| Bihar is best known
for scams, corruption and inefficiency. Yet you say that Laloo
Prasad Yadav can teach India how man and nature can live together.
Think about it. Who would you trust the tigers’ future to
– Chief Ministers who want to convert every square inch of
their state to industry, or one who has consistently refused
to let the Kotku dam drown forests and tribal lands for over
a decade? People love to hate Laloo Prasad Yadav, but I have
met him personally and can say with confidence that the tiger
is safer with him than with those who drink wine from slender
glasses and travel to world capitals.
I understand that your ‘straight-talking’ caused sparks
to fly with your erstwhile boss?
I presume that you are talking about Ms. Meeta Vyas, who recently
resigned as the CEO of WWF-India. Sparks flew only because
I believed I knew more about tigers and refused to go along
with experimental ideas. In the end, she flew into a rage
and accused me of everything from corruption to womanising.
But I am a Bihari with staying power. I am here, she is not.
But I harbour no grudges. We have a crucial task to fulfill
and that is all that concerns me. WWF-India has the potential
to reclaim its historic role as a defender of the tiger. I
hope to help make this happen.
What seeded this passion for tigers in you?
Palamau. Having decided to join the Indian Forest Service,
I spent three years in Dehradun at the Indian Forest College,
then joined the Bihar Forest Department and was posted at
Palamau in 1967. Anyone who has been there will understand
why I fell in love with the tiger. These forests, made famous
by Dunbar Brander, Sanderson and Captain Forsyth, did not
merely seed my passion, they injected in me a desire to protect
nature.
Was there a role model in your life?
Several! L.K. Pandey, my first Divisional Forest Officer,
was the most complete forester I have ever met. I learned
my field craft and my wildlife values from him. He taught
me the importance of integrity, professional honesty and straight
talk. Then there was S.P. Shahi, Chief Conservator of Forests,
Bihar. Once a shikari, he became one of India’s most
passionate advocates of wildlife preservation. He taught me
not to resist the build up of an emotional attachment with
wildlife, something that most people of that age tended to
deride. The late Saroj Raj Chowdhury’s love for tigers was
also infectious and he opened up a much softer world for me.
And then there was the one and only M. Krishnan, storyteller,
photographer and wise man who often visited Palamau while
I was there.
So wildlife conservation was a part of your life from day
one?
Yes. I can’t remember ever not feeling strongly about wildlife
protection. In fact, even when I was in charge of administrative
posts, I would pursue my passion for wildlife, for example,
by introducing Wildlife Management, which I taught to frontline
staff as far back as 1972.
Do you feel that state wildlife departments are adequately
oriented towards protection?
No, the instinct to exploit is still deeply ingrained. Even
when posted to wildlife areas, many officers keep quoting
how much revenue is being lost by not working coups, forgetting
the ecological services provided by forests. Such attitudes
have resulted in vast areas being turned from wildlife habitats
to ‘tree farms’, truncating the ecological continuity of the
central Indian highlands.
Bihar itself was truncated when Jharkhand was created.
How has this affected wildlife?
It will probably take years to answer that. And I doubt whether
anyone is even documenting these impacts. After the division
of the state, north Bihar was left with excellent linear plantations
of sissoo along canal banks, railway lines and roads,
but these are of no value to wildlife. A few good Protected
Areas (PAs) did remain with Bihar, including Valmiki and Monger
as well as some excellent wetlands, particularly along the
Ganga. Twenty-five years ago, Bhimbandh was among the best
PAs in India with seven large hot springs. Today, law and
order problems have crippled both Bhimbandh and Valmiki. The
latter still has one of the finest terai sal forests as biotic
pressures are relatively low. But it hurts to see that real
management inputs are missing.
What is the root of the problem?
A perennial fund shortage, which ensures that staff are not
paid for months at a time and a lack of exposure among IAS
officers to wildlife values are the main problems. Bihar’s
Kanwar Lake probably has more wintering birds than many famed
wetlands, but it suffers gross mismanagement, which has caused
vast portions to be silted and encroached. Fish and bird poaching
is rampant. Administrative will could put a stop to this,
but officers do not believe that this is a priority compared
to doling out relief, building dams and excavating mines.
Can the situation be remedied?
