Forests and wildlife have a symbiotic relationship. One cannot be saved without the other. National Wildlife Week is celebrated every year from October 2 to October 8, and so it is time to review our efforts and actions towards management and conservation.
The World Meteorological Organization recently said that the world experienced the hottest July in 2023, breaching the July 2019 record by 0.33°C. The Earth experienced the second-hottest August this year. The temperature records from January to August show that 2023 is set to be the warmest year and global warming is poised to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
As a result, the pledge made at the 2015 Paris Climate Accord to limit the warming to 1.5°C will be broken. But that is not all. The Indian Meteorological Department stated that August 2023 saw the highest rainfall deficit since 1901. Winter this year is likely to be warmer, and wheat production is set to take the blow.
Developed countries are squarely responsible for global warming. The developing countries are the victims of the consequences such as slowed food production, storm surges, flooding and droughts. These countries have also not received any financial assistance from developed nations to adopt climate-resilient prescriptions and achieve an expeditious and large-scale transition to green energy. Their dependency on fossil fuels cannot be curtailed for at least a decade. Even developed countries like the United Kingdom have extended the deadline for the ban on sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035, in utter disregard to their commitment towards Net Zero by 2050.
To tackle global warming, capturing carbon and saving existing forests are essential. Afforesting degraded and denuded areas will help capture more carbon and also provide a home for displaced wild animals. The best way to preserve and develop forests is to conserve wildlife.
After the Paris Climate Accord, India committed to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land in the country by 2030; this move will help create a carbon sink of 2.5–3 billion tonnes. Our forests currently contain 7.2 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent. Reforestation will also create additional habitats and corridors for wild animals. But more efforts are needed in this direction.
Forests are subjected to destructive human activities like illicit cutting, lopping or girdling of trees, grazing, fires, and encroachments. This leaves forests degraded and fragmented, displacing the wildlife. Livestock grazing on forest land depletes the feed and forage for wild animals. Even the Supreme Court has observed that wild animals have the first right over forests, ahead of the right of any community to extract non-timber forest products or use the area for livestock grazing. But the problems do not end there. Repeated fires in forests have led to the growth of invasive species, preventing regeneration of favoured plant species and depleting forage.
The degradation and fragmentation of forests has led to wild animals straying out of reserves, resulting in human-wildlife conflicts. The forest department has been implementing several mitigation measures, but has not been fully successful. Barriers like rails, elephant-proof trenches and solar fencings are damaged by a section of people, rendering the entire effort meaningless. Awareness campaigns are slowly bearing some fruit, but they need to be stepped up.
The department must restore the lost habitats and corridors. The Karnataka forest minister’s recent drive to go after encroachers of forest land is heartening. The minister is on track to clear the encroachments and plant the areas with suitable native tree species. It will help restore habitats and corridors, reducing the number of wild animals straying into human areas. Karnataka’s chief minister said that forest cover must be expanded to 33% land; this will further boost the programme.
However, there are some bright spots too. The latest estimates suggest that tiger and elephant numbers have gone up, and we have achieved our global commitment ahead of schedule. But the loss of area for tigers to inhabit is a matter of concern.
Further, forest fires have become a global challenge. Canadian wildfires burned almost 34 million acres of land. Instances of fire have also been reported in Italy, Greece, Spain, China and Russia. Nearly half a gigaton of carbon was released from burning boreal forests in North America and Eurasia in 2021. Thus, quite a lot of carbon is released into the atmosphere. Repeated heat waves in the northern hemisphere have fuelled wildfires. This has harmed human and wildlife health and disrupted people’s lives, taking a toll on the environment. In the southern hemisphere, the Antarctic Sea ice melted and the global sea surface temperature rose unprecedentedly.
Forest fires lead to a double whammy. While we release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, we lose space for carbon sequestration and further create bigger problems for wild animals. Although mammals can escape, reptiles and amphibians can get killed in fires. Climate change is disrupting our lives and livelihood. Forests must be saved and in this, wildlife conservation plays an integral part.