Sanctuary |People
almost 600 IFS offi cers and foreign
trainees in Basic Wildlife Management.
And it was not all academics. They
learned how to understand wildlife and
nature, use Chemical Immobilisation
techniques for radiotelemetry and deal
with human-animal confl icts. A whole
host of scientifi c papers got written in
the process!
Did your zoo experience ever really
prove to be useful in the fi eld?
Bittu, I know you are not a great fan
of zoos, but I can tell you that my
experience helped me to set up a
successful captive breeding programme
for snow leopards in Southeast
Asia; also the fi rst captive breeding
programme for the Tibetan wolf and so
much more, including the rehabilitation
of a clouded leopard cub. I initiated the
Red Panda Conservation Programme,
which succeeded in rehabilitating zoo-
born pandas in Singalila National Park.
I also worked with the Darjeeling Zoo,
converting it into the fi rst specialized
ex-situ conservation unit with the main
focus on rare and endangered wildlife
species from the Himalayas. ManyVinod Rishi with Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at the 34th professional forestry training course in 2005, held at the Indira Gandhi Forest Academy, Dehradun.people who hated zoos changed thier
minds after visiting the Darjeeling Zoo.
I know, Vinod, I have followed your
career. But tell me this -- how do we
convince our country that protecting
its biodiversity is actually something
that involves national development
and the water and food security of
our people?
Have faith, Bittu, and do what you
always advise others to do; trust that
nature will throw up its own solutions
in the end. Specifi cally, you remember
how almost all the rhinos were wiped
out from Jaldapara? Well, it was with
the help of local communities that we,
in the Forest Department, managed
to bring them back by removing
community support from the poaching
gangs. My gentle approach towards
encouraging the young ones to observe,
respect and love wildlife has turned my
entire family into ardent wildlife lovers.
You have really worked in some
tough terrain.
Some call it tough, but I call it heaven!
Some of my most satisfying assignments
involved working in wildernesses suchas the Sundarban Tiger Reserve. Here
we had to fi nd ways of keeping man
and animal apart in some of the most
diffi cult terrains including mangrove
creeks aff ected by tides.
You were always outspoken about
delivering tangible benefi ts to fringe
communities around Protected Areas
as a primary strategy to protect the
biodiversity in the core zones.
Anyone who understands real long-
term conservation would say the same
thing. I recall designing a pollution-free,
gravity-powered freshwater distribution
network for multiple villages; this was
an eff ort to reduce confl ict between
thirsty cattle and wild animals way back
in 1996. The system still works fl awlessly
in Rajaji, with little or no maintenance
cost. Some call that social work; I call it
hardcore nature conservation.
There is a train of thought that
suggests that the only way to protect
wildlife is to be on the ground, taking
hard conservation steps to be in
the room when policymakers are
propagating plans and projects without
fully understanding the consequences.COURTESY: VINOD RISHI