Dr. Satyabrata
Ghosh, M. Sc., Ph. D.
Ex Associate Professor of Botany (Microbiology)
Ex Associate Professor of Botany (Microbiology)
S. C. College, Habra,
743268, West Bengal, INDIA
BIODIVERSITY & WILD LIFE
REVELATIONS TO BE SHARED WITH
This poor list of publication never haunts me.
Inadequacies of data to publish papers and photographs never have frustrated
me. Walking through the woods in the wilderness and every now and then peeping
over the bushes, watching birds, insects and every other animal in the view and
taking snap shots at will, without having any basic training in photography,
are part of my life in the woods and compose my leisure, hobby and passion. I
have always been thrilled by every moment of looking at pug marks, hoof prints
and claw marks on tree trunks. My passion for wild life and plants makes me
always inquisitive whenever I see the scars left by wild grazers on a grass, on
a sapling or on the twigs in the bushes while failing most of times to know the
grazer. It would not be inappropriate to confess here that being not an expert
and being devoid of microscopes, tools and manuals during the field tours, most
of times many species of the trees and grasses remain unidentified as the
specimen collection (for later identification in the laboratory) was not always
possible. The problem is more acute with very tall and large canopy forming
flowering trees of deliquescent growth where even the lowermost branch with a
flowering twig remains beyond reach.
From my point of view, every part and phase of research
work is enjoyable and is encouraging when it becomes a hobby and a passion.
Every bit of the findings, whether in laboratory or in the field, tells me a
story and to tell the world these stories is altogether a different story.
Publication is necessary only when something new pops up in the findings, which
can change the course of our life and our standard of living without harming
our natural habitats, when it can influence our way of thinking and opens up
new avenues and only when it can add to the processes of ensuring the
protection and conservation of nature and natural resources. Research is the
backbone of the social way of living of modern humans. More and more research
has no alternative to save this unique ‘blue planet’ from complete devastation,
to minimize the rate of increase in human population to the lowest possible
level, to eradicate poverty from our society, to find an alternative and absolutely
effective source of energy so as to put a blanket – ban on ‘carbon emission’
and to restore our natural resources.
Do
you share these emotions? Well, then you are my company – we are the team.
Funding! We don’t have for
now – Although there is no dearth of funds from the funding
organizations in India and no lack of willingness and effort on part of
Government of India to support the projects on biodiversity, no fund could be
harnessed because of lot of factors. To study biodiversity, flora and fauna or
wild life an extensive travelling is required. Observation over prolonged
period is inevitable and is unavoidable prerequisite while working in any
National Parks, Wild Life Sanctuaries and Reserve Forests. Repeated and consecutive
visit over years to these areas is always necessary to ascertain the
reliability of the data. The time schedules, in these cases, were indefinite,
uncertain and undefined. This reality comprises the prime factor for not
availing any fund as no ‘funding organization’ could grant the fund for
uncertain or indefinite period. Furthermore, the college authority, where I was
working, was not in a position to grant me leave as and when required for this
purpose, and ethically it was never possible to deprive our students of their
curricular activities as per their schedules. The Summer Recess (15th
May – 30th June) and Puja Vacation (mostly during early or mid –
October) here (in this southern part of West Bengal) could never be utilized
properly as because most of these forest areas remain closed and inaccessible
during this seasons (Summer – Rains) in India. However, research work was
carried out utilizing parts of holidays, recesses and vacations, in a discrete
manner, on a year to year basis.
We do not always need fund to carry
out research on certain aspects of biodiversity and wild life, and for wild
life photography. It can be made possible from the pleasure trips to the
wilderness. Do we demand funding for our pleasure trips? Do you still think we can
be companions in our ‘wild – trips’ without any financial assistance? Well
then, get your back pack ready. Soon we will be on our track following a tiger
trail.
Biodiversity Research –
let it take its own course of time – For these obvious reasons
a particular phase of work, on the biodiversity of Duars (or Dooars), took more
than eighteen years (from 1991 to 1994 for the First Phase and again from 1994
to 2009 for the Second Phase) to complete the collection, processing and
analysis of the data. Each and every phase again required a final visit in the
subsequent year, on the completion of the data processing of the phase (e.
g.1994 and 2010 for each of the First and Second phases respectively), before
deciding on its presentations in seminars and in the form of any publication (‘Fodder grasses of Indian Sanctuaries. I:
Identification of grasses, consumed by herbivores, in the Mahananda and other
Wild Life Sanctuaries of North Bengal’, The
Indian Forester, Vol.120, No.10, 1994, and ‘Biodiversity and Wild Fodders
of Gorumara N. P. – Duars’, Journal of Environment and Ecology, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2012, USA, ISSN
2157-6092; doi:10.5296/jee.v3i1.1940
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/jee.v3i1.1940).
