| You are an old India hand. What
brought you to these distant shores?
My job. I was the Reuters Chief Correspondent in India between
1954?60 and again from 1962-1970. Those were historic days.
Chou en Lai had come to Delhi in 1954 with the Vietnam issue
unresolved and Nehru wanted to help find the solution. Later
came Bulganin and Krushchev (the first time Soviet leaders
had been out of the communist sphere) and President Eisenhower
- I travelled around India with them. There were the Pakistan
and China wars and Kashmir was a continuing problem. My coverage
of such action-packed events exposed me to this marvellous
country and its people.
And how did a hardcore news journalist get involved with
nature conservation?
Blame it on Mount Everest! In April 1953, I was assigned by
Reuters to cover the successful British expedition to the
world's tallest mountain. Sitting on a hillside in Nepal,
gazing out across the snows, I saw a huge dark bird, gliding
along the valley below me. I recognised it from the jacket
of a bird book I was carrying, but which I had never looked
at till then. The caption inside told me it was a Himalayan
Black Eagle. It was immensely exciting. I knew sparrows and
starlings and crows, but this was really something that sparked
a new interest in birds that has lasted all my life.
A book? A book actually got you tangled up in decades
of conservation battles?
Life is strange, but it was not just any book. The book was
Sálim Ali's Indian Hill Birds, given to me by General
Sir Harold (Bill) Williams, who was then Engineer-in-Chief
of the Indian Army. One thing led to another, including my
meeting with Adrienne Farrell, my wife-to-be, who was Reuters'
Delhi correspondent, and who was to nurture and support my
passion for India's wildlife. In the end it was a love of
the outdoors that got me hooked. I began to recognise and
photograph birds, and a passion for wildlife developed that
ultimately led me to a new career, away from mainstream journalism.
What about Dr. Sálim Ali? How much did this birdman
influence you, a cat man?
A year after I saw the Black Eagle, Gen. Williams took me
birding near Delhi with Sálim Ali. A friendship bloomed
that lasted until his death 30 years later. I accompanied
him on several ornithological expeditions to places as distant
as Bhutan. And I enjoyed taking him on some of my compulsive
early morning outings to my 'backyard' around Delhi, which
I discovered to be rich with birds. In Bharatpur, my wife
and I would help Sálim ring nesting storks. We really
got to love the great but unpretentious man.
And when did cats enter your life?
In Bharatpur. Maharajah Brijendra Singh became a close friend
and host. One day, he took me tiger hunting in Baretha, 30
or 40 km. from Keoladeo Ghana, he with his gun and I with
my camera. I saw my first tiger, just its hindquarters, as
it escaped into the bushes. I did not get a photo, nor did
the tiger get shot. But that was my first glimpse in the wild
of the magnificent animal that was to play a large part in
my life.
Was it easier to communicate nature conservation values
to the public at that time?
Actually, it was more difficult. Remember, in the 1950s shikar
was the rage and few Indians were really interested in protecting
their country's wildlife. The press concentrated on politics.
But I did meet some truly exceptional people who were fighting
against the tide to protect the nation's fast vanishing wildlife,
notably Zafar Futehally, one of Sálim's clan. It was
my interaction with these pioneers that nudged me in the direction
of nature conservation.
You also knew Mrs. Indira Gandhi, didn't you?
Yes. As a foreign correspondent of an important news agency
I closely followed Jawaharlal Nehru's activities and so came
into contact with Mrs. Gandhi. She was a founder member of
the Delhi Birdwatching Society, of which I was later Honorary
Secretary. It was easier to meet powerful politicians in those
days. Mrs. Gandhi even came to dinner at our house to see
my bird photographs. And when I wrote to her in 1970 about
the need to declare the Sultanpur jheel near Delhi a bird
sanctuary, she asked me to take her there. She had to cancel
at the last minute, but she instructed the Chief Minister
of Haryana to protect the jheel and in 1971, the Sultanpur
Bird Reserve was established. There have been problems over
lack of water in recent years, but when I was there just now,
water was starting to flow through a pipeline the canal authorities
have installed to match the normal rain pattern.
Mrs. Gandhi's interest was a key reason that much of our
wildlife is still around today. Were you an influence on her?
I like to think I helped, but she was intrinsically keen on
nature. Others influenced her more than I did, including Sálim
Ali, who prevailed upon her to save Keoladeo Ghana and later
to abandon plans for a hydroelectric project, which would
have virtually destroyed Kerala's Silent Valley. I recall
visiting Gandhi's birthplace, Porbandar in the 1980s. I spotted
a small lake where over 4,000 Lesser Flamingoes were gathered.
