Central India’s rich biodiversity has been massively affected by climate change, encroachment and poaching. Mandar Pingle of Satpuda Foundation tells us about the role that local communities play in restoration and conservation efforts.
Mandar Pingle: Satpuda Foundation is a non-profit organisation working in the central part of India, which covers seven important tiger reserves. This region is extremely crucial.
When we started in 2001, our idea was to work in a big landscape. Initially, the work was started by the Nature Conservation Society, Amravati, in 1991. They focused only on the Melghat Tiger Reserve and the communities residing in the buffer areas. They understood that the problems faced by the communities and wildlife in Melghat are similar to those in Pench, Kanha and Satpura tiger reserves.
The core issue is the socio-economic condition of the communities living near the forest areas. Conservation efforts will not bear fruit if local people are not involved. They are also the most affected by climate change events such as forest fires.
Human-wildlife conflict is the other big issue. The communities are dependent on natural resources like mahua and tendu leaves for their livelihood. For people to get on board with conservation initiatives, we need to solve their socioeconomic problems.
Keeping this in mind, Satpuda Foundation started work in these seven tiger reserves. Our work is spread over 150-160 villages of this region.
Mandar Pingle: When we tell people that you cannot enter the forest because it’s a protected area under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, they ask us about the alternative. So one major intervention that Satpuda Foundation has been working on for the past two decades is providing people with alternate livelihood options, keeping in view the aspirations of different sections of the society, such as youngsters, farmers and women.
We connect the youth with a lot of vocational programmes, providing them job opportunities that are available in the nearby regions. For instance, we try to get them involved in the tourism industry which is big in the region. We try to empower women through self help groups. Farmers are informed about organic farming techniques and the various government and technical training agencies that cater to their needs.
Once you provide these alternate livelihood options, a lot of issues are solved. Many youngsters who may venture into wildlife trafficking and poaching for the sake of money are persuaded away from those activities due to the alternate livelihood programmes.
Also, since it is mostly women who venture into the forest for collecting minor forest produce (MFP), they are the most affected by human-animal conflict. There’s a high probability of them being attacked by a tiger or a leopard. Providing them with alternate livelihoods helps them avoid going into the forest.
We have helped about 30,000 people get alternate sources of livelihoods in the past two decades.
We also provide them with free medical facilities. In many areas, people have to travel over 50 km to access basic health facilities. These measures help us build trust among the community.
Mandar Pingle: Climate change has made severe adverse impacts on central India’s biodiversity. Pollution is a major challenge too. Almost five percent of India’s geographical region is a protected area under the Wildlife Protection Act. Coal mines and thermal power plants are located close to these areas. Sometimes there are hydroelectricity power plants right in the middle of the protected areas. Some of these are also near urban settlements. There is immense anthropogenic pressure on already scarce natural resources.
Poaching and wildlife trafficking continue to be a threat. It’s not only the tigers and leopards that are poached, even the smallest of the animals and even insects are prone to trafficking.
Butterflies are in huge demand in some countries and are trafficked for fishing enthusiasts globally. Pangolins are one of the most trafficked animals. They are mostly undetected because they are small, shy animals.
Superstition and black magic too contribute to poaching. For instance, it is believed that wearing a ring made of pangolin scales wards off evil. They are also used for making traditional medicines.
Another majorly affected animal is the red sand boa. There is a superstitious belief that possessing this snake helps you unearth hidden treasures and brings wealth.
Some of these animals are also a status symbol for many. Poaching and wildlife trafficking completely extracts that biodiversity component out of the entire ecosystem. Lots of biodiversity is being lost and we have no clue about the extent of damage.
Mandar Pingle: A lot of them. Striped hyenas could be seen everywhere across India at one time. You find them mentioned even in the British memoirs right until India’s Independence. A lot of them got killed due to black magic and superstition. Now they are extinct locally.
I remember seeing a hyena when I was 8-9 years old. I have been working for seven years in Pench Tiger Reserve and I have yet not seen a hyena here.
Only a few sarus cranes and great Indian bustards are left now.
Mandar Pingle: Linear infrastructures like roads, railways and irrigation canals contribute to the country’s economic development but they come at the cost of biodiversity and environment.
In financial terms, the free ecological services that we get from our environment are way more than our annual gross domestic product.
There has to be a balance between conservation and development. We are suggesting mitigation interventions wherever the government comes up with development projects so that no animal is killed due to road or rail accidents.
We have to first acknowledge that there is a problem. Everything else comes later.
Mandar Pingle: Bringing cheetahs here is an ambitious project. We should look at it like an experiment. It will be difficult to say now whether it has failed or succeeded. It is at a nascent stage.
The lead image shows a nature awareness programme organised by Satpuda Foundation (Photo by Satpuda Foundation)
Mandar Pingle is the deputy director, Satpuda Foundation.
