BENGALURU: The State Forest Department held a public consultation on Monday to discuss the new concept of ‘private wildlife reserves’. Interestingly, some big-time operators have already started hectic preparations to make some reserves operational which neither have legal sanction nor are they under the prevailing wildlife laws.
Almost 90 per cent of the participants at the consultation, including officials, experts and activists, opposed the concept of private wildlife reserves. They said the forest department should concentrate on protecting forest and wildlife rather than promoting resort tourism in protected areas.
Senior forest officials confirmed that a big operator in Muthodi Range of Chikkamagaluru territorial division has been making preparations to set up a ‘private wildlife reserve’ in adjoining areas of Masgali Reserve Forest and Bhadra Tiger Reserve. The operator has 400 acres, including 100 acres of encroached forest land. They have also readied four tourist vehicles for a private safari.
Wildlife conservationist D V Girish said, “The forest department has bowed down to political pressure and is allowing such things openly. The public consultation was an eyewash to give legal sanctity to this project in Chikkamagaluru.”
Sridev Hulikere, managing trustee, Wildcat-C added, “In this private estate, preparations are on to bait wildlife with prey animals. Further, they have readied a huge lake. It is well known that 66 per cent of wild animals live in private reserves in South Africa, which has reduced their numbers in wildlife sanctuaries. This will happen here as well and due to the formation of water bodies in this estate.”
PROMOTING RESORT CULTURE
Wildlife activist G Veeresh said, “Out of 40,000 acres of forest land encroached, 16,000 acres are in Chikkamagaluru and have not been cleared. Private reserves are a ruse to help politicians open resorts near protected areas or reserve forests.” Mysuru Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) B P Ravi and Kodagu CCF S S Lingaraju said with resorts mushrooming in and around tiger reserves, the problem is already acute and this concept may further aggravate it. Dr Shivaprakash, State Wildlife Board member, said, “Building concrete structures in and around national parks in the name of the private forest will increase man-animal conflict.” Experts and wildlife organisations might move the Supreme Court against the concept of private conservancies.