A lot can be done. The Ganga itself is a wildlife haven and
by merely ceasing to harm it, the river will return life to
Gangetic dolphins, turtles, crocodiles and birds. I am working
right now with forest officers in Bihar to write out a Management
Plan for Valmiki, in the hope that central and state governments
will implement field protection before the habitats vanish
by default. Bihar has been gifted with amazing natural wealth
and much of it is still intact because large-scale industrialisation
as we see in Maharashtra and Gujarat is not the order of the
day. But a lot of work needs to be done to improve the wildlife
protection infrastructure, notwithstanding the legendary resource
crunches and political self-interests that will always be
stumbling blocks. With people like you and Valmik Thapar to
keep prodding and poking the powers that be, perhaps the government
of India may deliver more than lip service.
If you could, over which protected areas would you wave
your magic wand?
The Hazaribagh Wildlife Sanctuary, Palamau Tiger Reserve,
Lawalong, Dalma, Rajgir, Topchanchi, Kabar Lake Bird Sanctuary...
should I go on? Bihar is under severe threat from a series
of mafias, including mining, timber and katha. We need political
will and funds for protection more than magic wands.
All states seem to be facing the same deadlock.
That’s true. When I was Director of Project Tiger, I travelled
all over India and overseas to win support for the tiger.
I noticed a sort of ‘the tiger is dying’ fatalism even in
the most ardent defenders of the cat. Defeatism is our greatest
danger! You have often said this and that is why you launched
your schools’ programme, Kids for Tigers.
Can kids play a role in protecting wildlife?
Of course! Children have parents, uncles and aunts who they
influence right away. We do not have to wait 20 years for
a child to grow up before benefiting from their support. Besides,
children lend legitimacy to things. When they ask for a better,
cleaner world in which tigers can survive, it is difficult
for Chief Ministers or businessmen to ignore them!
You have been honoured with the Sanctuary Lifetime Service
Award for 2002. You are a role model for thousands. Can you
shine a beacon to guide us along the path to restoration?
I feel an overwhelming sense of humility at being bestowed
this honour. I don’t think I have done anything extraordinary.
I just followed my heart and my instincts. As for beacons,
they exist inside each of us. I cannot light one for you or
anyone else. But I can promise this: when you take the first
step towards any objective, the path illuminates itself. Take
tigers – even the diehards felt that the tiger would not survive
to the 21st century. But it has. Who imagined that the Supreme
Court would turn into a white knight for wildlife? Who knew
that the law would actually be implemented as it was in the
case of the Kudremukh
judgement!
So you feel that individual inertia and apathy are key
impediments?
The lack of proactive defence of our wilderness starts at
the top and permeates all levels of society. I no longer take
part in workshops or discussions that continue to “identify
the problem”. We know the problem. We also know the solutions.
But at a time when money is god, how do we implement solutions
that involve action plans that do not line people’s pockets?
Can NGOs help mitigate circumstances?
Do you think NGOs are any less corrupt than politicians? I
have seen firsthand how some people who sing praises of wildlife
in public profit from deals that destroy forests in private.
For a list of such people, you need to merely dig up the long
list of consultants to the various mega-projects who have
made Paryavaran Bhavan their temple. But this should take
nothing away from the fact that some of the most dedicated
human beings who have spent their lives in the defence of
wildlife are also in NGOs.
So what’s the answer? Resources are non-existent, officers
and staff unmotivated and ill-equipped and NGOs increasingly
corrupt!
Having spent nearly a third of my service in and around the
Palamau Tiger Reserve, I believe that the answer lies in returning
to the wisdom of ‘ordinary’ forest guards and rangers. We
must listen to them. Act on their information. Respect those
who patrol forests on foot. And support them against powerful
people. There was a time when a superior officer would think
twice before countermanding the legitimate instruction of
a ‘lowly’ ranger. Today, the Chief Wildlife Wardens themselves
are forced to sit like lackeys outside the offices of people
totally unconnected with the forest department.
Some people suggest that the way forward is to return control
of forests to local communities.
Wonderful. And while you are at it, why not add a box of laddoos
(sweets) for every sarpanch (village headman) as well?
I am still searching for those wonderful forests that have
been saved by local communities. Are there any tigers there?
Elephants? Or are these sanctuaries for cows and goats? Too
few people understand what it means to protect wild places.
