By Chandan Sukumar Sengupta<\/p>\n
The habitat of continental tiger once extended from Siberia to the farthest corner of South Asia. In due course of time their population declined precisely as a result of habitat loss, hunting, poaching, pollution and some other unauthorised human intrusion in the protected area. The conflict between forest protector and oppressor is an issue of our concern. They even impart themselves as a supreme commander in the territory of their nestling ground.<\/p>\n
If we understand the process of energy transfer from one trophic level to the other then the fact of conserving different trophic levels and maintaining their desired level of representation in the nature will become a must doing for us, not only for keeping our environment suitable for our living but also for preventing any naturally occurring environmental hazards. We alone cannot go on implementing our conservation strategies without imparting native Indians in our planned effort of the mechanism of conservation. Progress of social and economic importance are linked vividly with their allied importance. We may go on practicing our efforts of balancing the ecosystem at the best level of our own understanding.<\/p>\n
Importance of nature in our daily life is a matter beyond the questions and conflicts. For understanding such role, with a clear distinction between acts, conducts and necessity, we may go through a popular story of a beggar and King of all kings.<\/p>\n
Reports often come from different out pockets of society regarding the man \u2013 eaters and their wandering attitudes. Tigers rarely prefer eating human flesh. They even avoid entering any human habitat for exploring any hunt. Then question arises, what actually force a tiger to opt a serious job which they don\u2019t like to do? What are the factors force them continuously towards an alternative which gains a life risk for them?<\/p>\n
Actual reason is very painful to furnish and more painful to tolerate. Day by day they are losing their hold upon the forest biota for ensuring the possibilities of existence of a sure hunt. In order to make them ensured about the sure and easy hunt they prefer moving in search of a place for obtaining the same. In some other cases physically poor or wounded tigers change their focus from the forest biota towards the herds maintained by human beings of that locality. In all such instances shortage of naturally occurring food sources, unwanted human intrusions in forest and pollution of the environment force a wild beast for wandering in search of a better nestling ground.<\/p>\n
Primary objective of a tiger behind attacking a human, therefore in a border spectrum, is not to kill the individual for gaining a hunt. It is intended in most cases to make them secured. They rarely visit any place which is previously visited by any human beings. Shyness of the wild beast is its natural ethological apprehension. With such apprehension only they invade unknown places with a fear of being spotted out by any human beings, or a fear of being attacked by them. With such intended fear and loss of trust they sometimes attack people.<\/p>\n
After receiving any confirmation about a tiger\u2019s attitude like a man eater do we kill the beast instantly? Do we wait for any forester to take any needful step?<\/p>\n
A guideline recently issued by Government of India regarding uses of licenced weapon for killing a beast prohibits such an instant use of weapons against any endangered variety of animal. By this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) any individual cannot use such weapons against any endangered or vulnerable varieties of animals without confirming the fact of the animal regarding intended killing of human beings in any specified area. Even without taking concern of the local forest officials they should not chase, disturb or kill the beast.<\/p>\n
Day by day tigers are also becoming habituated to stay with local tribal groups and inmates of the forest area. They rarely agitate or intend to exclude any native Indians from the region of their naturally occurring habitat. Such a natural coexistence of human and animal compel us to think about the actual sources of threat to the wild beasts and big cats.<\/p>\n
Even the fact that tiger is a violent creature and maintain their attacking mood to chase men, we must think about adjusting them properly in their natural surrounding because of their confirmed role in protecting the biota by establishing a hold upon grazers and harvesters of forest resources. They should have an easy access to their hunt for fixing them firmly to the wild diversity. That is why we are much worried about their survival and well beings. Only law enforcement cannot fulfil the mission, even people alone cannot. We have to establish a properly functional link between people, government and resource base for ensuring the conservation of diversity at its base<\/p>\n
A Planned Revival<\/p>\n
