https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

What Lies Ahead: IFS Officers on Wildlife Conservation 

Indian Masterminds Stories

It is World Wildlife Day today and seminars, webinars, meetings, talks, discussions, etc. on wildlife conservation are taking place all over the world to commemorate the occasion. India, too, is witnessing the same scenario. However, in the midst of it all, few pertinent questions do arise. Have we done enough towards wildlife conservation? Can we afford to sit smugly, satisfied with what have been achieved till now, or do we need to start worrying about the ecological imbalance and the declining numbers of some of the already vulnerable species? 

To find out, Indian Masterminds talked to Indian Forest Service officers and tried to know from them about what lies ahead in terms of wildlife conservation. 

TOO MUCH BUREAUCRATISATION

Dr Shekhar Kumar Niraj, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and State Chief Wildlife Warden, Tamil Nadu, is of the opinion that the major reason for the decrease of wildlife is the shrinking of forest areas. It is the result of unplanned development leading to infringement on their habitats and buffer areas. 

“We have created huge disturbances to the wild animals by cultivation, road and rail traffic, and diversion of critical habitats for development projects, destroying corridors in the process.” 

He also pointed out that the wildlife areas are managed by people having no knowledge of wildlife. 

“Conservation is not our priority. Too much bureaucratisation of forest service is leading to unscientific management and haphazard and ad hoc decision making. This results in lack of transparency and lack of inclusiveness. We also lack professionalism in handling wildlife crimes and prosecution, which is a major concern.” 

He also emphasized that anthropogenic pressures, fragmentation, resource crunch and sectoral allocation are also causing problems in the road for conservation. He also wants immediate attention of policy makers and the public for the conservation of pangolin, Indian fox, monitor lizard, slender loris, leopard, whale, shark, sea cucumber, sea horse, green sea turtles, freshwater turtles, star tortoises, vultures, hyena, etc.

RECOGNIZE GREEN WARRIORS 

Senior IFS officer Ramesh Pandey said that India has a long history and tradition of conserving wildlife. Even in conserving wildlife in human dominated landscape, the country has showed the way by conserving charismatic and mega faunal species like tigers, Asiatic lion, Asian elephants, one horn rhinoceros, gharials, Gangetic dolphins and many such key tone species. 

“We have many success stories so far as species conservation is concerned. We are running Project Tiger, Project Elephant, Project Asiatic Lion, while Project Gangetic Dolphin is in pipeline.” 

He also pointed out that it is now time to acknowledge our green warriors for their untiring work in protecting and conserving our invaluable wildlife, in order to move forward in the right direction. 

FOCUS ON CONSERVING HABITATS 

Senior IFS officer and Ex-DIG, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Mr. Surendra Mehra said, “It’s not just about the protection of individual wildlife species. Conservation of habitat at local level and landscape at larger level is more important for achieving overall conservation goals.”

Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Himachal Pradesh) and DG, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Mr. Sudhir Pandey also shares similar views. He said, “Restore habitat with zero error protection and leave rest to nature. It will heal itself with ‘vengeance’. The resurgence of panther and wild boar populations proves the concept.”

FOCUS ON MINISMISING MAN-ANIMAL CONFLICT 

2010-batch IFS officer, Ms. Dipika Bajpai said that although some reports suggest that green cover is increasing, they are only plantations. The forests areas where the wildlife reside is shrinking while the population growth and pressure on land is increasing exponentially. 

“We are now aiming to become a 3 billion economy, which means lots of development and infrastructure projects. Roads and railways will increase, criss-crossing forest areas and leading to fragmentation of habitats. It will result in more man-animal conflicts, and in future, the forest department’s full focus will be occupied with this issue. We may pat our back for our achievements, but the scenario is going to be much more difficult in the future.” 

Man Animal Conflict (Representative image)

Retired Principal Chief Conservator, Mr. I. D. Pandey said that protection areas need not be very large but should be away from habitations to minimise man animal conflict. 

“Forest Department must focus on reducing damage to human life and property by wild animals. In Uttarakhand, for instance, nothing much has been done to reduce leopard menace on human life or crop damage by monkeys. To deal with specific area needs, stakeholders should be consulted to find impact of wildlife conservation efforts – shortcomings and remedies.”  

INCLUDE PUBLIC IN ALL CONSERVATIONS EFFORTS 

IFS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, Mr. Aishwarya Raj is of the view that all conservation efforts will go in vain if the public is not engaged in them. 

“Most of the people believe that conservation hampers development. Our focus should be towards changing this narrative and creating awareness about co-existence and the importance of conversation. We need to introduce incentivisation programmes and rope in the local public, or else we will keep on losing our wildlife and wildlife habitats.” 


Indian Masterminds Stories
Related Stories
NEWS
ips-officer Latest
16 IPS Officers from Various Cadres Set to Retire in March 2025, Check Names Here
CAG logo-resized
CAG Denies Conducting Audit on Vehicle Used by IAS Officer Smita Sabharwal, Sends Cautionary Letter to University
psuwatch_2024-11-04_ur2eppwp_NTPC-ONGC
ONGC NTPC Green Completes Ayana Acquisition for Rs 6,248.50 Crore
Power Grid
Power Grid Board Approves Rs 673-Crore Investment for Transformer Converter Purchase
750x450_859980-ddnhd
Amaraesh Pujari, IPS Officer Who Foretold Jayalalithaa’s Conviction, Retires
Leopard  Dogs
Fearless Dog Stares Down Leopard, Wins the Standoff in Viral Video
IREDA logo 1
IREDA Secures Rs 1,476 Crore ECB from SBI Tokyo to Boost Renewable Energy Funding
BHEL_resized
BHEL Secures EPC Contract for Supercritical Thermal Plant in Chhattisgarh
Videos
Sajjan Yadav, IAS
The Policy Maker Who Turned India’s Vaccine Story and UPSC Struggles into Bestsellers
WhatsApp Image 2025-03-21 at 14.33
Training The Cops In Mastering The Technology Used By Criminals
IAS Ayush Prasad
This IAS Officer Dreams of Making Jalgaon a $25 Billion Economy in Four Years
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
WhatsApp Image 2025-03-29 at 12.29
Is Human Interference Destabilising Natural Equilibrium In Forests? 
ips-officer Latest
16 IPS Officers from Various Cadres Set to Retire in March 2025, Check Names Here
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Sajjan Yadav, IAS
WhatsApp Image 2025-03-21 at 14.33
IAS Ayush Prasad
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT