All across tiger reserves in teh country reports are coming in of local communities facing displacement, hardship due to existence of notified forest areas in teh vicinities. In our zeal to protect forests and wildlife the govt is missing involving local communities and ensuring they have a stake in preservation of these areas. A recent news about villagers inside Tadoba being shifted out without being provided any means to decent livelihood is a story being repeated aross the country. Another case has come to light in Goa where a local activist whose efforts pushed the government to notify the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary in Goa is facing social ostracization for this initiative. Villagers around the sanctuary must be concerned the govt will soon throw them out after taking over their land without giving them fair compensation and whats more generations of tribals and locals who have lived in and around the park and survived on forest procude will suddenly be barred from entering the forest and be left to fend for themselves. Though the Minister MOEF Jairam Ramesh has after taking over articulated the need to involve local communities in the protection of tiger reserves and forest areas the thought has not been converted in to a concrete policy and ground level implementation is marred by corruption and caloussness. Cases like Tadoba and Goa will keep repeating themsevles over and over again till such time the govt realises the need to provide suitable alternate living conditions to displaced families and access to reasonable means to livelihood. A country which cant feed its population is unlikely to succed in saving its tigers.
Kerkar faces social boycott in Keri
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/goa/Kerkar-faces-social-boycott-in-Keri/articleshow/4938939.cms
No comments:
Post a Comment