AS civilisation marches on, trampling forests and beasts in its reckless wake, one can almost hear the mocking laughter of Malthus' ghost as the ever-swelling human juggernaut threatens to lay waste to this beautiful planet with its avarice and lebensraum. Cassandras warn us that we are already paying for our environmental sins as spectres of global warming, the ozone hole and the return of killer diseases haunt us.
We may yet survive well into the next century though. Our endangered wildernesses and wildlife, however, may not be so lucky. Of course, natural causes have driven many species to extinction. But while natural extinctions happen over thousands of years, man's domination of nature has multiplied that rate many times over.
Scientists reckon that at least half of the world's tropical forests, home to most of the world's species, have been felled since the beginning of this century and that at the current rate of destruction all will be gone in a few years. Though there may be differences over how many species there are—the estimate varies between 5 million and 30 million, of which only 1-2 million have been identified—many biologists contend that several millions may have already disappeared this century; and that a huge chunk of the rest, probably around 15 million, may be pushed over the brink in the next few decades.
Alarmingly, India, with its teeming millions struggling for every inch of space and ounce of resource, could become one of the largest biodiversity hecatombs. Though information is scarce, many believe that about 20 per cent of India's wild flora and fauna may be facing varying degrees of threat. And with the four horsemen of the environmental apocalypse—habitat destruction, poaching, pollution and introduction of exotic species—riding high, it won't be long before much of our endangered wildlife is condemned to the zoo or museum as exhibits.
As it happens, for reasons of convenience, history, aesthetics and politics of funding, what precious little we know about the habitat, numbers and behaviour of our wildlife is sadly restricted to charismatic big mammals—such as tigers and elephants—which evoke awe and admiration in the popular imagination. Megafauna chauvinism, as Madhusudan Katti, a wildlife biologist at the University of California, dubs it, has ensured obscurity for smaller but no less important wildlife like birds, butterfiles, frogs, etc. The logic being: save the tiger and the butterfly will take care of itself.
Habitat destruction has arguably caused the maximum damage to our wildlife. Between 1990 and 1995 the Indian Government diverted nearly 2,00,000 hectares of forest area to create crop fields, settlements and dams. There are 129,580,000 ha of wasteland in India, of which 35,889,000 ha is degraded forest land.
In the western Himalaya, deforestation and poaching have made life difficult for the musk deer, the Tibetan antelope, snow and clouded leopards and small cats like the Himalayan lynx. In Jammu and Kashmir animals like the hangul and the mountain goat are being hunted with impunity. "Because these areas are hostile and not easily accessible, not much is known about the status of animals living here," says R. S. Chundawat of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) who has studied the snow leopard.
In the North-east, slashing of grasslands in Assam have driven species like the hispid hare and the pigmy hog to the brink of extinction; and deforestation has led to a precipitous decline in the wild populations of species like the golden langur and the Hoolock gibbon. Manipur's Sangai deer is probably the most endangered deer in the world, with not more than 152 deer in the wild. Shrinkage of the lake due to the Loktak dam being the prime reason.
DOWN south, destruction of forests in the Western Ghats—one of the world's biodiversity hotspots—has endangered many native species, such as the grizzled giant squirrel, the liontailed macaque, the Nilgiri langur and the Nilgiri tahr. A.J.T. John-singh of the WII says the giant squirrel is now surviving precariously in the Srivilliputhur-Rajapalyam sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. Fragmentation of its habitat has led to inbreeding and a decline in breeding rates. The lion-tailed macaque, though relatively safe in its habitat, also suffers from the 'shrunk family, shrunk home' syndrome.
In the deciduous forests of central India, destruction of forests and swamps has led to a steep decline in and fragmentation of populations of the barasingha, the wild buffalo, the Oriental otter and the Indian wolf. The wolf has become extremely rare as a result of loss of habitat. With not enough prey to go around, it is forced to attack domestic livestock. And sometimes children too. In the most recent case in Uttar Pradesh, more than 50 wolves were shot dead for mauling children. There is no accurate estimate, but their numbers may have dwindled to about 1,500. Likewise, there are no figures available for otter, but otter expert S.A. Hussain of WII fears that unchecked hunting, drying of wetlands and chemical pollution of rivers may have caused a major decline in its numbers.
Desert wildlife is probably the least examined. But wildlife biologists believe that the disappearance of grasslands in Rajasthan, especially due to the Indira Gandhi Canal, and poaching have threatened animals like the desert cat, desert fox, blackbuck and the caracal. Desert specialist Ishwar Prakash warns that continued destruction of their habitat will force them to migrate or perish
. The Indian wild ass, endemic to the Rann of Kutch, is battling for survival as salt manufacturers encroach on its habitat. India's rich avifauna too has suffered severely at the hands of 'development'. There are about 67 species of birds currently listed by BirdLife International as threatened or endangered. But only a few have been documented. A notable victim of habitat loss is the highly endangered white-winged wood duck which inhabits the pools and swamps in the evergreen forests of the North-east (total population less than 100). With a total world population of perhaps fewer than 200, it is justifiably called the world's rarest duck.