The growing numbers of tigers, with an increase of 30.4 % in 2014 over 2011, and a further increase of 35 % in the current estimates over 2014, the period of renaissance and revival has already begun, and the trend is positive. And as we address this issue we must understand the conceptual underpinnings of this sector of the economy, and the economic value of the environment.<\/p>\n
At independence in 1947, Dr. Kumarappa, a highly qualified economist from Columbia University in New York and a chartered accountant from England and wales, was a close associate and gained the voice of Mahatma Gandhi on economic policy. \u00a0Gandhiji\u2019s view on economic development was that the emphasis should be on the rural sector where 70 % of the population lived, and on the environment. In line with this Dr. Kumarappa made the analogy that the honeybee takes the nectar from the flower without harming it. So progress without causing damage to the environment should be the strategic direction.<\/p>\n
Gandhiji was assassinated, and Dr. Kumarappa was side-lined. The Nehru Mahalanobis model was infatuated by the Soviet thrust on heavy industries and the public sector fascinations. We are still living with the problems created by taking this direction on the road to development. The current dispensation in power continues to ignore the Gandhi\/ Kumarappa vision. It follows the old industrial development models. The only difference now is that instead of the public sector the emphasis is on cronies with private capital.<\/p>\n
The discussion on the Gandhi\/Kumarappa perspective on economic development has a pivotal bearing on understanding a unique feature, in the economic logic of the forests and the wild life sector. The conventional wisdom postulates a conflict between economic development and environmental health. \u00a0A factory, a mine, or a supermarket will of course harm the environment in some measure. But this is simply not true for the forests and the wild life sector. If forests and wild areas are treated as economic assets to create wealth. Than obviously this environment has to be preserved and protected. The lesson is, that: in this sector the economy and the environment are mutually reinforcing! This has enormous significance for national planning.<\/p>\n
For the last two hundred years from the days of Adam smith and John Stuart Mill, economists have failed to factor in the environment into the computations of economic value. Even now in calculating GDP (Gross Domestic Product) the value created by the productive assets of an economy, other assets are depreciated, but the environment and natural resources are not.<\/p>\n
However recently the institute of forest management has published laudable attempts at in house studies calculating the value and the annual monetary benefits of 6 Indian tiger reserves.<\/a>[1]<\/a> It seems that since land is an inelastic resource, and many industries, mining, real estate, and power, among others, compete for control of land, the forest sector has felt the compelling need to vindicate its ‘ownership’ of the forestlands by giving it the economic value, which it generates. And this is how indeed it should be in competitive strategy.<\/p>\n We are not aware of the methodologies assumptions and techniques used in the quantitative\/ qualitative models to make the calculations of the 6 tiger reserves, and how they stand up to robust scrutiny. But the results have been published.<\/p>\n The study goes on to state that the \u2018experts\u2019 making these calculations took into account the monetary estimates of a range of “ecosystems services”. This of course says everything and reveals nothing. The attempt at valuing the reserves is very creditable but the assumptions and\u00a0methodologies to make the calculations should be debated openly, not only to establish the veracity of the conclusions, but this could be a path breaking advance in developing models for valuing the environment.<\/p>\n But value is an elusive and alluring mistress. The question remains. Value for whom? Who benefits? The six tiger reserves mentioned have a calculated value of INR 1.5 lakh crores, and generate annual monetary benefits of INR 7970 crores. In the Fora where these matters are debated these evaluations may hold the fort to retain control over resources and thwart the challenge from competing industries like real estate, mining, and power. But otherwise these numbers are largely notional. They do not have a societal impact in delivering a standard of living, by creating income and employment avenues for the populations living in the\u00a0vicinity of the reserves.<\/p>\n To pursue this issue further the Kruger national park in South Africa covers an area of around 19k sq. Km. The park plays host to approximately a million visitors every year. The average length of stay (ALS) of the visitors is about a week, and they spend in the neighborhood of USD 300 to 500\/- per day. Even a back of the envelope calculation reveals that the park earns more than a billion USD annually on 19k sq km of wild assets, and this number is actual inflow, and is not notional.