Development vs space imperils man, animal

The Pioneer , Thursday, July 19, 2012
Correspondent : Moushumi Basu | New Delhi
Be it the shooting down of black buck in Maharashtra by the kin of a State Minister recently or the killing of a six-year-old girl by a leopard in the State on the fringes of Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai — both indicate at the rising incidents of straying of wildlife outside the forest into the human landscapes.

The black buck was shot in an agricultural field while the girl was mauled to death in the vicinity of a slum. Once out of the protected areas/forests, they either fall easy prey to poachers or the wrath of locals whose lives too, as a result, are in danger.

According to Kishore Rithe, member, standing committee (National Board For Wildlife) and who represents the Satpuda Foundation working for wildlife conservation in Maharashtra, “The situation is getting more and more alarming as the habitat areas/forests of these carnivores and prey species are getting more and more fragmented, due to the upcoming developmental projects.

With rising human pressures, change in the pattern of land use, these animals often end up in human territory. There is dearth of agricultural land today — it is very expensive too hence the easiest option for the Government or corporate sectors to grab degraded forest land which may otherwise be portions of valuable corridor areas. “It is time for the local officers to show serious concern on the issue”.

Pointing to the rising cases of poaching of various species of wildlife across the country, the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) felt seizures are just tip of the icebergs. “It is time to tone up the protection mechanism of the forests as most of these seizures are per chance and seldom on the basis of intelligence reports”, felt Tito Joseph, programme coordinator WPSI.

200 wildlife posts vacant

The sensitive post of Additional Director of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau under Ministry of Environment and Forests has recently got an incumbent after lying vacant for nearly a month. But nearly 200 posts in various capacities are still lying vacant across the five centres of the bureau in the country.

 
SOURCE : http://dailypioneer.com/nation/81745-development-vs-space-imperils-man-animal.html
 


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