A few tit bits – A
prolonged observation is always necessary, in any type of research work on
biodiversity, to ascertain the reliability of the collected data and
information. Identification of a plant species requires the specimen be in
flowering and/or fruiting (fructification in case of a non – vascular plant
species) condition(s) which significantly varies seasonally and geographically
and a researcher has to complete at least 2 – 3 uninterrupted annual cycles to
have any idea about the nature of the flora of an area. To study the behavioral
aspects and food habit of wild animal species, direct viewing is very important
and it is not like visiting a zoo or an open safari park. Even when the direct
sighting has not been made or is not possible, varieties of marks and signs
like foot prints or pug marks, claw marks on tree trunks, hoof marks, grazing
marks, faecal matters, bird droppings, etc. can tell us about the very presence
and concentration of any particular animal species in a specific forest area.
Counting on insect species trapped in the spiders’ webs can provide additional
and useful information about the insect fauna of an area. Together, all these
aspects comprise the data base for measuring the biodiversity of a wild life
reserve. Moreover, repeated observations from close, various marks and signs
and examination of samples and specimens in the laboratory form the part of the
clues necessary to detect innumerable varieties of interaction amongst species
which determines the sustainability of a biodiversity. Any interference and
interruption into these interactions shall question the very sustainability of
the biodiversity and that is what has happened everywhere and has caused
another mass extinction during this recent age of the Holocene Epoch. Come
forward – Let us stand together to guard the peace and tranquility of the
wilderness. Together we shall be able to stop ‘species shrinkage’ and any
further ‘species extinction’ from our beautiful blue planet.
Let us start afresh – Beginners
or tourists always have fascinations for larger carnivores, pachyderms or other
larger herbivores, larger reptiles and most often colourful birds and expect to
sight these wild animals at every instance they roam around a wild life
reserve. Seldom have they tried and rarely they enjoy and appreciate of viewing
wild insects, rodents, smaller reptiles and some birds of prey. On the
contrary, one who knows and is experienced would accept the notion that the
frequency of each and every species of the fauna and flora can tell us about the
nature, quality, geographical location and other characteristics of a forest or
a wild life reserve. Are you a beginner? I am always and shall
ever be. Every morning I find the movements of all the known birds, butterflies
and bees, and the creepy – crawlers look different. Young fruits and flower
buds grow in size every day and look different. Little do I know and always
learning. It is ever amazing to know that how many things the scientists are
discovering and inventing every day. Well then let us start with bird watching
or wild life photography. For the first one we need to be equipped with a
pocket guide or a ready reckoner on Indian birds; and for the second one we
need to have a camera with some accessories and choose a subject which may be a
butterfly or any other insect, or a frog, or a snake and other reptiles,
smaller or larger herbivores or carnivores or we can concentrate on anything
moving. We need something extra to see and understand movements in apparently
motionless plants. A number of e – packages are now available, and more are
coming up, as ‘application’ (apps for computer or mobile phone with android)
for identification of butterflies, frogs, snakes etc. As most of our moving
subjects are elusive and birds and other flying objects are very much volatile,
most often we get frustrated readily at the start for not having desirable snap
shots. With the experiences gathered, we shall learn that patience is the most
important and vital tool of all in wild life watch and photography. Do you
want to know my secret? I get very impatient when have to wait to visit a wild
life sanctuary. I always want to visit them as frequently as possible while
with all my patience in store to watch and photograph wild life.
We are already in – Further
research work in this regard has been undertaken (no financial assistance has
been acquired), to study the flora, wild life and biodiversity of various N.
