Search for Global Warming related topics and See the Future

Friday, December 28, 2007

Threatened Tigers of India

It's a shame how the tiger & other endangered species population of India is declining in the past decade.

This is directly attributable to the following points:

  • Rampant deforestation due to corrupt officials & politicians. Only a few honest ones like Maneka Gandhi are taking a stand. Else it's left to the likes of Valmik Thapar and a few others to take up the cudgels for the tiger. How many Belinda Wrights & Peter Jacksons do we have in this country?
  • Poaching is going on in an organized manner .......this is due to the China Factor. It's a shame that some people even planned to have "tiger farms".....where tigers can be bred like cattle, and then skinned for their furs......It seems we have all become subservient to a growing superpower....for a few yens we are prepared to sell our last tigers, our last snow leopards, our last chinkaras down the drain.
  • Some states have taken a positive stand......The tigers in Corbett Park have increased in numbers......the Asiatic Lions of Gujarat are increasing......you can take a look at any neutral site. But what about the tigers of the Sunderbans ? Why has there not been any figures available for the number of tigers? It's well known among conservationists that the mangrove deltas are the last refuge of the Royal Bengal Tiger. What's happened in Sariska ......how come all the tigers vanished without any knowledge of the forest officials ?
  • Human Population Control.....the population of India stands at what? 1.2 billion...........people are foraging into deep forests for a living. As such human habitats come up within the reserve forests. Result : Deforestation. It is plain & straightforward impossible to save the bigger key predators unless this issue is resolved.
  • Fuel emissions leading to global warming...less said the better. Gaumukh, the very source of the River Ganges....has basically disappeared, retreated a few kilometers. Thsi has totally jeopardized the alpine , sub-alpine vegetation leading to chaos amongst the ecosystem in the higher altitudes.

It's time to take a stand.......

We want those responsible for carrying out poaching in an organized fashion to be brought to justice. We want a proper census to determine the number of tigers in the Sunderbans...the last refuge of the Bengal Tiger. We want no villagers to encroach into the Core Areas of the Reserve Forests, like what's happeneing in places like Sariska. Only We want a proper survey of the habitat , prey availability of snow leopards.

Educating people regarding population control. Impulsive teenage pregnancy can be forgiven, but what about we grown-ups ?

Stop deforestation.....Uttarakhand had set an example by imposing fine of 2 lakhs - 5 lakhs for cutting deodars....not to speak of the glorious chipko movement to stop cutting trees. Another example is Rajasthan. take for example the concept of Eco-Spiritualism.......anybody can support the Bishnois. In South Asian Countries with exceptionally high density of population, IMHO, that is the ONLY SOLUTION TO PRESERVE WILD LIFE.

No comments: