THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “I am from the tourism sector,” says one of them.
“I was one of the first to introduce rambutan in Keralam,” says another member of the newly-constituted state level advisory panel on human - wildlife conflict. Questions have already been raised about the expertise of the seven-member body, formed by to Statev Forest Department, to tackle the issue.
While the panel includes Wildlife Trust of India chairman MK Ranjit Sinh and a former veterinary surgeon of the Forest Department, some of the other members come from different backgrounds like tourism, fruit plant nursery and IT. Conservationists and former forest officials say the panel needs adequate representation of specialists with direct experience in wildlife management, animal behaviour and conflict mitigation.
Michael Dominic of Casino Hotel, Willingdon Island, and Jose Jacob, Managing Director of Home Grown Nursery, Kottayam, told TNIE that their professional backgrounds were in tourism and horticulture respectively.
“I am from the tourism sector and also a wildlife photographer. We should probe whether tourism projects could decrease the wild animal-human conflict in such areas. In Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh, tourism projects have decreased leopard attacks on cattle. I think that’s why I was inducted into the panel. However, the situation may vary in Keralam,” said Michael.
Meanwhile Jose said the state should examine which fruits are less preferred by wild animals and encourage people living adjacent to forests to cultivate them. "We are one of the first nurseries to introduce Rambutan in Keralam. It is important that we probe which fruits are less preferable for wild animals and encourage people living on forest fringes to grow them. Also there are fruit plants with thorns. When a senior Forest Department official asked about my willingness to be part of the panel, I agreed,” he said.
The panel includes IC Balakrishnan MLA, MK Ranjit Sinh (chairman, Wildlife Trust of India), Michael Dominic (Casino Hotel, Willingdon Island), Dr Arun Sakariya (District Animal Husbandry Officer, Kozhikode), Jose Jacob (Managing Director, Home Grown Nursery, Kottayam), Anand Kumar (senior scientist, Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysuru) and Baiju Paul Mathews (Wayanad).
Ranjit Sinh, considered one of the architects of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and Project Tiger, is the panel’s most prominent wildlife conservation expert. At 88, the veteran conservationist may find it difficult to undertake visits to Keralam’s conflict hotspots.
Arun Sakariya, who had returned to his parent department after a stint with the Forest Department, is the other member with direct veterinary and Forest Department experience.
Baiju Paul Mathews, an IT engineer, said he had experience in human-wildlife conflict areas such as Aralam Farm.
“It was based on my petition to the High Court that directions were issued to take action on frequent wild animal attacks on the farm,” he said.
However, environmental activist Badusha of Wayanad Prakruthi Samsarakshana Samithi alleges that Baiju has taken stands that are in direct contrast to scientific approaches to mitigating the conflict. He also questioned the inclusion of Anand Kumar, alleging that he has little experience with Keralam’s peculiar human-wild animal conflict situation.
A forest official underscored the need to include an official with animal behaviour. “To mitigate the conflict, the first step should be to identify the conflict areas and conduct conflict mapping,” said a senior Forest official. “There is also the issue of behavioural changes occurring among wild elephants. An expert in behavioural evolution is also necessary,” he added
Forest Minister Shibu Baby John, however, justified the formation of the panel. Inaugurating the state-level Wildlife Week celebrations in Idukki, the minister rejected criticism.
“This panel was formed according to my conviction. What is wrong in inducting representatives from the tourism and fruit plant nursery sectors?” he asked. “The farmers living along the forest fringes must start cultivating crops that not edible to elephants. I inducted the representative of resorts as they are indirectly responsible for the wild animal-human conflict. To divert them to responsible tourism their representatives must be included,” he said.