Ps. and W. L. Ss. in India, as I have now ample time after retiring from the
post of Associate Professor (on 31st January, 2013) and already have
visited the Corbett National Park (CNP or Corbett Tiger Reserve/CTR) and its
adjoining areas in Uttarakhand, India, during November, 2013, to make a
preliminary survey of the area and to take a primary stock on the flora and
wild life of the region. The initial trip to CNP was absolutely encouraging
because of the richness of its flora and wild life. A commendable quantity of
data on the flora and fauna of a number of N. Ps. and W. L. Ss. of different
Phytogeographical regions of India have already been gathered over the last
thirty years. Each one of them needs to be addressed carefully and requires
further visit to these places.
Unity in diversity – our
strength and inspiration – Apart from being simply different from
each other geographically, every state in India differs from the other
culturally, economically, agriculturally and linguistically in one part and on
the other part they differ environmentally, climatically and phytogenically or
phytogeographically. Therefore the state floras in India radically differ from
each other qualitatively or phytogenically and quantitatively. Floral
differences in various geo – climatic regions directly add to the differences
in food habit of wild animals and therefore, form the basis of Species Richness
of an area which in turn amount to the variations in Biodiversity Indices of
these wild life abodes. In spite of having an enormous population, political
turbulences, pollution, extreme poverty, illiteracy, and all the other differences,
India takes the pride for being considered the greatest ever democratic set up
in the world and for still being globally considered the most fascinating ‘mega
– diversity’.
The carbon foot print – Carbon
foot print leads us all the way to the facts and factors responsible for all
those dwindled forests and destroyed and polluted natural habitats. Let us now
look a little beyond. Explosion in human population, culminating into huge,
indiscriminate and unplanned urbanizations, enormous increase in agricultural
land areas, timber wood collection (fire wood collection by forest bound
populace and plant part usage by paper mills have comparatively lesser impact
on forest and habitat destruction) and setting up of manufacturing industries,
including power – plants, are prime factors responsible for the shrinkage of
forests and destruction of natural habitats. While fossil fuel combustion
through automobiles and factories is the main source of air pollution and ozone
– hole formation, the industrial and urban wastes are the predominant water
pollutants.
Age of Humans – Increase
in human population, with an intrinsic and exponential growth rate, has pushed
our ‘blue planet’ into the threshold of its carrying capacity, asking the very
question of our own survival. Altogether, we have curved an artificial sphere
of our own, the Anthroposphere, that has adversely affected all the other
natural global spheres – our natural environment and habitats. And from another
point of view, this age of our modern human civilization, ‘the Anthropocene Age’ –
the latest phase of the Holocene Epoch in the geological time scale, has caused the holocaust of another mass
extinction of species that has quantitatively superseded all the previous mass
extinction events in the biological history of this planet. Within the past one and a half century,
the gun powder and explosives in nexus with urbanization and deforestation have
surpassed all other catastrophic events of Natural History to wipe out from the
face of our planet earth, hundreds of thousands species that our Mother Nature
designed and shaped over millions of years to ensure the origin of human
beings.
The Apocalypse – an end of the Violent and
Polluting Age of Modern Man and Salvation of the Righteous – with its literal
meaning or with our religious belief – has to be the revelation of our time.
Habitat Destruction –
where do we stand? – Uninterrupted urbanizations have separated the existing
wilderness miles apart and now all the important wild life reserves are
completely surrounded by human habitats. Therefore, it is well understood that
without the involvement of rural agrarian communities and forest bound populace
the programmes of afforestation, in situ
conservation and restoration of our natural environment and habitats can never
be implemented. A self-sustainable rural economy is the demand of the day to
preserve the sustainability of our mega – diversity. With the far sighted
planning, a number of measures have been undertaken by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests, Government of India, with enactment of necessary acts,
laws and rules [The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; The Forest
(Conservation) Act/Rules, 1980/2003; The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.] to
conserve our natural resources and biodiversities, involving the rural and
forest bound populations. However, in spite of the omnipresence of all these
rules, laws and acts, in spite of all those meetings, seminars, symposia,
processions, observations of forest – day, plantation – day, earth – day etc.
etc., and so on to propagate awareness amongst our people about the necessity
and benefits of conservation of wild life and nature, all our good efforts remain
prefatorily ceremonious and without any result or consequence in the absence of
en masse participation of our people whose abstinences are due to lack of
education and due to extreme poverty.
Is there any remedy? Is any hope
left? Perhaps the answer is affirmative. Perhaps, someday, we shall see light
at the end of the dark tunnel. May be, very soon, we shall revert to regain
whatever we have lost. And, before that, let me narrate sequentially my dreams
and my expectations over the facts and facets as I have seen and understood. I
don’t expect anyone to share and support my views when my understandings are
proved to be wrong and when my expectations are found to be impractical and
inapplicable. Rather I would happier ever than before when my misunderstandings
are corrected and when better ways than my expectations are suggested.
