Conserving Wildlife

Destruction of forests willy-nilly brought about the decimation of wild fauna as well either through the destruction of habitat or through hunting (sport activity) and this process continued well beyond the end of nineteenth century. Perceived changes in attitude towards preservation and conservation of flora and fauna was, perhaps, due to the realization that some game species had gone extinct locally and others were sharply declining. Prior to the twentieth century, hunting, trade and habitat destruction of wild animals globally resulted in decline of many species and extinction of some. India was no exception to this onslaught. Fortunately, better sense prevailed during the twentieth century and drastic changes in attitude and action towards preservation and conservation of flora and fauna were introduced at the global, regional, and national levels. The fear of sharp decline and extinction of wild animals led to the enactment of the first Indian law in 1887 followed by another in 1912 and many more legislations thereafter. However, the initial conservation laws were primarily concerned with regulating hunting privileges but did not completely prohibit trade in wildlife products which was a major factor in the decimation of flora and fauna. The process of notifying natural habitats of game animals and birds as game reserves and sanctuaries continued even during the second half of twentieth century. Interestingly, the terms ‘game’ and ‘game reserves’ were given legitimacy till 1991. Indian Board for Wildlife was set up in 1952 by the federal government and subsequently national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, game reserves and closed areas that were notified in different parts of the country under the statute of 1972. Despite so much efforts to save the wildlife, the recent inclusion of seventeen genera/species including clouded leopard, snow leopard, bustard, dolphin, dugongs, Gyps vulture, Malabar civet, Indian rhinoceros etc., in the Recovery Program is a pointer to the fact that all is not well with conservation efforts adopted so far. Either the selection of protected areas has not been appropriate, or the management of protected areas is inconsistent with the conservation objectives.