Conservation of wildlife need of the hour
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: May 24, 2022 -

THE decision by the Forest Department to use drones to monitor the movement of wildlife at designated zones of the state will definitely aid the department in identifying the core feeding areas in the forests and protecting the various species engaged.

Even if the use of modern technology like drones wouldn't be effective in total prevention of poaching, the move might compel the poachers to think twice before setting out for hunting as the case seems to be in the hills.

As the meeting held in a Bishnupur district area on Sunday in the presence of environment and climate change minister Th Biswajit had the participation of only local clubs of the district, the discussion was limited to measures to protect and increase the population of wildlife in the plain areas of the state.

In view of the threat to wildlife not necessarily confined to the hills, it is expected that the meeting which was also attended by PCCF Aditya Joshi, DFO Bishnupur, officials of Forest Department, and representatives of Bishnupur Social Welfare Club, Social Development Institute, pradhans, Rural Development Association and Youth Development Committee would encourage the district's denizens to join hands in the efforts to ensure safeguard of the wildlife species, the migratory birds and other smaller mammals in special, which thrive in and around the water bodies.

Similar to the meeting taking up various issues ranging from setting up stations for forest guards, conducting social awareness programmes, monitoring of wildlife feeding areas and carrying out drives to stop poachers from laying traps, etc., the same exercise should cover the hill districts as well.

Reports of bush meat sold in the markets in the hill areas make it crystal clear that the wildlife conservation campaign should be extensive and inclusive of all the communities settling in the state as there are many still indulging in hunting wildlife under the perception that such activities have been in practice since time immemorial, though unmindful of the fact that the situation vastly differs between the past and the present.

Regardless of imminent lukewarm response to wildlife conservation campaigns, there is no valid reason for the forest department to relent from creating awareness on the importance of saving wildlife to maintain the ecological balance.

For instance the entire state faced an embarrassing situation some years back when an Amur Falcon was found killed barely a week after wildlife conservationists, both locals and foreigners, succeeded in satellite tagging of the migratory birds, which generally roost in select villages of Tamenglong district.

That one of the GPS tagged raptor birds was hunted down in close proximity to their annual roosting site gave the impression that the global effort for wildlife conservation was having no bearing on the villagers who live closest to what should be the safe haven for the winged visitors.

The said incident, however, inspired many concerned citizens and organisations associated with wildlife protection to keep in constant touch with the local populace consequently resulting in the villagers surrendering their hunting weapons and becoming volunteers in protecting Amur Falcons.

Thus, rather than waiting for unwanted incidents to happen so as to spring into action, the department may do the needful to make the villagers believe that wildlife species are playing a crucial role in the survival of humankind.