Situations (as I have understood) and Expectations (all the ‘should be’ words used are for convenient writing intending to
mean ‘might have been’; it would be the best thing to relish when an expected
notion is already existing or comes to exist) –
1) Situations
–
Forest, wild life and biodiversity management systems in India apparently have
a well-organized set up since the independence of India. Starting with the
Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of Union Government of India and of
all the other State Governments, with the Cabinet Ministers and the Ministers
of State (MoS) at the helm of all related affairs, the integrated constituents
of the systems are Central and State level Secretaries, Joint Secretaries and
Deputy Secretaries (an IAS cadre; sometimes at the State level, a promoted
personnel from the State Administrative Services), and then downwards at the
State levels, the PCCF (Principal Chief Conservator of Forests), CCF (Chief
Conservator of Forests), Directors (Department of Social Forestry or Utilization
of Forest Produces), Chief &/or lower ranked Wild Life Wardens, DFO
(Divisional Forest Officer; an IFS cadre), ADFO (IFS or from State Forest
Services/SFS), AFO (Assistant Forest Officer), RO (Range Officer), BO (Beat
Officer), Forest Guards, Beaters and a number of Management Boards, Planning
Boards and Advisory Boards of various forms and statures comprising Ministers,
Officers and Dignitaries from other disciplines of our social life.
Expectations –
In this specific management system the appointments of personnel from
Secretaries to ADFO should be made from IFS or SFS cadres, instead of IAS
cadres, as per rank and status, and from AFO to BO should be filled up from SFS
cadres, following the conventional selection procedures. There should have been
enough scope for promotion to higher positions through proper procedures, for
each post. The whole platoons of forest guards and beaters should be a
well-balanced amalgamation of personnel selected from armed security forces and
persons from forest bound rural populace. Before final posting they should be
equipped with walkie-talkie, satellite-phone set, radio-antenna, sophisticated
modern weaponries and proper training to use these gadgets, along with required
training in GPS tracking devices, Forestry and Wild Life. It is always expected
that the Ministers – in – Charge have a keen knowledge on the essence of
International Treaties, our National Laws, Acts and Rules in relation to
Climate, Natural Habitats and Resources, and have sincerest interest in Biodiversity
and Wild Life.
2) Situa…..Nevertheless, I
don’t really understand when a mere hobbyist, with a hobby on wild life
photography or bird watching and otherwise a renowned person, having almost no
idea about the compactly integrated and interactive components of a
biodiversity, is included in these boards or committees (vide Situation 1) as
an expert. And more incredible fact is that sometimes even ‘official hunters’
(those who are officially remunerated and given license to kill a rogue or a so
called man eater) who are merely having skills of tracking, stalking and
ultimately shooting the poor wild animals (which are officially called ‘games’
by almost everyone) through the barrels of a high power telescopic rifle, is
considered an expert in wild life and is included into these systems. A high
powered official inquiry into this regard would reveal many more facts, which
myself alone can’t prove at this juncture and so don’t have anything to write.
Expecta….. The formation of Forest,
Environment and Wild Life related Management, Planning and Advisory boards, as
per the provisions in the concerned Acts/Laws, apart from statutory inclusion
of Ministers and Officials, should only include conversant personalities like
scientists, teachers, scholars, reporters and photographers working in these
fields as evident by publications. We need ‘a Law/an Act to put ‘a blanket ban’
on terming wild life ‘a game’ (officially or literally). Repeated use of this
term is a shame to a civilized society which claims its concern about
environment, wild life, forests, Natural resources and so on and so forth, and
yet propagates this term relentlessly to denote all sorts of avian, reptilian
and mammalian wild species.
