Indias
vandalised sanctuaries
Environment
By Sharad K.
Soni
WORLD Environment Day comes and
goes every year and is observed in the same old tired
fashion full-page advertisements in the newspapers
and magazines extolling the Central and state
governments achievements in saving the environment.
Once the ads had been placed in
publications and the obligatory speeches and seminars
were through, it was back to business. Forgotten was the
fact that India is one of the third most polluted
countries in the world. Also forgotten was the plight of
the sanctuaries and wildlife reserves which have become a
haven for poachers, forest mafia and irresponsible
tourism.
It is no secret that
national parks and sanctuaries need serious attention in
terms of protecting and conserving our spectacular
wildlife and fragile eco-system. In recent years,
wildlife tourism in India has moved forward in volumes
with tour operators conducting excursions for both
foreign as well as domestic vacationers.
The best season to visit
these parks and sanctuaries for animal sighting is winter
when tourist influx is at its peak. Jeeps, cars, and
mini-buses equipped with glaring head lamps, full blast
stereo sets, flash-lit cameras and picnic hampers often
violate visiting hours, scare the animals and litter the
surroundings with plastic bags and garbage. Instead of
acquiring an educative attitude the enjoyment is at the
cost of animals and environment.
Do we really need
attitudinal changes towards wildlife tourism? The
question has begged an answer at various meetings,
seminars, committees but all in vain. Ironically, even
noted Indian environmentalists and wildlife experts
simply voice their concern and seldom come forthwith
viable solutions.
Says Subhash Goyal,
President of the Indian Association of Tour Operators and
chairman foreign tourists who come especially for
wildlife are extremely of the Stic group of travel chain:
"Foreign tourists who come especially for wildlife
are extremely disciplined and very particular about not
disturbing animals or polluting wildlife parks.
Unfortunately, the domestic tourists, specially the new
rich Indians, cause extensive damage. We have to
constantly request them not to play loud music or use
flash lights but to no avail."
Says Usha Rai, the
well-known journalist and consultant, World Wildlife Fund
Tiger Conservation Programme: "I think its got
something to do with the Indian psyche that we dont
care for animals, but at the same time it is imperative
that the tourist traffic increases to sanctuaries as it
would create a new respect for animals."
About 4 per cent of
Indias land area is protected by national parks and
wildlife sanctuaries. With the enactment of the Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972, a uniform legal framework came
into existence to protect the eco-system and wildlife.
Today there are 80 national parks covering an area of
34,684 sq. km.
However,
it is only around 30 popular spots which bear the brunt
of the tourist overload. Even some of the select areas
inside the wildlife reserves have come under tourist
pressure in sharp violation of
carrying-capacity norms. For example, Jogi
Mahal in the Ranthambhore National Park and Dhikala in
the Corbett National Park witness a heavy and usually
unruly tourist traffic.
Some of the leading
reserves creaking under tourist pressure include the
Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Haryana Corbett and Dudhwa in
U.P. ; Bandhavgarh and Kanha in M.P. : Sariska Tiger
Reserve, Keoladeo Ghana and Ranthambhore in Rajasthan;
Gir in Gujarat; Borivili in Maharashtra; Bandipur and
Rajiv Gandhi formerly Nagarhole National Parks in
Karnataka; Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary ( formerly
Anamalais Wildlife Sanctuary) in Tamil Nadu; Periyar
Tiger Reserve in Kerala; Sunderbans in West Bengal and
Manas Tiger Reserve and Kaziranga in Assam.
The estimated annual
turnover of visitors in Corbett is 40,000, in Gir 23,000,
in Borivili 25,000, in Kanha 66,000 in Ranthambhore
20,000 and in Sariska in the peak month of December alone
there are about 4,000 visitors.
The crowding of wildlife
reserves is also due to the casual visitors whose
interest is no more than a stop-over en route to some
other places. And during such stop-over its usually
a free for all .
"A number of Indian
tourists to these national parks are very influential
people and it is they who cause the maximum damage,"
says Goyal. " They have neither a sense of
responsibility nor any strict enforcement agency.
Its pathetic."
Agrees Usha Rai:
"Even though we need tourists, they should be told
the do and donts in such places. They have to learn
to respect the sanctity of national parks."
A recent case in point
is Sasan-Gir, home of the Asiatic lion where, the Kankai
Temple trust, which runs the temple located inside the
sanctuary, has been sanctioned special privileges by the
Gujarat state government in total violation of forest
rules and Wildlife Protection Act. These include plying
of vehicles any time of the day or night, building of
guest houses for night halts, plying commercial vehicles
carrying construction material and setting up of a diesel
engine windmill all of which is virtually dealing
a death blow to the world famous park.
Tour operators have
often been accused of bribing the wildlife staff to
secure night-time entry for their affluent clients. But
Goyal defends the tour operators, saying: "I fully
agree that tour operators should be aware of their
responsibility when they bring tourists to a protected
park. But the heartening thing is that many of the
regular tour operators have learnt a lot about
conservation of wildlife, which they pass on to their
clients."
Of late the Indian
Association of Tour Operators has been holding adventure
conferences and seminars in a bid to boost wildlife
tourism. " It is our responsibility to tell them
about the dos and donts , but at the same time we
feel these reserves should be better mangement by the
government, says Goyal.
Numerous committees have
come and gone to rectify the ills of wildlife management.
Recommendations have been made but these are promptly
forgotten. For example, the government did nothing about
some of the important recommendations made by the Roy
Committee formed in 1990 on wildlife tourism. The
committee had proposed an entry fee to these parks to be
raised in order to discourage casual visitors. Besides,
it recommended a total ban on any type of construction
inside the reserved area.
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