How can they understand protection, when they don’t understand
what the word ‘wild’ means? I have seen many so-called people’s
initiatives. With the exception of Rajendra Singh’s work in
Alwar, the rest are glorified back gardens in which crops
are grown, tendu collected, bamboo harvested and hundreds
of people move about as though in a market place. In such
a situation, will the breeding biology of wild species remain
unaffected? Will natural regeneration take place?
Are you suggesting that people and wildlife must be kept
at arm’s length?
Not everywhere. But in some areas, there is no option but
to keep parcels of land (core areas) free from human disturbance.
From such areas, when biodiversity spills outwards, adivasi
communities (who do far less harm to the forest than industrialists
or us city dwellers) should be allowed to harvest the productivity
of nature. The Sundarbans, which I recently visited, is one
such classic example. But communities must not merely demand
access to resources, they must also accept responsibility
for protecting forests from fires, poachers, encroachers and
mega-projects. Right now this is not taking place, except
in tiny pockets here and there.
Can India expect any help from international sources?
We should demand, not beg for resources. Millions of dollars
are being fraudulently collected in the name of the tiger
and elephant from unsuspecting citizens in places as far away
as the USA, UK and the European Union. Next to nothing reaches
India, which has more than half of the world’s wild tigers.
Vast funds are consumed to feed the lavish bureaucracies of
foreign NGOs. International donors are guilty of supporting
‘yes men’ who take sustenance from their extended palms. Money
meant for the tiger thus goes to “experts” whose expertise
is largely limited to maintaining zoos, producing documents
and providing fictitious reports praising donors’ efforts.
For example, an NGO once claimed to have imparted anti-poaching
training to more guards than were employed by the entire department!
Let’s return to Valmiki. Children in Patna are working
with Tarumitra to collect signatures to save the tiger. Laloo
Prasad Yadav has signed their petition. Do you think Valmiki
can be saved?
Yes, provided the Ministry of Environment and Forests sheds
its inexplicable apathy towards this fabulous forest. We need
a special force to protect the eastern and northeastern border
with Nepal. This one step will reduce over 60 per cent of
timber and wildlife smuggling. It would also help to counter
the growing insurrectionist and terrorist groups who depend
on the wildlife trade, narcotics and prostitution for funds.
You cannot blame the Field Director for not managing to do
all this.
You had mentioned that it is possible to win the support
of local communities. How?
Not by building highways through forests in the guise of reaching
‘food and assistance to villagers’ as was done in Melghat!
Many traditional forest-dwelling communities in areas such
as Bastar want to live in peace and dignity. They should not
be forced out, but equally they must not allow NGOs to use
them to demand urban facilities such as tar roads and electricity.
Those who live traditional lives, as dictated by their traditional
cultures, are going to be key to the defence of our wildlife
and forests in future and we must recognise them as allies.
How simple their demands are: two square meals, drinking water,
small huts and the ability to take sustenance from forests.
What about outside communities that place pressure on sanctuaries
and parks?
This is a problem. Politicians and land sharks have exploited
forestland in the name of tribal communities, who are actually
victims themselves. Lakhs of hectares of forestland have been
encroached on in the name of tribals. Thank god the Supreme
Court has put a stop to this through the Central Empowered
Committee. I believe that 80 per cent of rural development
funds – thousands of crores – never reach the poor. Over 70
per cent of India’s villages are deprived of basic amenities.
No wonder they turn towards ever-dwindling forests and thus
pose a huge threat to the tiger and other wildlife. I wish
misguided human rights groups would contemplate the implications
of losing even the tiny four per cent of forestland that is
currently performing vital ecological functions for India.
Paint us a picture of India 50 years from now.
Only if our forest and environment laws are implemented will
we even have a future! If not, the lack of water alone will
turn India into a violent state with civil unrest, wars and
riots everywhere. We ask very little to avoid this scenario:
“Keep four or five per cent of India’s landmass inviolate
for species protection. Allow another 15 per cent of our landmass
to regenerate naturally and permit local communities and adivasis
– not large corporations and politicians – the first right
to resources from such lands.” Together with investments to
improve efficiency in our power, transport and agriculture
sectors, this is the only way forward. But I will probably
not be around to see whether or not such dreams will come
true. Or whether the tiger lives or dies. That I leave to
your Kids for Tigers. |