<\/p>\n Vidarbha in Maharashtra has 38,000 sq km of forests (twice the area of the Kruger park). Recently there has been a renaissance, and Vidarbhas wild assets are transforming into global reckoning. But in earlier years the wild assets earnings were minuscule, and they were just arid, remote areas. On magnitudes of scale Vidarbha with 38 k sq. Km of forests, could generate twice the value of the Kruger Park at USD 2.0 BN (INR 140 BN)! And Madhya Pradesh the neighboring state with 5 times the forest wealth of Vidarbha could logically earn USD 10.0 BN (INR 7oo BN)!! This would be actual inflow, and not notional amounts. Of course these numbers have to be tempered with judgment, but the analysis does show the immense potential of the wild assets to create value, and generate income and employment, and deliver a standard of living, to relevant populations.<\/p>\n Let us look at other examples, where the strategic intent has been to utilize ‘natural capital’ as a performing economic asset. The Masai Mara migrations in Kenya and Tanzania are internationally famous. Kenya gets 300k visitors annually and the wild assets earn approximately 6 % of the USD 75 BN GDP. An impressive USD 5.0 BN, the largest earner of foreign exchange, and a substantial generator of income and employment in Kenyas economy. In Sri Lanka the Yala national park has an impressive track record of earnings, and visitors faithfully filled the Lankan coffers and gave income and employment opportunities to the indigenous populations, even during the worst days of the Tamil insurgency in that country.<\/p>\n Continuing with the analysis, the Yellowstone national park in the US sits atop a dormant volcano, from which geysers like old smokey gush at regular time intervals. The area of the park is approximately 6k sq. Km., about the same size as the Bangladesh side of the Sundarban mangrove jungle. Yellowstone gets about 4 million visitors a year, who spend an average of 3 days and USD\u00a0 100 per day. The calculated earnings are already astronomical! In contrast the Sundarbans valued at INR 1280 Crores on the Indian side; is one of the poorest places on the planet on both sides of the border, India and Bangladesh. The question remains. Value, but for who!?<\/p>\n So what was the logic of success in transforming the ‘natural capital’ into wealth generating ‘economic assets’ in the examples mentioned thus far? They followed the first principle of development management, which is that to start with; make your own natural assets economically productive. As a case in point Singapore has as an asset, the location of their seaport, on a maritime highway for the entire ocean going traffic from the orient to the occident and the reverse. Singapore invested in making there port arguably the finest in the world and structured their economic success story around that strategic move. The rest is history.<\/p>\n The logic of success of these globally famous parks is built around some key features of strategy implementation.<\/p>\n Ii) Infrastructure development: to cater to global requirements, appropriate investments in infrastructure are essential. Air, roads, and railway communication have to be world class. The Deccan odyssey to the Tadoba Andhari park is a fine initiative. Helicopter services to Melghat, Kanha, and other destinations would be a shot in the arm. Places to board and lodge, (study the south African experience, especially the mantis group of resorts) of global standards, and essential facilities such as doctors, for medical emergencies, and classy souvenir shopping would be part of a competitive package of facilities.<\/p>\n Iii) Skills development: to match the expectations of the visitors skills have to be developed in the host nations to ensure the success of the strategy. The understanding of development economics and hospitality is not part of the training syllabus of the personnel of the forest service. It is unfortunate to see museums and sound and light facilities being managed by persons who lack knowledge of wild life and untrained in languages, are unable to communicate with visitors. Sometimes the hygiene standards in wash and comfort rooms, are substandard, and one bad experience can defame the destination, and indeed the entire country.<\/p>\n Iv) Maintenance of order and the rules of tourism: this is a fundamental to increasing the prestige and the brand equity of the destination, and adding value to the visitor\u2019s experience. It is a matter of surprise that those elements that break the rules and indulge in unacceptable behavior in India are so servile in other countries. Would they\u00a0dare to behave with the same boorish vandalism in the Kruger, the Mara and the more sanitized environment of Singapore? The question is rhetorical and the answer is obvious. It is incumbent on the park authorities to implement the rules of the park with ruthless efficiency for all, and worry less on VIP\u2019s. Truant behavior must be punished severely. The law is on the side of the administration, and the culprits must even be jailed if necessary.