The bustard family—the great Indian bustard, the Bengal flori-can and the Lesser florican—would have all but disappeared but for the Bustard Project. Destruction of grasslands, the habitat of these big birds, has led to a precipitous decline in their numbers. The Bengal florican is precariously perched with an estimated population of only 250-300. Agriculture has banished the Lesser florican from its original home. Perhaps not more than 1,000 of these birds survive today. The Great Indian bustard, the most famous of the trio, is also gasping for life. At last count not more than 700 existed in the entire country. Says bustard expert Asad R. Rahmani of the Bombay History Natural Society (BHNS): "In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, their numbers have dwindled beyond redemption. In Madhya Pradesh's Karera sanctuary, not even a single bustard is left."
But the most endangered Indian bird is arguably the Jerdon's courser, thought extinct since 1900 but rediscovered in 1986 in Andhra Pradesh. The exact count is unknown. Cheer pheasantwestern tragopan and the Himalayan bearded vulture are some other birds with one foot in the grave.
Then of course the most well-known mammalian quintet—lion, tiger, leopard, elephant and rhino—continues on the roller-coaster of extinction. Prodded by the poacher's bullet. Some estimates say that tigers are being shot at the rate of one per day, at which pace they will be certainly wiped out by the end of this century (see box). The Gir lions may have registered an impressive increase in their number, but industries and poachers are slowly closing in on them. Moreover, being isolated in Gir, the possibility of a single disease or natural calamity wiping out the entire population cannot be ruled out.
The plight of the leopard is even sadder. Shrinking forests have brought it in direct confrontation with villagers, largely in the hills. In fact, in 1995, the Himachal Pradesh forest department had sought the Centre's permission to kill 270 of the 821 leopards as they were attacking human settlements. Though permission was denied, the department is reportedly killing the beasts covertly by declaring them man-eaters. Traffic India, which tracks illegal wildlife trade, suggests that for every tiger killed, five leopards are being poached. As per the last countrywide count in
1993, leopards numbered only 7,500. Says Ashok Kumar, vice-president of the Wildlife Protection Society of India: "If you take into account the number of leopard skins seized over the last few years, it is probably the fastest declining big cat in India."
The elephant and the rhino are similarly beleaguered. Habitat destruction, poaching and poisoning by villagers have made life impossible for India's largest mammal. Only about 12,000-15,000 elephants survive in the wild. The pachyderm's plight is most severe in Rajaji, Mudumalai, Simlipal, Jaldapara and Manas national parks. Their once-expansive stamping grounds drastically curtailed by developmental projects, the last of the behemoths are now forced to raid crops of nearby villagers, who often retaliate by poisoning them. The one-horned Indian rhino, though relatively safe in the Kaziranga national park, continues to be poached for its supposedly aphrodisiacal horns. Over 700 rhinos are known to have been killed over the last 15 years.
But wildlife is not just mammals and birds. There are scores of other endangered species about which we know very little, small cats, snakes, rodents, monitors, smaller birds, frogs, butterflies, moths, beetles and what-have-you. Many of them are hunted voraciously by the poacher. Unnoticed. And it's futile to talk about marine and riverine life. Conservationists believe that Schedule I of the Wildlife Act badly needs revision. Says Ashish Kothari of the Indian Institute of Public Administration: "Since we know so little about so many animals, it is totally arbitrary to classify them as rare, endangered or critical." Bikram Grewal, an amateur ornithologist, feels sorry that birds, butterflies and moths, which are valuable indicators of wilderness health, do not receive enough protection.
BUT to be fair, in the first decade after the Act's notification, it did provide refuge for our besieged wildlife which had been ruthlessly hunted for over two centuries. Hunting of animals listed in the Schedule I and II is now a punishable offence. Although the foresters, entrusted with the onerous task of wildlife management, were unlettered in the science of conservation—in any case, at the time the nascent science of ecology had very little to offer to wildlife managers by way of practical suggestions—and precious little was known about the status of most species, strict enforcement of the Act led to a virtual rebirth of many species. At the same time, wildlife institutes like the WII and the BNHS initiated many projects to gather information about the status of Indian wildlife. And with an emerging environment movement patronised by a wildlife-enthusiast prime minister,Indira Gandhi, conservationists couldn't have asked for a more favourable political climate.
But the euphoria was shortlived, not least because the initial success lulled almost everybody into a state of complacency. "Everything is fine with the tiger," was the familiar jubilant refrain. Conservationists tom-tommed their success story. "But," points out K. Ullas Karanth, a tiger expert working in Karnataka's Nagarhole national park, "nobody realised that the 10-odd tiger hotspots were a minuscule fraction of the total tiger habitat. Over the rest of its range, the tiger's decline continued." And moreover, since the tiger was safe in its well-protected havens, so went the logic, all was well with other species too.
Meanwhile, the failure of captive breeding programmes—the crocodile is an exception—dampened the wildlifers' enthusiasm. Says Johnsingh: "Breeding programmes are a last resort. The question, why did the species reach such a pass, is seldom asked. When habitat destruction is the reason for animals being wiped out, what is the use of breeding tigers or deer in facilities from which they have no escape?"
