.    

The answer for tackling these urgencies lies immensely in rewilding giving space to the lost ecosystems with minimal intervention so that they recoup in time to come. This implies that we should demarcate large swathes of land as remedial action or rather for the prevention of global warming and let them regenerate. This is for the planners to act upon. They should place a moratorium on natural lands and make them inviolate perhaps forever. The creation of core areas in PAs in India and elsewhere can be called a good beginning but this is by no means enough.

Unsustainable Land Use

A country hell-bent on keeping up with the dominating economies is developing infrastructure at a rapid pace. There have been plenty of instances of ingression in the ecosystems which still stand preserved today due to a stroke of luck or due to our intervention.  

Development is a prerogative in modern times but if not carried out in a planned manner and thought, it will be disastrous in the long run. Visit any industrial area and you will experience how they have damaged the local ecology, and the areas have become unsustainable in terms of healthy living.

It is our haste that is doing irrevocable damage, we have to be circumspect when using the land. We cannot develop or intrude just anywhere, and large swathes of land should be left completely inviolate. We should take a cue from the destruction of forests in South America and the large-scale production of palm oil as examples. We are following suit by excavating extensively for fossil fuels and mining. We are a diversified economy and there is no pressure on a single resource for sustenance.  

Mapping India

A vast country like India should have large tracts of land inviolate naturally, but this is not the case there is human intervention everywhere. Leaving inaccessible mountainous areas most of the ecosystems like the grasslands and aquatic bodies have been impacted. Talking about the mountainous areas the ecology of most of our hill resorts has been totally ruined due to the encroachment of urban dwellings and commercial establishments. 

In order to sustain an ever-expanding population, there is an immense need to increase productivity from lands we have already taken over for agrarian practices. The impact of the unruly unsustainable livestock industry is in urgent need of modernization and induction of sustainable practices pan India. 

Livestock keeping has become imperative for small-income families in rural confines. However, there is a need for alternatives in order to discourage unproductive unorganized livestock rearing in rural confines. Unorganized livestock keeping enhances deforestation competes with natural inhabitants (wildlife) and impacts the environment thus increasing carbon footprints in the vicinity.  Most of the forests have been taken over for agricultural purposes or degraded by uncontrolled biotic pressures. 

Nature-Based Economy & Depopulation

Most of the reserves are fine examples of the nature-based economy which is a sustainable answer to deforestation and livestock keeping.  

Wildlife tourism should be conducted by enhancing the use of vehicles powered by electricity, the resorts have to strictly comply with responsible practices and the economic opportunities that are tied to nature should be explored further. 

In the case of areas comprising vital ecosystems, local economies will experience a paradigm shift as the educated youth migrate to urban centers for employment. Migration is not because of educated youth alone even those who provide labor in farming and industry are moving to urban centers with a tendency to populate.  

There is a definite depopulation taking place in rural areas, and the impact is noticeable with an unmanageable rise in urban populations. 

Traditional farming and livestock rearing will not be sustainable in the long run due to an aging population, the impact is already evident. The local communities will have to find alternatives that are nature-friendly and sustainable. 

Large-scale commercial projects that impact the local ecology are being banned near the reserves and sanctuaries thus there will be a pressing need for a nature-based economy to take over. This will further increase the migration of youth towards urbanity if an alternative is not in place.

Depopulation though considered something good will lead to frequent economic paradigm shifts and demographic changes and the absence of sustainable solutions can lead to poaching, wood logging, and other practices which are detrimental. 

Rewilding Imperatives

Rewilding is not only declaring the area as inviolate and sacrosanct or resorting to the plantation of endemic species. Nature not only in India is inextricably tied to local economies. If we have to regenerate forests, encourage reintroduction, or the survival of endangered species we need to keep in mind the perspective of the local economy which is imperative for the survival of communities dependent upon local resources. 

While rewilding impacts nature favorably it should sustain the local economy by creating enterprises that are nature friendly and generate finances. It is vital for experts, NGOs, and dispensation to play an active role in finding the right solutions in terms of services generated and help in product marketing. 

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Uday freelances as a naturalist and loves to write about tiger conservation and the environment.

He also provides SEO and Content and teaches  Digital Marketing in his hometown Jabalpur. 

Contact: 

pateluday90@hotmail.com

9755089323

Conservation: It's Pay Back Time

Our  Earth: A Saga of Exploitation

Not only extensive farming, poaching, wood logging, and hunting have denuded our wilds we conveniently seek to forgive our sins whence it comes to breakneck industrial revolution and urbanization. Like agriculture, large industries and industrial estates scrap off nature from Earth in long strips along with associated urbanization in our towns and cities. 

