Proposal to control wildlife population draws flak (Kerala)
Proposal to control wildlife population draws flak (Kerala)
Manoj Viswanathan, The New Indian Express
February 15, 2024
The resolution moved by Forest Minister A K Saseendran in the assembly on
Wednesday demanding an amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to
protect farmers from wild animal attacks, is more a political tool to
pacify agitating farmers than a viable proposal, feel environmentalists and
animal rights activists.
The resolution had proposed amendment of Section 11 (1) (A) of the Act
which empowered the chief wildlife warden to grant permission to kill wild
animals posing a threat to human life. The resolution demanded the
devolution of power to chief conservators of forests (CCFs). The other
proposals were to declare wild boar as vermin, and to control the
reproduction of wild animals.
Highlighting the rise in human-animal conflict, the government has refused
to address the real issues that drive wild animals to human habitations.
The Forest Development Corporation manages around 1 lakh hectares of forest
of which 7,000 hectares have been converted into plantations. Eucalyptus,
acacia, casuarina, wattle, pine, albisia, bamboo, teak, medicinal plants
and cash crops are grown in these plantations.
The plantations have destroyed the grasslands while the spread of alien
species has led to the degradation of the forest. Besides invasive species
like Lantana camara and Senna spectabilis and mikania micrantha are
destroying the forest ecosystem. The degradation of forest has led to
scarcity of food for herbivores which forces elephants, wild gaur, wild
boar and deer to stray into human habitations.
The conversion of plantations to natural forest and construction of
watering holes in deep forest can help to reduce the man-animal conflict,
said former Principal CCF Prakriti Srivastava.
“We have to protect the wild habitat and maintain biodiversity to reduce
man-animal conflict. We are invading their space and calling them culprits.
Without forests we have no future. During my term as special officer of
Rebuild Kerala Development Programme, we had launched a scheme to convert
human settlements in deep forest into natural forest by providing
compensation to people ready to relocate. Around 600 families relocated
during my term and there were 5,000 applications pending nod,” she said.
“The proposal to control the reproduction of wild animals is ridiculous.
Under the animal birth control programme street dogs are caught, neutered
and released. Is it a proposal to tranquillise, capture, sterilize and
release male elephants and tigers? The claim of over population itself is
absurd. The wild elephant population in Kerala has declined from 5,706 in
2017 to 2,386 in 2023. The tiger population in Wayanad also has declined
from 120 in 2018 to 84 in 2023. If they are demanding culling of wild
animals, it needs a scientific study,” said animal rights activist M N
Jayachandran.
“How can you blame over-population when the recent census has indicated a
sharp decline in wild animal population,” asked former chief wildlife
warden O P Kaler. “These demands were not made when the Wildlife Protection
Act was amended recently. There is no chance for declaring wild boar as
vermin as the species has been included in Schedule 2 recently. Besides,
the state has given the right to panchayat presidents to order culling of
wild boar that destroy crops. They have already killed more than 4,000 wild
boars during the past two years,” he said.
“Why are people talking about controlling wildlife population when there
are other proven models to reduce man-animal conflict,” asked Asian
elephant researcher at the Centre For Conservation and Research in Sri
Lanka Sreedhar Vijayakrishnan.
“Why is it that Vietnam, which has the lowest elephant population in the
world, less than 100 elephants, still has conflict? Kerala can study the
model implemented by Nature Conservation Foundation at Valparai in Tamil
Nadu. Around 48 people had died at Valparai in Tamil Nadu over the past
three decades. The conflict reduced by 60% and there has not been any
casualty during the past five years. Numerous studies have brought out
anomalies in the population estimation methods currently being used. So I
am a bit unsure how we can conclude that the numbers, particularly that of
species such as elephants, have gone up. The population control project to
control reproduction of macaques in Himachal Pradesh was a huge failure,”
he said.
On Day 5, Karnataka joins jumbo mission
An 18-member team comprising forest officials and veterinary experts from
Karnataka on Thursday joined their Kerala counterparts in the mission to
tranquilise and capture rogue tusker Belur Makhna, which killed a farmer in
Wayanad last week.
The action comes reportedly post intervention of high-level forest
officials. During the mission to capture Thanneer Komban, the late
radio-collared elephant from Karnataka that entered Mananthavady town on
February 2 and caused panic, the forest team from the neighbouring state
had reached Mananthavady the first day itself to translocate the animal.
However, this time, the team joined the mission to capture Belur Makhna,
another radio-collared elephant from Karnataka, only on the fifth day even
after forest department officials from Kerala kept communicating with them.
Meanwhile, the mission to capture the tusker bore no fruit on the day and
will now resume on Friday. The presence of a second rogue elephant is
adding to the challenges in the mission. Dr Arun Zachariah, the wildlife
vet who has successfully completed similar missions before, will also join
the mission on Friday.
Elephant population in Kerala
2017: 5,706
2023: 2,386
Tiger population in Kerala
2018: 190
2023: 213
Tiger population in Wayanad forest
2018: 120
2023: 84
Wild stats
Total forest area 11,524.149 sq km
Percentage of forest area 29.65%
Reserved forests 6,450.913 sq km
Proposed reserve 285.093 sq km
Vested forests 1,586.147 sq km
Ecologically fragile lands 135.812 sq km
Protected area 3,066.184 sq km
TOTAL 11,524.149 sq km