Mumbai NGO Writes To International Body, Seeks Its Intervention
The Times of India, August 10, 2013, Saturday
Himanshu Kaushik | TNN
Ahmedabad: On the occasion of World Lion Day on August 10, a Mumbai-based non-governmental organization, Empower Foundation, has written to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for its guidance and involvement in the translocation of Asiatic lions from Gir National park to Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
The foundation had earlier submitted a report to the state government highlighting the adverse conditions that prevailed in the proposed translocation site. It had also analyzed 10 translocations across the globe which had failed. Further, the NGO had cited 12 adverse conditions at Kuno-Palpur which could prove fatal for the lions.
In his letter to Dr Frederic Launay (chairperson of the IUCN SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group), Jalpesh Mehta, founder-chairperson of Empower Foundation, has said that the NGO is not against translocation. He says that it is farcical in the case of the Gir lions that the petitioner and the party interested in translocation are both part of the deciding or recommending and advising body on the issue.
“Since the matter has become political with various people having vested interests, the only solution is international intervention in the matter, keeping in mind wildlife welfare first and the rest later,” Mehta says in the letter. The NGO requested IUCN to get involved by either appointing an international lion expert or a team of lion experts who could guide “the self-claiming wildlife experts who may be having some expertise in tigers, birds or hospitality among others but not lions for sure, but are keen to try their hands at lions to get some experience and visibility at the cost of the precious wildlife.”
Key IUCN guidelines violated
Guideline 3.2:
There should generally be strong evidence that the threat(s) that caused any previous extinction have been correctly identified and removed or sufficiently reduced.
NGO's view: The previous threats of extinction to tigers in Kuno Palpur came from poaching. This has neither been reduced nor removed. In fact, it has increased. Sariska and Panna tiger reserves lost all their tigers in the recent past due to poaching. Madhya Pradesh has become India's poaching capital and, in the last decade, was responsible for 50% of the world poaching of tigers.
Guideline 3.6:
Justifying a conservation introduction requires an especially high level of confidence about the organisms' performance after release, including over the long-term, with reassurance on its acceptability from the perspective of the release area's ecology, and the social and economic interests of its human communities.
NGO's View: Three accounts of forest dependence on the periphery of the Kuno sanctuary by Dr. Asmita Kabra, Samrakshan Trust, state that from time to time, the sanctuary had provided refuge to various tribes of Chambal. The gun culture of today is also a public fact. The Sahariya and Ladar tribes depend mainly on the forest for its produce and hunting.
Guideline (3.8):
Where a high degree of uncertainty remains or it is not possible to assess reliably that a conservation introduction presents low risks, it should not proceed, and alternative conservation solutions should be sought
NGO's View:
Lions in Gujarat are not limited to 1412 sq km of Gir National Park and Sanctuary but have migrated naturally and are living successfully over 10500 sq km across Saurashtra region. There is a need to correct the perception of there being a risk to the lions dure to their concentration in one forest.
Guideline 4.2:
A monitoring process, data requirement, methods, protocols, responsibility matrix for collection, analysis and dissemination of information is an important aspect [of translocation]. A multidisciplinary team with access to expert technical advice for all phases of the programme [is a must].
NGO's view:
Monitoring process, data requirement, methods, protocols, responsibility matrix for collection, analysis and dissemination of information are missing in the Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh. Further, formation of an inexperienced team without any experience or expertise in dealing with lions also violates this guideline. Tiger conservationists, bird experts and hoteliers are not equipped to handle this programme.
Guideline 5.1.2:
Matching habitat suitability and availability with the needs of the candidate species is central to feasibility and design.
NGO's view: The proposed habitat in Kuno-Palpur, outside the indigenous range of lions, is unsuitable for the big cats. This challenges the 'feasibility and design' clause of the IUCN. The biggest concern, besides the adverse topography and terrain, is the prey base. The overall prey-base of all animals per sq km had showed a growth of 79%. On the face of it, this calls for a global conservation award to Kuno. The anger of the displaced local tribes also poses a challenge to translocation efforts.
The Times of India, August 10, 2013, Saturday
Himanshu Kaushik | TNN
Ahmedabad: On the occasion of World Lion Day on August 10, a Mumbai-based non-governmental organization, Empower Foundation, has written to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for its guidance and involvement in the translocation of Asiatic lions from Gir National park to Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
The foundation had earlier submitted a report to the state government highlighting the adverse conditions that prevailed in the proposed translocation site. It had also analyzed 10 translocations across the globe which had failed. Further, the NGO had cited 12 adverse conditions at Kuno-Palpur which could prove fatal for the lions.
In his letter to Dr Frederic Launay (chairperson of the IUCN SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group), Jalpesh Mehta, founder-chairperson of Empower Foundation, has said that the NGO is not against translocation. He says that it is farcical in the case of the Gir lions that the petitioner and the party interested in translocation are both part of the deciding or recommending and advising body on the issue.
“Since the matter has become political with various people having vested interests, the only solution is international intervention in the matter, keeping in mind wildlife welfare first and the rest later,” Mehta says in the letter. The NGO requested IUCN to get involved by either appointing an international lion expert or a team of lion experts who could guide “the self-claiming wildlife experts who may be having some expertise in tigers, birds or hospitality among others but not lions for sure, but are keen to try their hands at lions to get some experience and visibility at the cost of the precious wildlife.”
Key IUCN guidelines violated
Guideline 3.2:
There should generally be strong evidence that the threat(s) that caused any previous extinction have been correctly identified and removed or sufficiently reduced.
NGO's view: The previous threats of extinction to tigers in Kuno Palpur came from poaching. This has neither been reduced nor removed. In fact, it has increased. Sariska and Panna tiger reserves lost all their tigers in the recent past due to poaching. Madhya Pradesh has become India's poaching capital and, in the last decade, was responsible for 50% of the world poaching of tigers.
Guideline 3.6:
Justifying a conservation introduction requires an especially high level of confidence about the organisms' performance after release, including over the long-term, with reassurance on its acceptability from the perspective of the release area's ecology, and the social and economic interests of its human communities.
NGO's View: Three accounts of forest dependence on the periphery of the Kuno sanctuary by Dr. Asmita Kabra, Samrakshan Trust, state that from time to time, the sanctuary had provided refuge to various tribes of Chambal. The gun culture of today is also a public fact. The Sahariya and Ladar tribes depend mainly on the forest for its produce and hunting.
Guideline (3.8):
Where a high degree of uncertainty remains or it is not possible to assess reliably that a conservation introduction presents low risks, it should not proceed, and alternative conservation solutions should be sought
NGO's View:
Lions in Gujarat are not limited to 1412 sq km of Gir National Park and Sanctuary but have migrated naturally and are living successfully over 10500 sq km across Saurashtra region. There is a need to correct the perception of there being a risk to the lions dure to their concentration in one forest.
Guideline 4.2:
A monitoring process, data requirement, methods, protocols, responsibility matrix for collection, analysis and dissemination of information is an important aspect [of translocation]. A multidisciplinary team with access to expert technical advice for all phases of the programme [is a must].
NGO's view:
Monitoring process, data requirement, methods, protocols, responsibility matrix for collection, analysis and dissemination of information are missing in the Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh. Further, formation of an inexperienced team without any experience or expertise in dealing with lions also violates this guideline. Tiger conservationists, bird experts and hoteliers are not equipped to handle this programme.
Guideline 5.1.2:
Matching habitat suitability and availability with the needs of the candidate species is central to feasibility and design.
NGO's view: The proposed habitat in Kuno-Palpur, outside the indigenous range of lions, is unsuitable for the big cats. This challenges the 'feasibility and design' clause of the IUCN. The biggest concern, besides the adverse topography and terrain, is the prey base. The overall prey-base of all animals per sq km had showed a growth of 79%. On the face of it, this calls for a global conservation award to Kuno. The anger of the displaced local tribes also poses a challenge to translocation efforts.