In the past few centuries, we have hastened the demise of many invaluable ecosystems to alternate them with nonviable human constructs and the process goes on. The developed countries have been quick to extensively exploit natural resources and strip off ecosystems forests, grasslands, and rivers to name a few in order to develop in material terms without digging deep into ramifications. Most countries are stripped of natural lands and they have virtually exterminated their wilderness. But there is no looking back,  and if there is at places it is weak and without commitment. As a consequence, we are facing climate change and species extinction due to the dismembering of remaining ecosystems, pollution, human intrusions, and alternating natural systems to suit our exigencies.             

Earth is supposed to be shared among trillions of life forms thus maintaining an equilibrium so that life sustenance mechanism remains inviolate. Large chunks of ecosystems have been decimated for crops without any circumspection, and industrialization, and urbanization is taking place with haste. We are turning settlements into cement jungles and urban ghettos. 

All we look at is modern infrastructure and the gleaming societies and lifestyles they generate forgetting the dead that lies beneath. The industrial revolution has been a major disaster and caused wars innumerable, social disparities as well as grave harm to the environment. Global warming is an evident phenomenon among even those who are not erudite or aware, and the suffering is taking a toll in terms of health physical and mental.   

It is difficult to hinder this blitzkrieg because dispensations do not bow down and at the most pay lip service to conservation. Maintaining an equilibrium would require some committed steps for preservation even if the infrastructure buildup is halted. We simply cannot regenerate the complex living systems that nature does. This is rabid development is the trend everywhere, and most vicious in overpopulated countries trying to emerge from ongoing poverty without understanding the route they are adopting. As urban ghettos increase poverty will as well for we see life not as sustainable but gauge impoverished societies keeping the yardstick of measure highlighting disparity with those well developed (sic). There is no limit to the demands of humanity, and we will perish if we fulfill them at the cost of nature. Are we going to need artificial glass bubbles with oxygen supplies to survive on Earth in the future?       

To keep industries alive and the economy booming we continue to exploit natural resources which are already dwindling. In economic haste, we are not using the resources in a judicious manner, and are not at all looking for renewable on a war footing. Development is the mantra of disaster and the infrastructure built up in hinterlands in countries like India is a scourge with no mitigation seemingly possible. Rather than judging the economy by scale, we must peep into the environmental disaster we are leaving in the wake. We need to define our basic needs and stick to them.         

Poverty alleviation should not come about through the industrial revolution, it should come by rational use of renewable energy and a paradigm shift in our lifestyles. Too much energy consumption or unprecedented use of natural resources has wreaked havoc on our planet and we need to stem the rot. The major stress factor is not poverty but our excessive consumption of fossil fuels and other natural resources. Controlling the population is wise but there is no such urgency among various countries and demographics. Population control should be imperative, especially in Asia and Africa.         

Time to Pay Back 

We need reforestation, conservation of wildlife, habitat repair, and preservation of the ecosystem that supports them, and to stop the destruction of tropical forests going on on large scale.  We will have to redefine our lifestyle and consumption pattern and wean out what is unsustainable with vigor and commitment.     

We will have to have a methodology in place as far as industrialization and infrastructure build-up is taking place. We will have to draw out sustainable plans and practices which mitigate damage to natural lands.  Yes a lot more has to be done in order to preserve our  Earth and the efforts should come about not only from institutions but we the public as well.  

We can do it, we are successfully saving the tiger and the lion and many other endangered species and India has also preserved good enough ecosystems. There is hope! 

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Uday Works as Freelance Naturalist and Blogs on conservation, tigers, environmental issues.

He also provides SEO and Website Contents in English.

He can be contacted at:

Mail: pateluday90@hotmail.com

 Mob: 09755089323

    

Tiger Conservation: Tourism or Not To?

For more than three decades I have been witness to tourism at the tiger reserves in India...well at some of them. I have seen rules and regulations step into the game rides as time went past. This was for good since regulated tourism meant less disturbance to the wild denizens. This also meant the end of free for all joy rides for the miscreants...those who come just to drink and eat in the luxurious resorts. But thankfully this lot is on the go and more nature-friendly tourists are visiting our National Parks and sanctuaries. 

Most of my experience has been at Kanha which has been one of the best-managed parks in India and is so to this date. I have also worked at Bandhavgarh, Pench, and Corbett tiger reserves as well.

Kanha National Park is the best model to study the impact of tourism on sensitive wildlife, the management inputs, human interventions, and research that has been carried out since its declaration as a sanctuary. 

Contrary to popular belief especially among the extreme right, amidst the management and policymakers, regulated tourism has not been destructive at all. It has helped create public awareness among the general masses, brought focus on endangered tigers, other animals...and of course the issues concerning wildlife conservation and the environment in India. It generates crucial revenue for all participants.    

    

From unhindered to limited vehicular entries as per the capacity by area - this has been a thankful change. The safaris have become more productive and undisturbed and a joyful holistic environment prevails. This has also prevented a conundrum of jeeps gathering around the tiger or other big games.  