<\/p>\n Strategies are formulated in the context of realities. There is a unique scenario emerging in India. India is a young country where more than 65 %, or 800 MN of its enormous population of 1.2 BN people \u00a0(second only to china) is below the age of 30. Seventy percent of this, or 560 MN young people (almost twice the population of the us) live in the rural areas where our forest wealth and ‘natural capital’ is located. This young population is not only enormous in numbers but is significantly different in psychographic and demographic profiles, and aspiration levels compared to their forbears.<\/p>\n Even a cursory glance reveals this reality. If the father is wearing a dhoti, chappals, and riding a bicycle, the son sports a ‘t’ shirt, a pair of jeans, shades, and rides a motorcycle. Even the ladies are so different. Compared to their aunts and mothers. They wear modern fashion based clothes, use cosmetics, and are far more outgoing in their behavior. They carry the catalysts of this change on them. They all have hand phones; they watch TV. Many use the Internet, and social media. Education is far more widespread, computers are widely used, and now even the rural populace lives in the same ‘time zone’ with the rest of the world. By pressing a button they can watch the same cricket match, and CNN news, just like anyone anywhere else.<\/p>\n There is one unifying reality across this vast subcontinent about this young India, which gives us what the economists call the ‘demographic dividend’. All these young people want incomes and employment. Ignoring this reality can be a fatal flaw in Indian planning. This young segment of Indians is not going away anywhere anytime soon. Earlier in the paper we had asserted that the global rise of wild life and adventure tourism as the fastest growing segment of the immense tourism industry, and the emergence of this young population in India was a historic happenstance where a need and an opportunity meet. For the potential of this phenomenon to fructify into reality some initiatives have to be actioned by leadership.<\/p>\n Tigers often get infected with some diseases. Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), a common disease among street dogs, is also reported among tigers from different wildlife sanctuaries.\u00a0 Such a shocking report raised a question about linkage of the spread of such disease from street dogs to the wild environment. Tigers remain there in their natural environment inside the protected area of Western Central Ghats. Human settlements are also there inside the forest. Diseases may claim lives of these animals because of the lack of medical aids in the open habitat of the wild area. They may not get required aid in time. Incubation period of rabies may last from few weeks to several months. Instead of having some tracing techniques installed in the protected area it often become difficult to trace it out instantly at its source. But that time the disease start spreading among the animals residing in the same habitat.<\/p>\n FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) spread among tigers through direct bites. It is a curable anomaly. Wild animals receive special protection amidst their special confinement because of the impact of different National and International Law Enforcement agencies. Understanding of common people about the role of wild animals in sustaining the environment is also increasing day by day. Enacting a law and enforcing such law in reality are two different things. Both these aspects require adequate intervention of government, people and some other catalytic agencies working towards implementing the same.<\/p>\n Hunters and poachers are rarely getting any easy access to wild animals due to increased awareness of native Indians residing in and around reserve forests. Some cases regarding killing of Rhinos in Kaziranga and adjoining areas has raised question about the effort of Forest Protecting Agencies regarding their incapabilities of tracing out such group of hunters and poachers and preventing them in materializing their efforts. These days people moves on towards some other alternatives for their bio-chemical and other industrial practices for replacing their need of animal body parts by some other suitable chemicals and minerals. Tuskers may no longer remain active due to decrease in demand of the number of tusks in regular market.<\/p>\n Report of killing [2]<\/a> of 41 Rhinos in 2013 and 13 in 2017 has created a positive mark regarding protection of the wilder variety by law.\u00a0 It is not any indication of great praise. Killing should go down to zero.\u00a0 Report from countries like Keniya, Nepal and Bhutan also reveal a growing trend of decline in the killing of wild animals.[3]<\/a> Organised killing of wild animals for different purposes are still in practice at different out pockets in this world. 