A letter to a civilized Y
– haplo – group relative from the undersigned……
My Dear Civilized Human,
It is long time since you left our
Mother Nature’s wild abode. We have lost many of our brothers and sisters, from
all wild species that our Mother gave birth and nurtured, during every invasion
by your civilized denizens since the onset of the last millennium. Your
civilized brethren arrived, in the disguise of modern civilization, riding your
development – carriages, heavily armoured with Gun – powdered hatreds. We
mistook them our haplo – brothers, approached too close and charred ourselves
to permanent extinction under the hatred they radiated. They did not even spare
our homes, the natural habitats. Those who survived the onslaught are now
suffering from varieties of syndromes namely ‘species shrinkage’, ‘genetic
incompatibility’, ‘genetic bottleneck’ etc. etc. resulting from the epidemics
of ‘atmospheric GHG increase’, ‘el-Niño’, ‘global warming’ and
‘pollution’ that they left behind from all those invasions and which you have
spilled over from your act of modern civilization. It seemed that your so
called modern civilization is still drowsing in the hangover of more than ten
thousand years old pre – Neolithic hunting overdrink.
By
the by, Mother wants to see you as soon as possible. May be she is breathing
her last as she is suffering from a peculiar ‘ozone-hole’ syndrome that we have
never seen before, and as such, we don’t have any remedy for this.
Anyway,
hope you are doing well. Oh! I forgot to tell you. For the last few decades,
our Mother in her meek voice, urging me to ask you to come back at your
earliest. We don’t know why, she is afraid that you all are going to be
perished in the fall out of this ‘modern human civilization’. I don’t think you
need be alarmed and worried at all. Probably she is in delirium from her
prolonged illness.
Yet,
many more remain to be told.
Affectionately
yours,
One
Y haplo-brother from Adam & Sons Company.
3) Situa….. This huge set
up is proved futile under the enormous pressure of increasing population and
urbanization. With our age-old and almost obsolete agricultural practices, we
are always in need of more agricultural land to feed this growing population
and as a result we are losing several hectares of forest land every year. Huge
quantity of urban-solid-wastes and large amount of industrial-toxic-wastes are
chocking a sizeable chunk of our invaluable Ramsar Sites every year. In spite
of India are being considered one most important signatory to the treaty of the
Ramsar Convention, many of our important Ramsar Sites, which are considered to
be the hearts, lungs and kidneys of densely populated urban areas and
mega-cities, are encroached upon by certain filthy freaks of our society – the
land-sharks and the greedy promoters (The Statesman & Times of India, 01-
07. 01.2014). Destruction of natural habitats and species-shrinkage are the
most revealing phenomena of our time. Every year we are pushing a good number
of species into extinction and are enlisting many as ‘endangered’.
Expecta….. Industries producing
toxic wastes should be grouped together in areas, taking a cue from the ‘land
bank data’, provided with an efficient centrally controlled ‘effluent
treatment’ system. Encroachment on Ramsar Sites and illegal filling up of water
bodies can be prevented by involving students from all levels of academic
institutions and by gaining active support from political leaders coming out of
their political creed. Urban waste disposal grounds can easily be converted
into beautiful forest-gardens with water pockets by any Metropolitan
Development Authority themselves. These gardens will provide shelters to a
number of dwindling wild species still living around urban areas. In an
innumerable number of ways more than ninety percent of all these urban and
rural wastes can be converted into organic manures or fertilizers. It is best
practiced in every agriculturally advanced country and is best way to help
restore our natural resources. The use of Genetically Monitored crops (or GM
crops) in our mode of agronomy is not an answer. Automatically the resistant
and mutant varieties of pests and pathogens will come up. Finally, sooner or
later, the ‘gene spillage’ is sure to jeopardize the existence of our ‘time
tested and best suited’ native and hybrid cultivars. Simply we have to explore
what Mother Nature has gifted us. There are trillions of microorganisms which
symbiotically can benefit every individual plant, and so our cultivars, by
providing all sorts of nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous macro – and micro –
nutrients to the plants and by protecting the host from pests and pathogens, in
lieu of just a very little nutrients from the host plant. We have to use the
already known technology of converting all our urban and rural wastes, and
weeds, into invaluable organic fertilizers to help built a sustainable
agricultural practice.
4) Situa….. There are many
more startling facts appearing in News Dailies which most often either escape
our notice or are forgotten easily. Facing extreme poverty, a sizeable number
of ill-fated, illiterate and ill-educated rural people become an easy target of
notorious underworlds to become converted into skilled and well-trained
poachers. These poor terminal poachers fall an easy prey to an alluring return
risking their own lives. A poacher can earn several thousand rupees at one go.