Some put the blame on faulty wildlife management and skewed wildlife research. Says a disgruntled wildlife biologist: "The biggest problem is we know nothing about our wildlife and wildlife research in India is ridiculously inadequate and misdirected. Ninety-five per cent of all projects are so esoteric that by the time they throw light on this species or that problem, the habitat or the animal has died or been pushed beyond the brink." But by far the deadliest blow to conservation efforts has been dealt by the new creed of liberalisation. Laments Valmik Thapar, executive director of Ranthambore Foundation: "The Environment Ministry, the custodian of environment, became a plaything in the hands of corrupt ministers, bureaucrats and industrialists. Now you could build anything—dams, thermal power stations, golf grounds, human settlements—without giving a damn about forests and its wild denizens."
Examples of the Government's Nero-like attitude to environment abound: the proposed destruction of Balphakram sanctuary by cement major ACC in Meghalaya, the swamps upon which the Sangai deer of Manipur are dependent, the Kharo Creek in Kutch which the Sanghi Cement Co. has already damaged, the steady ruination of Chilika Lake, to name a few.
The lack of political will is reflected in the meagre funding allocated to preserving wildlife. Currently about Rs 100 crore (Central, state and foreign funding put together) per annum is available for wildlife protection, while according to an Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) study, about Rs 2,500 crore is needed to properly manage 200 major protected areas (PAs) over a period of five years.
FURTHERMORE, while till 1991-92 there was a centrally sponsored scheme for control of poaching and illegal trade in wildlife, none exists now. Forest officials complain that the states are just not interested in conserving wildlife. Says Thapar: "Many states spend only a small fraction of the funds allocated for wildlife. I did a survey and found that more than 50 per cent of the tiger reserves were illequipped to fight poaching. What's the use of making sanctuaries when you can't manage them?" This gradual erosion of political will to save wildlife has given the poacher a new lease of life. Says Ashok Kumar: "The wildlife trade has become the third largest illegal trade in the world after drugs and armaments. And with the deplorable failure of wildilfe laws to curb poaching, India has become the soft butter pat on the poacher's knife.
Meanwhile, the conservation movement itself has got polarised between the social activists who see conservation as elitist and anti-people and the conservationists who want people out of the forests. Writes Paola Manfredi, a French anthropologist studying traditional knowledge in India, in the recently published book In Danger: Indian Wildlife and Habitat: "While there is growing awareness to protect natural habitats, it is much more difficult to find a positive response to species, such as tiger, lion, leopard and elephant...which are perceived as threats to humans or as competing with the latter for space." The book, a pot pourri of articles by experts on the vexed issue of wildlife vs people debate, recounts the changing nature of the Man vs Nature debate through the tragic tales of the nine most endangered species.
This schism is evident in the increasing people-park conflicts. There are 521 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the country, covering roughly 4.3 per cent of the total area. But the trouble is 56 per cent of the PAs and sanctuaries have substantial human populations, numbering anywhere between four and five million.
In fact, the last few years have seen major confrontations over the issue of forest rights between locals and forest department. For example, the Bodo tribals in Manas, the Kurumbas in Nagarhole and the Gujjars in Rajaji. The pro-people NGOs' main contention is that while there is a clearcut ban on use of PAs by local people, there are virtually no such curbs on mega industrial projects. Says Neena Singh of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE): "The state governments divert forest lands for industrial and developmental purposes by circumventing wildlife and environmental laws. A more drastic route they take is to denotify the sanctuary." So you have at least 43 national parks and sanctuaries which have been in various stages of denotification since 1990. While NGOs like the CSE contend that local communities should be made the chief stake-holders in any biodiversity conservation campaign, conservationists like Bittu Sahgal, editor of Sanctuary magazine, and Thapar insist that "no people's movement has ever managed to save a habitat or ecosystem in India".
Between the die-hard conservationist's position and that of the NGOs is a third voice—that of the World Bank which, though convinced that the presence of local people in the parks is undesirable, admits that they should not be forcibly displaced; they should be given alternative non-forest based employment so that they can leave the park willingly. Guided by this wisdom, the Bank has sponsored a Rs-118 crore ecodevelopment project for seven national parks.
Critics decry the World Bank's ecodevelopment project as a colonial "we know what is good for you" attitude. Says Sahgal: "Already plans are afoot to bring in piggeries, poultries, duckeries, tailor shops, carpentry and even diamond cutting. This social engineering will turn the tribals into third rate versions of city dwellers and destroy their knowledge base." The long and short of it all is that these are bad times for the wilderness and its inhabitants. Myopic politicians, incoherent bureaucrats, demoralised foresters, insensitive industrialists, alienated citizenry and politicised environmentalists have all conspired to create widespread cynicism—be it destruction of forests and wildlife, defiling of rivers, soils and atmosphere, or the marginalisation of the poor.
This being the state of affairs, the philosophical and moral predicament of to care or not to care stares all of us in the face.