(Interestingly enough, across the lake was a fertiliser factory
whose effluents were producing the blue algae on which Lesser
Flamingoes feed.) When I learnt that the lake was being filled
in to construct a park, I wrote to Mrs. Gandhi, who then wrote
to the Gujarat Chief Minister; the park plan was abandoned
and the lake protected. I understand that the flamingoes are
still there. Mrs. Gandhi had good people advising her on wildlife;
people like Sálim Ali and Kailash Sankhala, who became
the first Director of Project Tiger.
You were here when the project was born?
Yes, I was. As far back as the 1940s, Jim Corbett had suggested
that the tiger was in trouble. The first real survey was undertaken
in the 1960s by J.C. Daniel of the BNHS, who came up with
an estimate of about 2,500. That was an interview survey.
Sankhala, who was Director of the Delhi Zoo, was given a Nehru
Fellowship to study tigers and presented a similar figure
at the IUCN General Assembly in Delhi in 1969. He persuaded
leading conservationists that the tiger was in danger of being
lost. All the other subspecies were in the Red Data book and
now the Bengal tiger was included too. The whole nature conservation
situation in the early seventies was transformed by Project
Tiger. Hunting was banned, so also the export of skins and
trophies, which had reached a dangerously high level in the
1960s. Special tiger reserves were established. I had become
so seriously entranced by wildlife by 1969 that I left Reuters
to become Director of Information for WWF in Switzerland.
As luck would have it, this was when WWF launched Operation
Tiger. As the only person at WWF who had seen tigers, I volunteered
to manage the project. On this assignment, I was able to interact
with people like S. R. Choudhury, H.S. Panwar, S.P. Shahi,
Valmik Thapar and Fateh Singh Rathore. Men such as these paved
the way for the revival of the tiger, whose demise had clearly
been on the cards. I also got to know scientists from the
Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), of which I have been
a member since 1956. Later, I worked with people from the
Wildlife Institute of India and the Indian Institute of Science
and was impressed by their abilities and dedication.
And who would you say were the key players responsible
for saving the tiger in the 70s?
The man who really took up cudgels for the tiger after the
Delhi Assembly was Guy Mountfort, an advertising man but also
an expert ornithologist. He was an International Trustee of
WWF and he came up with the idea of a million dollar campaign
for Operation Tiger. Mountfort started raising funds without
so much as an authorisation from the WWF! He was determined
to save the tiger. Most people hardly believed his to be a
serious effort till it worked. Mountfort flew to Delhi and
met Mrs. Gandhi, along with Zafar Futehally and Charles DeHaes,
a young business executive seconded to assist Prince Bernard
of the Netherlands, the WWF President. Their meeting was pivotal.
The very next day, Futehally announced Mrs. Gandhi's support.
A task force of officials and conservationists was immediately
set up, with Dr. Karan Singh, a cabinet minister, as Chairman,
M.K. Ranjitsinh from the Department of Agriculture as the
member secretary and included Zafar Futehally, Dharmakumarsinhji,
Anne Wright and Sankhala.
And did the one million dollars that kick-started the
initiative actually get to India?
Indeed it did, in the form of hardware and training. But there
is an amusing story: it was meant to be shared between all
the tiger range countries. However, Mrs. Gandhi assumed that
the entire one million dollars was for India and no one had
the courage to tell her otherwise. WWF had to raise another
800,000 dollars, and thankfully it was done quite quickly.
And how was the money used?
To buy urgently-needed vehicles to start with. I bought four
second-hand jeepsters, big, air-conditioned vehicles, from
Delhi. There was criticism, notably from my friend the late
S.P. Shahi, who felt that they were too luxurious and expensive.
But two of those jeepsters were still working for Project
Tiger until recently - nearly 30 years later. We also bought
jeeps from Mahindra and Mahindra. Basically, we came up with
the funds to buy equipment that Sankhala identified as necessary.
And wherever possible we acquired it in India. We also paid
Bharat Electronics to design and install radio networks in
the initial nine tiger reserves.
Surely it must have taken more than a few vehicles and
radio networks to save the tiger?
Sankhala is not around any more to answer that question, but
he told me that Kanha was saved because men like H.S. Panwar
could now control the devastating summer fires, thanks to
radio communication and vehicles which could get firefighters
to the spot quickly. Vehicles were essential for efficient
management of the reserves. And we delivered a whole lot of
other equipment too, including binoculars, cameras and even
two jet-boats for the Sundarbans. We arranged for British
and American experts to fly to India to provide training in
tranquillisation of animals, and monitoring of both animals
and plants. I think all this helped to promote confidence
in the highly-motivated team of Indian forest officers, who
deserve the credit for turning the tiger situation around.