Moreover, when a poacher is killed accidentally in animal attack or in an
encounter with security personnel, the kin next to the slain poacher is readily
paid in millions by the ‘higher-ups’ in
the hierarchy in these obnoxious, well-knit networks of poachers and smugglers
(The Statesman, Tuesday, 07.01.2014). Now the obvious question is – how can it
ever happen in the very presence of our official ‘intelligence and
surveillance’ bureaus? If it is occurring without any nexus with our own
‘administrative and socio-political higher ups’, then our intelligence agencies
may have to learn from these ‘antisocial networks’. And then again we should
pray to his almighty lordship for turning all these poachers, smugglers,
antisocial…into good Samaritans.
Expecta….. More and more forest
bound people are to be harnessed into the Forest Protection Groups (FPG) which
is considered an extended part of the security system guarding our wild life
territories. The FPGs should be made well-trained, well-equipped and salaried
(a different pay-scale can be considered) staff. Whenever any forest-staff
(irrespective of division and rank) is killed by animal attack, by an encounter
with poachers or by any natural disaster, the family next to the slain staff
should readily and substantially be compensated before the necessary enquiry is
completed. Children of forest-staff should be admitted to boarding schools or
institutions with hostel facilities on a priority basis and at free of cost as
in most cases the schools or higher education institutions are inaccessible
from where these forest bound people are bound to live and as in majority cases
they cannot afford the cost of education of their wards because of their very
low income situation.
5) Situa….. India is
surrounded by and well-connected to a number of Sovereign Countries where
medicines are prepared using varieties of animal parts (tiger bones, rhino
horns, pangolin scales, navels or nombrils of musk deer etc. etc.) which are
believed to possess ‘aphrodisiac’ and ‘longevity increasing’ properties that
has no scientific basis at all. In India and abroad still it is a common
practice of certain ‘filthy rich people’ to keep possessions of ‘stuffed body’
(whole body, head & neck, horns, leg & paw, feathers & quills etc.
etc.), ‘tanned and processed skin’ (of all varieties of mammals and reptiles in
particular) and ‘ivory’ of wild animals (the term ivory does not necessarily
mean only the elephant source) and wide varieties of show-pieces made from the
body parts of wild animals which are considered by them as their enviable
prized possessions. This is an advertent vulgar show of wealth and power by
these rich and prejudiced hypochondriacs. The currency transactions in these
poaching – smuggling trades can surpass many of our export – import business.
Expecta….. Ministry
of Environment and Forests (MoEF), working in tandem with the Ministry of
External Affairs (MoEA), should be exploring all possible avenues to mount
pressure on these errant countries for rigorous implementation of CITES (see
below). Moreover, these errant countries should be debarred from entering into
any FDI in our country. We should be more vigilant along the borders involving
honest and sincere civilians and using modern surveillance systems.
6)
Situa…..Measures
taken – International – A
variety of measures have been taken at International levels by framing out a
number of Protocols and Treaties, coming out through the frameworks of various
international conventions, conferences and summits, to protect our climate by
reducing the accumulation of GHG (Green
House Gas) in the atmosphere and to save our natural habitats and
biodiversity from further encroachment and destruction. India is one most
significant signatory to these protocols and treaties with her little more than
1.15 billion children to save and feed. The
Protocols of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
since it was negotiated in 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio
de Janeiro (popularly known by its title, the Earth Summit), through the resolutions of Conferences of Parties
(COP), Conferences of Member Parties (CMP) and of United Nations Climate Change
Conferences (UNCCC) during their summits, from time to time, have formed the
basic framework for the reduction of the GHG which is responsible for climate
change and global warming. The framework, which binds signatories’ governments
upon ratification, have emphasized on minimization of fossil fuel combustion
and carbon foot print watch, prevention of deforestation and complete eradication
of poverty. Other significant international Framework Conventions and Summits,
to most of which India are signatory, are United Nations Convention on
Biological Diversity (UNCBD, 1992) and Cartagena Protocol on
Biosafety; Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species – in Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES);
Ramsar Convention (Wetlands);
Bonn Convention on Migratory
Species; World Heritage Convention (indirectly
by protecting biodiversity habitats); Global Summit on Climate Change (Durban
Summit, 2011- extending Kyoto Protocol till 2017, Kyoto 11th
December, vide COP 7, 2001& Cancun Summit, COP 16, CMP 5, 2010. Alongside,
there are some Regional Conventions such as the Apia Convention and Bilateral
agreements such as the Japan-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement which
highlight our global awareness to help protect our natural climate and
biodiversity.
Surprisingly
it is those developed and industrialized countries (Annex and Non-Annex), who
are responsible for this present environmental disasters, and who themselves
have now a very poor record on biodiversity and habitat conservations, are
found to be more vocal and mounting pressure on poor underdeveloped countries
to follow these protocols and treaties, while most of these underdeveloped
countries are still having an effective biodiversity maintenance track records.
Expecta….. Being
the most important signatory to the treaties and protocols, India should be
more aggressive to bring these errant countries to books during every global summit
and convention, and should lay preconditions for following the carbon emission
norms and other protocols before signing any bilateral treaty with them.
7) Situa…..India – India, being a non-annex member and signatory party
to UNFCCC, COP & CMP, is bound to all these international protocols and
frameworks. The Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986, The Forest (Conservation) Act/Rules, 1980/2003 and The
Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 formed the basis of biodiversity and habitat
conservation in India. In tandem with the Protocols of UNFCCC a number of
measures have been undertaken recently by the Ministry of Environment and
Forests, Government of India and yet, they are found to be quite inadequate in
terms of the proportion of our population and the ratio of man and remaining
natural habitats. Now in a number of NPs and WLSs a few people from the
populations living in and around these areas have been involved to form the
Forest Protection Groups (FPG) or to serve as the Forest Guides and drivers of
various Safari vehicles, with remunerations on a daily wages basis, to help protect forests and to help in
Eco-Tourisms.
Expecta….. May be, in near future, stepping out
of all of our political and religious creed we
would have to be univocally vying for ‘one parent one child’ law to help
protect what we have till date, with our limited resources. We should hold
ourselves responsible for turning our beautiful ‘blue planet’ into a mess and
putting a 4000 million years’ history of biological evolution into shambles.
Now it is our duty to make our environment healthy, clean and habitable again
for our future generations to come.
8) Situa…..Practically,
from any point of view, achievements are negligible as compared to the huge
propaganda being publicized with such regularity. Due to lack of proper
training, modern gadgets and instrumentation these FPGs are rendered helpless.
On the contrary, being heavily tipped, the poor people of these FPGs are turned
out to be the helping hands of monstrous timber mafia for illegal felling of
trees particularly in less known WLSs and RFs. On the other hand, the much
hyped eco-tourism, instead of really creating any public awareness, has turned
out to be the ‘gaming-zones’ and ‘fashionable-past time destinations’ in the
hands of ‘very rich’. These filthy rich do even dare to defy all laws to turn
these ‘pleasure trips’ into their ‘hunting trips’ by trying to bribe anyone who
come across (a number of such cases are still pending under the jurisdiction of
various courts). Forest Rest Houses (FRH), food and accessibilities are very
costly and in majority remain beyond the reaches of real nature loving common
people from middle or low income groups that comprise ninety percent of our
population. There is no provision to make them available or accessible, on a
priority basis and with lowered rate, to the scientists, teachers, scholars,
and students, and photographer – reporters working on wild life, or flora, or
fauna, or biodiversity.
Expecta….. Forestry, Wild Life, Eco-Tourism,
Agriculture and Rural Employment should now be harnessed into a single thread
with our vision. A similar Project Plan is in its Preparatory Stage at
somewhere (the exact location to be disclosed in due time) in West Bengal, to
see our dreams come true. The scientists, teachers, scholars and reporters
should be allowed on a ‘top priority’ basis to enter the forests and NPs
throughout the year and should be provided with a provision to stay there at a
lower possible rate to add more eyes to the wild life security system and to
keep the most unwanted and unauthorized persons (persona non grata) at bay. Round the year entry of these scientists
and reporters into any forest area, removing all the stipulations would surely
minimize poaching to an extent. Poaching becomes rampant as the poachers tend
to use this period most in the absence of possible eye witnesses and because
manning of these vast and wide areas of wild life reserves is never possible
with the present poor staff pattern of various forest departments.
Can we still dare to dream and expect a change in
situation at this juncture? Dreaming we should be. Dreaming is the foundry of
all inventions – workshop of all the masterpieces – mother of all turning
points in the history of human civilization. Expectation is synonymous with
optimism to hope for good things to come – it is the strength and vigour of an
honest man working hard with sincerity to keep this planet habitable for generations to come.