Uniting to conserve our wildlife

Every speech, every article written about the state of wildlife in India begins with or contains the famous quote from Gandhi –“ One can measure the greatness and the moral progress of a nation by looking at how it treats its animals”. Even here I am making a reference to it. This article is not about the greatness of India’s wild heritage. A lot has been said about it in the media, and over coffee tables. This is an article about a few people involved (even remotely) with wildlife conservation. This is about how we feel. This is about the state of the system as we have come to see it. With this simple introduction I will dive into the point of contention…

Travel to any protected area where wildlife is officially supposed to exist, which is not in the ‘A list’, and talk to the locals. All you will hear are stories about the lack of effort from the Forest Department (FD) and state government. Before you conclude that this is yet another article complaining about the inadequacies of these officials, we would like to request you to put aside these doubts and read on. In our encounter with various states’ FDs we have more often than not encountered insurmountable difficulties, from plain indifference to abject hatred. That’s one part of the story. What we, as people living in civilization, don’t hear is that there are a few people still scattered around who rise above the normal rut to do good work. It is these people we seek out and help in our own capacity. Be it writing a simple proposal or a requisition letter or actively participating in conservation efforts. This story is dedicated to those people.

Fighting against all odds

The Indian forests largely have inaccessible and inhospitable terrain. Life here is not simple; most of us can’t survive there for a weekend without running water, electricity, network and internet. It is where these few able and capable forest staff works. They need help in the form of volunteers and people who come to recognize their work appreciate them and help them in whatever simple way it might be possible. This might be our first step towards wildlife conservation. Helping those involved, making their life simple. All the readers are informed enough to know that we are at the brink of losing everything. Not just the Tiger, the damage is done across all species. The tiger is simply a mascot to bring to your notice all that is wrong in the wild. There should be more public involvement and that will be the only way to bring in transparency to the FD work.

How you can help

You can start with taking some time off and contacting the nearest FD. Get involved by doing simple odd jobs, build contacts and get more people involved. We are not asking you to become the big brother, we are asking you to assist as a concerned responsible individual. Directly help the people caught in the crossfire or fund a tribal kid’s education. There are various means and ways to do it. Google will show you the way. Make sure you monitor it. Understand that this is an effort for the survival of our species, of humanity. There are people working for conservation, sadly however there is a larger number working against it. This has to change this has to be a people’s effort.

We humbly request you to take an effort in this direction and get as many people as possible involved. We need not just the tigers in our jungle, but also the leopards and gaurs and a whole lot other wonderful creatures. There is not much time left. This Wildlife Week we can, each and every one of us, work towards making that one simple change. If you cannot contribute time, help those who can. The simplest way is to help the FD of this country function better. We are always willing to help those who are lost. Let this be a new beginning and all we can hope for is the best

any queries mail us at
gupta.meetu@rediffmail.com
praveenzone@rediffmail.com