Was it Mrs. Gandhi's autocratic style that did the trick
for the tiger?
That helped, but it was much more than that. She headed the
Congress party, which ruled at both the Centre and State level.
More than anything else, this is what allowed Project Tiger
to be pushed through, despite some opposition. Some states
were concerned at the loss of revenue when large blocks of
forest were removed from exploitation.
Was it the tiger that kept bringing you back to India
even after leaving WWF?
I decided to work as a freelance writer in 1979, and in 1983,
because of my familiarity with tigers and other wildlife,
I was asked to chair the Cat Specialist Group of the World
Conservation Union (IUCN). It was an unexpected honour for
a non-scientist to lead a group of the world's leading cat
experts.
As a long-time observer, would you hazard a guess as to
why we are currently losing a battle everyone thought we had
won decades ago?
There has been a dramatic political change in India, with
no dominating party and leadership. The tiger lacks political
support. Politicians are concerned about conserving their
positions and power. Few understand that we, like the tiger,
are part of nature and that we are destroying the very foundations
of life. India's human population has nearly doubled since
Project Tiger was launched, and the pressures on wild lands
and forest resources are devastating. The excellent laws that
Mrs. Gandhi ushered in are being observed in the breach. Add
the huge illegal international demand for tiger and other
animal parts for doubtful medical purposes and you have a
prescription for disaster. I fear not only for the tiger,
but all associated life-forms, including lesser wild cats
- and humans.
And what is the way out?
India was one of the first countries to include nature conservation
as a constitutional duty. Prime Minister Vajpayee has just
made a remarkable statement about tigers on the occasion of
Children's Day. Politicians and business people - but really
all of us - need to understand the importance of nature for
human survival; if sufficient wild lands and their wildlife,
including tigers, are protected the successes of a few decades
ago can easily be repeated. These wild lands are important
for vital resources, such as water, and also provide many
valuable products, apart from wood. I take strength from the
fact that Indian newspapers write about wildlife and conservation
problems almost daily. Throngs of Indians now visit wildlife
reserves. You did not ask me about Sanctuary, but it is one
of the best nature magazines I know, and, what is important
is its strong dedication to conservation. In time, all this
has to work to the advantage of the tiger and other wildlife.
And, I must stress that India still has one of the finest
arrays of wildlife in the world. Despite all the pressures,
only the cheetah out of India's 16 wild cats has become extinct.
Elephants and rhinos, deer and antelope still roam the country,
and despite the problems they sometimes cause, Indians have
had a greater affinity for wildlife than any other country
I know.
What do you see as the future of wild tigers?
Tigers have the best chance of survival in India, Nepal, Bhutan
and Bangladesh, and in the Russian Far East. Russia may have
only 400-500 tigers, but 95 per cent of them roam freely in
a vast territory of over 50,000 sq. km. The subcontinent's
estimated 4,000-5,000 tigers may seem a more secure number,
but these are scattered in small groups in fragmented habitats,
making them especially vulnerable to poaching and inbreeding.
But the tiger can survive, perhaps not everywhere, if only
it is given the chance and sufficient space.
Given the increasingly endangered status of all wild cats,
would you say your mission in life has failed?
By no means. Some cats, as well as other animals that were
a matter of concern, are recovering and doing quite well.
That largely applies to North America and Europe, from which
there is a lesson to be learnt. Much of the excessive exploitation
of wildlife is rooted in poverty - animals mean food and money.
Well-planned and managed eco-development can help, but governments
need to raise living and educational standards, and promote
co-existence between wild animals and humans.
How can the IUCN be persuaded to go beyond its current
mandate and make a difference to wild cats in the field?
The IUCN is a unique organisation, bringing together 78 states,
112 government agencies, 735 NGOs, 35 affiliates, and some
10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries. Its effort
is to provide scientifically-sound advice to convince governments
and others to tread the conservation path. This is a diplomatic
rather than confrontational approach. As Chairman of the Cat
Specialist Group, my job has been to ensure the place of the
wild cats in the overall picture and serve as the channel
for providing IUCN and other organisations with the advice
of leading world scientists and wildlife managers.
Any message to young persons in India?
Children have a natural interest in animals. It needs to be
nurtured into an understanding of how we are all connected
in the web of life by demonstrating how each creature plays
a role that affects others. Go out and see the wonderful world
of nature. Learn how it works and how it is the vital support
for your own lives. Encourage others, including your elders,
to do so. Work on your political and business leaders to ensure
that they respect and protect nature - in their own interest,
as well as everyone else's. |