Banning of elephant safaris has also come around good since more efforts are made to track the tiger now using skills than disturbing both the elephant and the big cat in a crowded jamboree. The grudge of the mahouts is understandable but they have a greater role to play in patrolling and protection.

Since tourism has a supporting economical angle and is justified hence its significance should never be a matter of doubt...there are many views regarding how it should be conducted. The Government has set up NTCA a conservation authority whose writ runs large as far as excursions in tiger reserves go. The Supreme Court has also stepped in to monitor activities related to tourism in these parks. Hence to bring around any changes regarding the limits and policy is nigh impossible for the Local Governments and the park authorities albeit some aspects are within the purview of the latter. Any leeway given or a way created by the Governments interested in greater revenue generation are thwarted by the higher echelons in the administration as well as by the bodies mentioned in this article.  

Tourism involves economic aspects of a plethora of investors and the local communities are stakeholders too. The curtailing of activities in the park has a direct impact on their incomes. This also has an indirect effect on the revenue generation of the State as well since tourism revenue plays a major role in the economy. 

Many activists and some in the management advocate a total ban on tiger safaris. Some advocate stringent measures to curtail tourism as much as possible and even do away with the protected area concept. This is disastrous, for all aspects of the Nation are dependent on revenue generation be it tourism, manufacturing, or trading.

In absence of PAs, it is not at all difficult to surmise what will happen, the ecosystems will be completely ravaged and become a battleground of interests encouraged by greedy businesses and political entities.  We have already denuded large chunks of forests and other ecosystems, and the biotic pressures, greed, and interference are ever-threatening. Hence more and more remaining ecosystems should be brought around the banner of PAs.  Else we will lose everything. There is no need for human-aligned activists and those with an extreme approach to cause impediments since our wildlife managers are apt and understand all aspects well.

Tigers and many animals sensitive to human presence and activities need inviolate areas this should never be forgotten. Human ways even in remote are affected by greed and their activities like intrusions, farming, livestock rearing, and hunting are not conducive to ecosystems. Anyway, fast-spreading urbanization is now ubiquitous. This idea of human-wildlife coexistence is barely plausible that too in forced circumstances where the poor wild denizens have no choice. Take the case of the buffer in a tiger reserve and you will see how humans are expanding their presence and how the wild animals are living in beleaguered circumstances not forgetting the ever-increasing biotic pressures and commerce. This is not called survival and in the present circumstance, this belief is at best chimerical. Other life forms are certainly surviving under a hostile environment everywhere. We have conditioned ourselves to live in a man-made toxic environment other life forms have not that is why a large-scale species extinction is taking place on our beloved Earth.                  

In case of tourism ban, the survival of the entity would be at stake. This idea of banning tiger excursions is at best romantic and disastrous...at the same time in absence of alternate income for the locals who would turn into poachers...at least many would.  Another nightmare would be absence of public pressure and roving eyes that aid in saving our wild species for the subject would move out of the public sphere.

However naturalists, wildlife enthusiasts, some environmentalist and thinkers feel public participation is essential in all sphere of National Activities.  Therefore in an area out of bound for the public at least reporters and wildlife enthusiasts should be allowed. This is imperative because advocates of  safaris should understand that a large area cannot be allowed for tourist excursions due to security issues and infrastructure management therefore only few should be allowed to visit non tourist areas. 

Hence regulated tourism is the best option, both for revenue generation and the preservation of the heritage. Without this activity, the equity would be zeroed, and conservation efforts and the participation of people would come to an end. This would be disastrous for saving the endangered species and the ecosystems as well...which are equally threatened. Those who negate the value of public participation in a suitable manner are not being honest with their task and wish to work in isolation.       

A sea change has been brought about by tourism in the reserves and State economy...and its overall impact on National income. Hence a balance should prevail without hampering conservation and thus tourism should be optimized for better revenue generation.

The hotel industry has been the most impacted by the induction of new rules but this is an open economy and no protection can be accorded to the industry. They have to reduce their capacity. It is conservation first in these units and takes what you get. Hence many resorts are on the verge of closure or running on ever-decreasing revenue. This would also mean the loss of local jobs and the empowerment of communities. The carrying capacity of this sector may be limited but there are many alternate venues for income generation. Training locals in hospitality is possible with the help of resorts nearby.         

Although on the right track a paradigm shift has to take place as per our approach to regulations and rules that impact revenue generation. Finding a middle ground with an open mind would be fruitful.
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Uday is a naturalist and freelancer at Kanha National Park. He writes on wildlife and conservation.

