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the-south-asian.com April 2004 |
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April 2004 Wildlife
Paragpur
- India's 1st
Corporate Talk
Books Lehngas - a limited collection Books Between
Heaven and Hell
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INDIA'S VANDALISED SANCTUARIES by Sharad K Soni
Do we need attitudinal
changes towards wildlife tourism? It is no secret that national parks and sanctuaries need serious attention in terms of protecting and conserving India’s 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 forth with viable solutions Says Subhash Goyal, former president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators and chairman 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 renowned wildlife expert Usha Rai, " I think it's got something to do with the Indian psyche that we don't 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 four percent of India's 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.
Tourist Pressure 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-overs it's 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. It's pathetic." Agrees Usha Rai, " Even though we need tourists, they should be told the do's and don'ts in such places. They have to learn to respect the sanctity of national parks and should be told the right way to enjoy a educate them to do so," says she. Apart from the tourists there is also a steady stream of piligrims to temple located inside Bharatpur, Sasan-Gir, Ranthambhore and Sariska reserves. In the name of religion many of these piligrims are no respectors of entry and exit timings of these parks and often light up huge firs and pray to the accompaniment of drum beats and other loud instruments thus scaring away the animals. A recent case in point is the 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 the 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 setting up of a diesel engine windmill, all of which is virtually dealing a death blow to the world famous park.
Wildlife Conservation 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." Poor wildlife management coupled with political and bureaucratic lethargy as also a lack of trained guides and other facilities has all contributed to this sorry state of affairs which explains why wildlife tourism in India has been reduced to a cruel farce. To make matters worse, there is no coordination between the centre and the State Governments as well as among the departments of tourism, forest and archaeology. They are often found to work at cross purposes. Says Goyal, " Till the time we have an integrated approach towards these wildlife parks we cannot really preserve and develop wildlife tourism in the right spirit." 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 entry fee to these parks to be raised inorder to discourage casual visitors. Besides, it recommended total ban on any type of construction inside the reserved area. Says Usha Rai, " the entry fee can be raised but don't make it prohibitive because this entire ethos of caring for wildlife comes through when you actually see animals roaming in their natural habitat." Raising of entry fee would generate sufficient funds to be used for managing and preserving parks and sanctuaries. " If this is done then the maintenance standards would go up sizeably," says goyal. " Another viable option is to develop lesser known parks and sanctuaries which are also rich in wildlife. Says Usha Rai, "We should try to spread out the tourists all over the country so that the pressure is not built on one particular reserve." Dispersing of tourists to different parks and sanctuaries would no doubt minimize the tourist pressure which the better known reserves are facing today. And the government must seize the initiative in this direction for the benefit of both the wildlife as well as the tourists." Goyal says it is high time India had a national authority for wildlife and park management. " The bottomline here is that we must not allow tourism to be in conflict with the ecological conservation, rather the two have to come together. Like human beings, the privacy of animals must be respected." ***** |
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