1020 Rhinos poached in 2014[4]<\/a> only in South Africa. The report reveals a decline in the demand of ivory and other animal body parts in different parts of the world. Countries like China, Korea and some other South Asian settlements are still on the way of minimising their demand of animal flesh and blood.<\/p>\n A Forest Management Strategy<\/p>\n A master mind behind the plan of the Joint Forest Management was designed and implemented with great courage and enthu by Dr. B. C. Roy, formerly the Chief Minister of Bengal. Problem of deforestation became severe during his tenure of governance. He has proposed a plan of conservation through seeking active participation of villagers and local leaders against a share of benefits form the forest harvest. It was a successful initiative in the Midnapur Development Block. The identical scheme of conservation strategy were implemented by Govt of India in other blocks throughout the country.<\/p>\n People\u2019s Participatory Model of the Conservation of forest with some technical inputs from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations has taken an impetus to give birth to the wider spectrum of Joint Forest Management strategies. The State of the Worlds Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture[5]<\/a> Prepared through a participatory, country-driven process, the report draws on information from 91 country reports to provide a description of the roles and importance of biodiversity for food and agriculture, the drivers of change affecting it and its current status and trends. It describes the state of efforts to promote the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for food and agriculture, including through the development of supporting policies, legal frameworks, institutions and capacities. It concludes with a discussion of needs and challenges in the future management of biodiversity for food and agriculture.<\/p>\n This report envisages the need of the involvement of people with their positive apprehension for saving the diversified biota of the adjoining areas of naturally occurring greenery. The report further points out that, \u201cBiodiversity for Food and Agriculture supplies many vital ecosystem services, such as creating and maintaining healthy soils, pollinating plants, controlling pests and providing habitat for wildlife, including for fish and other species that are vital to food production and agricultural livelihoods. Biodiversity makes production systems and livelihoods more resilient to shocks and stresses, including those caused by climate change. It is a key resource in efforts to increase food production while limiting negative impacts on the environment. It makes a variety of contributions to the livelihoods of many people, often reducing the need for food and agricultural producers to rely on costly or environmentally harmful external inputs.\u201d<\/p>\n At the genetic and species level this strategy ensures proper confluence of the diversified genetic resources to the forthcoming generation with an affinity of making the survival of a fittest generation possible.<\/p>\n Livestock breed at the risk of extinction are increasing day by day. Animals of different types are becoming vulnerable day by day. People residing at different out pockets of environment remain unaware of the main reason of the loss of balance in the productivity practices of farming and husbandry. In order to obtain a high yield from a small genetic pool problems of vulnerability of species and loss of some of the biotic components at varying trophic level has raised a question mark on the sustainability of the progression and continuation of the biotic components with a normal confluence.<\/p>\n Cutting down age old trees for the expansion of roads, modernization of semi urban habitat and implementing ambitious projects are going on in a full swing. Governmental and allied agencies, duly involved in the activities, are not putting their adequate effort in working out any comprehensive plan for safeguarding age old living legend of our immediate habitat. This is also due to some sort of Escapism inflicted with prejudice and bias.<\/p>\n What a tree can do for us, is not any new lesson for any aspirants of nature. Their role in keeping the environment balanced is also a fact of our traditional knowledge. There are agencies responsible for looking after the issues related to the environment and forest. There are people having adequate knowledge of the importance of the living legend of our surrounding. What grown up trees do for us, is obviously an established fact.<\/p>\n There are internationally renowned agencies working upon their plan of actions for safeguarding trees at any cost. Simply there requires an effort to solve the issues related to the loss of biota. Mechanism of trapping sunlight, replacing carbon di oxide by oxygen in the environment and keeping the surrounding cool are not the only selective concerns; trees can provide shelter for hundreds and thousands of living organisms of some specific types. They all, in a joint bond, arrange a big cycle of activities for accommodating some of the economic and social activities of the surrounding biota. Human beings are not the outnumbered beneficiary of this biotic circle. Day by day, only plants are losing their habitat in a rapid progression.<\/p>\n The purpose of this small discussion is to highlight the issues related to the organised deforestations meant for the purpose of modernization and renovation of any type. Is there any alternative with any immediate considerations, which can retain the survival of the living legend without hampering the pace of modernization? We move on through this discussion by analyzing the present day context, identifying the strategic issues, understanding willingness of people and identifying the least possible issues having potential for balancing the human aspirations and environmental sustanability.<\/p>\n What a tree can do for us? This question requires lot of efforts to put in for finding out the justifiable and viable statistics. Exact figure may not quantify our calculations. One of the findings reveal that a mature tree can produce enough oxygen in a season to compensate the annual breathing of ten people. Driving of a car for 26,000 miles can be compensated by a single grown up leafy tree. 8 people per acre of tree cover having 100% canopy is the ratio of the balance of gases that can be accomplished.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Mismatch<\/strong><\/p>\n Industrial growth, population growth and growth, in terms of economy, implies an increasing demand upon the system for fulfilling the development in the field of infrastructure. Roads are not up to the mark for accommodating large industries. Heavy vehicles may rarely move across the roads for fulfilling the growing demand of business houses. There requires modifications of roadways for accommodating rapid growth of traffic. Without ensuring renovation of the infrastructure, without providing basic facilities to industrial houses and without safeguarding their aspirations the growth of commerce and industries are not accomplishable.<\/p>\n It is also the demand of people that roadways should have enough space for heavy vehicles. One should accommodate oneself suitably along with the growth of industries and services. Growth of any kind should not have any halt due to any reason. Roadways should be of such type through which one can take the guarantee of safest progression of goods and services. Widening roads, means cutting down of hundreds and thousands of grown up trees. Replacement of an established greenery with that of a non-green constructive structure. If it is admissible, then up to what extent? If it is not admissible, then what are the other best possible alternatives? If there are no best possible alternatives, then what should be done to welcome the industrial growth? Can we put a halt on the growth and aspiration of people residing in semi urban and sub urban areas of a state?<\/p>\n There are several other questions, to be taken in account, for addressing the issues related to environmental degradation. Is it possible to replace the greenery having 100% canopy by any other effective system, having enough capabilities of compensating the loss due to reduction in greenery? Demand of contextual growth is compelling the government to allocate additional lands on housing, roadways and for establishing industries. If some of the sectors are gaining lands then some other sectors, like agriculture and forestry, are losing their land cover. Growth of population, industrial set up and township, alongside the shrinkage of greenery with a rapid progression, is an indication of the forthcoming threat. This threat may put the entire state in trouble.<\/p>\n People want progress. They also want to keep the environmental balance intact. They have ambitions of modernizing roadways, railways, industries and housing estates. But none of the initiatives should be at the cost of environmental degradations. In one of the report of ISFR, it is estimated that more than 170,000 villages (of the total of 650,000 villages in India) are located in the proximity of forests. They are directly or indirectly relying upon forest produces for earning their livelihood. It is a kind of economic return of the greenery, which often remain unrecorded, as well as not clearly estimated. What people gain, in terms of immediate visible economical reflections,\u00a0 are simply in the form of timber. People living amidst the proximity of forest cover dependent on the forests for fuelwood, fodder, small timber, non-timber forest produce, medicinal plants, non- edible oilseeds\u00a0 and bamboo to a great extent. India has recorded an increase in dense as well as open forestry. Still the state, like West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, has a lot to accomplish.<\/p>\n Table 1: Estimated Carbon Stock in Indian Forests<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n