Contact: pateluday90@hotmail.com
Mo: 9755089323 

Tiger Conservation: It is Development That Counts

Environmental Overview

India is on the threshold of becoming an economically developed Nation on Earth. One among the few who rule the Earth. The sordid saga of a reckless developmental spree of those already at the helm is narrated without mentioning the large-scale damage done to the local environment and the plundering of crucial natural resources embedded in Mother Earth.

Development in terms of economy and infrastructure is the yardstick that denotes the success of ruling dispensations in India and elsewhere. In the country, the narrative is on the upswing with most of the discussion centered around growth and development.

Do we state the growth indices without keeping an eye on the amount of destruction we are causing? A highly developed India could burden the coming generations to clear the environmental debt that we leave in the wake. Should not we be concerned? 

Development is imperative but not without paying heed to environmental concerns some of which may appear trivial but could have a major negative impact in time to come.

In India, the worry lies in the large-scale destruction of our remaining natural lands and ill-conceived usage of our natural resources.

India is a signatory to the Convention of Biological Diversity a multilateral treaty for the preservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of resources, and sharing of genetic resources in a fair and equitable manner.

Another landmark that was legislated in the year nineteen seventy-two was the Wildlife Protection Act. The creation of protected areas was within the purview of this Act...and so home and protection were accorded to all life forms in the country. The 1988 Forest Policy lays a strong focus on conservation while other acts for Environment Protection were passed in the year 1986 and subsequently the Foreign Act 1992 for regulating International trade in biodiversity elements.   

The country has a number of regulatory bodies that govern actions that oversee future implications of ongoing or planned processes.  The Hon. Supreme Court of India plays an active role in environmental issues by presenting its own interpretation and hence through its directives it influences policies that contain environmental concerns. The aim of the highest courts through intervention in governance area is to redress the failures of the Government and other regulatory bodies in discharging their Constitutional and statutory obligations. There are proponents and critics as regards Hon. Supreme Court's interjection in these matters but albeit this is an entirely different matter the court's interjection is seen in a positive light by many.   

It should be noted that a large number of PILs regarding myriads of environmental issues have been filed by NGOs and individuals thus exhibiting faith in the judiciary as a whole

The Government Ministry MOEF

Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change is panned India mother of all institutions that are concerned with the environment, forests, and climate change. It is the prime body that issues statutory orders in case of environmental clearances hence is the most important element that could impact the environment and associated wilderness in multiple ways. 

It is responsible for providing clearances and impact assessment, as well it governs the National Parks of India. It oversees forest policies and programs implemented in the country. It is also a nodal agency for many International conventions and programs affecting India.  The Ministry has multifarious roles but the crux of bringing this into the picture is that it can bar or give a go-ahead to the controversial exploitation of resources through mining, exploitation, and development of remaining natural lands and related issues.

In short MOEF a ministerial body is the face of the ruling dispensation, obviously, through MOEF it can accord direction to actions concerning our environment conservation strategy.

Our Concerns & The Tiger & Human Centric Policies 

The concern that dominates the conservation circles is a quick appraisal of permission granted for mining, land acquisition for developmental projects, dissecting habitats like forests for roads, and other related projects.

This is the crux of conservation practices in India wherein policies that disregard environmental concerns can be hastened through to promote perceived developmental and infrastructure benefits. In many instances whence development projects are seen as imperative clearances are granted without a second thought. Concerns for habitats and the consecutive impact on prevailing ecosystems take a back seat.     

It required that governance should be very cautious towards activities that degrade crucial habitats and eventually are environmental hazards. These habitats support ecosystems or the complex web of life of the critically endangered species Bengal tiger as well as other life forms struggling to survive in the country. This also means the imperatives are looked into from the perspective of the highest offices in India. For developmental projects alternatives present should come into the picture.

Shortage of space for endangered species like tigers is obvious and land use patterns should be looked into. A large chunk of forest, grassland, and river habitats have been lost to reckless ventures into agriculture in earlier times. More productive agrarian practices should be developed and encouraged which utilize fewer expanses of land. This also applies to industrial practices and rapidly expanding settlements, especially in our urban areas.   

It is quite a matter of concern that an increase in the tiger population would also require an increase in inviolate protected areas if we have to preserve the animal that is a matter of our National Pride. This calls for equitable and fair translocation policies. Since certain areas will be required to clear human habitations in order to reduce man-animal conflict (elephant migration) and accord home to locally endangered species. (Similarly, the Lion should be trans-located to suitable habitats which have been developed in recent times.)

Tiger: Pic Uday Patel 

The Great Mahatma 

When Mahatma Gandhi conceived of Ram Rajya he was not being rightist or denying secular credentials as many construed.  With an emphasis on nonviolence and the cottage industry he certainly had an approach toward development that would be been highly concerned about environmental issues. That would have meant a paradigm shift from the Western Style of development we are recklessly emulating.

Perhaps he could have found answers to our woes? He was down to Earth, simple, and would not have been influenced by the vote banks of India.