NGO for Stronger Intelligence Network to Conserve Leopards (CP)

Hindustan Times (New Delhi) , Monday, February 13, 2012
Correspondent : Nihi Sharma Sahani
In a bid to conserve leopard in Uttarakhand, Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), an NGO working towards wildlife conservation on national level, has given suggestions to the chief wildlife warden. The organisation has emphasised on developing stronger intelligence network especially on local level so that poaching and animal part trading activities could be checked.

According to the letter, issued in the first week of February, suggestions were made to check leopard deaths in state. Speaking to Hindustan Times, Rajendra Agarwal state head WPSI said, “Increasing leopard deaths in Uttarakhand is a matter of concern. The state forest department should take its deaths toll seriously and take an immediate action.”

Classified in four categories, the suggestions broadly include increasing awareness, check on poaching activities through developing intelligence, conserving leopards from accidents and stopping revenge killing.

While the NGO laid emphasis on spreading awarencess through motivating villagers not to go out in forest alone, it also suggested that they use precautionary steps.

The letter stated that villagers should keep their pets whether cattle, hen or dogs behind closed doors. Especially, during late nights, villagers should keep their lights on. This could be achieved by motivating them to use solar lights.

As children are easy prey for leopards, it was suggested that parents should not leave their children alone. Notably, women folk leave their sleeping child in open ground unattended. Children sholdn’t be sent to school alone. An adult or a group should escort them to school.

Talking about developing intelligence, it was suggested that the network should be strengthened on lowerlevel. This implied that villagers should act as informers.

This would help in keeping a tab over locals who are involved in poaching and animal part trading. One of the striking points of the suggestions made was rewarding the informer.

Each informer should be duly rewarded with money so that he or she should continue to help the department. An enforcement team should also be constituted in each forest division so that informers and villagers could be trained.

Revenge killing was also prominent in Uttarakhand and that’s why high number of leopard deaths was reported in the state.

The NGO suggested that the forest department should immediately pay the due compensation for crop loss or human loss done by wildlife. This would help in minimising the revenge killing.

Having an estimated population of 2000, 114 leopard deaths were reported in 2011. 105 in 2010 and 85 in 2009.

 
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