Sanctuary |Opinion
landsharks and project proponents who
seek quick cash returns, get grasslands
classifi ed as wastelands. Not only does
this deprive grasslands of protection, it
sets them up for execution at the hands
of dubious development projects and
commercial plantations.
Some of the damage is irreversible!
Most of it can be fi xed, often using
such iconic species as the Great Indian
Bustard, or the Indian wolf, chinkara,
blackbuck and Lesser Floricans... all
Schedule-I species listed for the highest
protection under the Wildlife (Protection)
Act, 1972. One way to do this might be
to notify selected biodiverse grasslands
as eco-sensitive zones and buff er
areas of existing Protected Areas, but
this would by no means be enough.
Key grasslands, such as Banni, shola
grasslands of the Western Ghats and
the once-extensive grasslands of theterai region need protection as key
biodiversity hotspots in their own right.
It’s a time-tested reality. A charismatic
species is what it takes for protection
status to be accorded to an area of
biodiversity value. Not just an endangered
species, but one that is charismatic and has
the ability to grab attention and the heart
of the ‘public’. Being notifi ed on Schedule-I
of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972,
is fi ne when it comes to enforcement,
but in terms of public appeal it just does
not cut it. On the other hand, sprinting
gazelles with their ballet-dancer gait and
big almond eyes, or handsome blackbuck
with their black-and-white visage and
contoured horns are able to make people
stop and take a deep sigh of admiration.
M. Krishnan (Sanctuary Vol. XXX No. 4,
August 2010) put it bluntly: “When every
acre is held precious, I think the beasts and
the birds of the open country must lookto the blackbuck for their salvation, for it
is the one claimant for protection among
them whose arresting good looks and
swift charm might succeed in attracting
notice.” Subsequently as practitioners
know, in the name of the blackbuck, or
wolf, even grasshoppers and soil micro
fl ora and fauna benefi t from protection.OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE
PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE.
The recent trend across the world and in
India of creating community conservation
geographies is an encouraging sign. I for
one hold the belief that conservation is the
art of the possible and not the science of
the impossible. Towards this end we have
a lot to learn from communities such as
the Bishnoi of Rajasthan for whom the
blackbuck and the khejri tree Prosopis
cineraria are equally sacred. This is a key
reason that their semi-arid ecosystem,
which boasts of such vital wildernesses as
the Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary in Churu,
Rajasthan, have survived the ravages of
misguided developers.
Interestingly, the fortuitous planting
of Acacia nilotica (babul) around the
Ankasamudra lake in Andhra Pradesh
turned into a blessing in disguise for nesting
waterbirds including a few migratory avians,
because locals took it upon themselves to
protect the birds. All such stories need a
messenger, someone to address the people
of a region about the uniqueness and
worth of their surrounding biodiversity, and
the need to protect it.
While science has its vital role to play,
all too often the role that love plays has
been either dismissed or forgotten, to the
detriment of creatures born and often
evolved in vanishing habitats.
I started out with a mention of the
draft National Forest Policy, 2018. I have
also seen the ‘Third Wildlife Action Plan’
(2017-2031) and both bring a wry smile
to my face. I am not even referring to the
loopholes that might allow developers to
profi t at the cost of ancient, irreplaceable
ecosystems. The untrained eye might be
forgiven when such documents speak of
taking a ‘landscape approach to wildlife
conservation’. But it is diffi cult for those
of us in the know to remain unaff ected
when the plans are inarticulate on the
management of grasslands and forest
fringes, home to an assortment of
fauna such as hyaenas, wolves, bustards,
blackbuck, elephants, tigers, and numerousGrasslands are legitimate ecosystems that support a rich array of fl ora and fauna including the
Asian elephant seen in the terai grasslands in Naxalbari (top) and the elusive striped hyaenas in the
Velvadar National Park (above) in Gujarat.ATANU CHAKRABORTYMANISH TRIVEDI