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Guardian of the forests
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India has a very good track record in protecting its forest assets, says S. C. Sarma, Additional director general, Forests and Wildlife. In a chat withK. S. Sudhi
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India had a unique tradition of respecting the right to life of all the occupants of planet Earth. Be it trees or animals, the ancient Indian mind and culture always cared for and acknowledged the right of
other beings to live in this world on a par with the human beings.
Even though such values got eroded over the years, India still has an enviable track record in protecting wildlife, thanks to the people of this country who are making a special effort to give some extra space to wild life in their lives, says S. C. Sarma, Additional Director General, Forests and Wildlife.
For a country which occupies two per cent of the total geographical area of the earth and accounts for 17 per cent of the human population and half of the world tiger population, 60 percent of the elephant and rhino population and 18 per cent of livestock, the protection of other claimants to Mother Earth is no mean task.
Moreover, India is the only home of the Asiatic tigers in this part of the globe. According to official statistics, nearly 300 rivers of the country in the peninsula have their origin in the national park centres.
With its vast bio-resources spread over different geographical locations, where each zone stands out from the others in all aspects of climate, geology and vegetation, it is virtually a Herculean task to protect these treasures.
Even though it's not a rosy picture that we have about wildlife protection and conservation in India, there is no match for the country's credentials in this area, feels Mr. Sarma.
``We are not as good as we ought to be. Still, we are the best in the world and the credit goes to the common man considers the other creations of nature as his fellow beings,'' says Mr. Sarma.
It is the magnanimity of the Indian farmer, who refuses to shoot down the wild elephants which invade his agricultural land and destroy crops that counts most.
Some communities in North India never attempt to catch peacocks which come into their huts. They even feed them, though they never get anything in return, said Mr. Sarma. He also lauded the role of the grassroots level officials of the Wildlife and Forest Department to whom the nation should be indebted to for protecting the bio wealth of the country.
``Despite the shortage of basic infrastructure facilities, these men are performing a great job in protecting the bio-assets of the country. The country should be proud of them for it is with minimum facilities and arms that they are taking on forest brigands like Veerappan,'' says Mr. Sarma.
It is only by improving the lives of those faceless men who often get missed in the crowd that the country would be able to guard its bio assets, he said.
``You may accuse some of the forest guards and rangers of being corrupt. But when pitted against the brigands of the clan of Veerappan and that too without sufficient facilities and even arms, they have only two options left before them. Either you get killed by the powerful forest mafia or you compromise with corruption'', says Mr. Sarma.
Though we are showering benefits and promotions on the officers at the higher echelons, the case of the grassroots level forest official who is the real protectors of wildlife, is often neglected. They need to be reorganised and be taken care of properly on priority basis if we are serious about the business of protection, he says.
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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