Karnataka is home to one of the largest concentrated population of tigers in the country, and to one of the healthiest tiger landscapes in the world. But how did this come to be at a time when we are all bemoaning depleting forests and wildlife?
Second Nature – Saving Tiger Landscapes in the Twenty-First Century, a book by scientist and conservationist Sanjay Gubbi, who has been studying leopards and tigers in the wild, offers an account of everyday conservation battles, specially in the corridors of power, an insight into attitudes towards conservation, and how he has broken down walls to reach decision makers.
With over three decades of “real-world” conservation work behind him, and 13 years as member of State Board for Wildlife in Karnataka, Gubbi reiterates why we need to be positivists, like him, and how the divergent opinions in the world of conservation need to unite. Excerpts from an interview:
Why did you want to write this book?
There is so much gloom in the field of wildlife conservation, specially when talking about large mammals like tigers. Despite that, India stands first in terms of tigers and Asian elephant numbers and their conservation. If you only talk of the negative aspects of conservation with the upcoming generation, they will wonder “why do it?” We need to put this positive message out so that youngsters have something to look forward to.
We need to document how we go about doing conservation in real-world situations. Writing a book also helps put myself through scrutiny and subject my work to criticism. Writing a book makes you see things in yourself — your writing, your world view— that you didn’t otherwise notice.
One believes that tigers in India are in a safe place, yet why is tiger conservation still seen as crucial in the country?
I certainly believe tigers will live beyond my lifetime. It is an umbrella species, and an icon for the larger conservation battle. When you save the tiger you save an entire landscape, because tigers need large forested habitats. With the tiger as a symbol we are able to convince political leaders, decision makers, opinion builders, communities, and several others on conservation issues. It is a good species to market wildlife conservation with.
How different are the approaches and needs of conservation in India now, compared to a decade ago?
The economic forces and pressures that drive habitat loss are much stronger and influential these days, and has gone up multiple folds. Rhetoric and notional approaches will not bring in any on-ground changes. We need to have sound reasoning, dogged, logical approach, and use all democratically available tools to achieve conservation. Merely talking of sustainability between development and conservation will not help. We need to ensure that there are dedicated, segregated spaces for both.
There are different opinions on how conservation is to be approached in India. How do you deal with so many differences in the community?
That is a space created by the democratic set up. We need to come to consensus, at least on priority issues. Having differences merely for the sake of it, or for personal reasons will help nobody. It is all about building alliances to save tiger landscapes; it is crucial land that needs to be saved. How it is used can be sorted out through negotiations; otherwise there won’t be land left for people or for tigers. Wildlife is not about today. It’s about decades to come.
What are the three biggest challenges conservation faces in the country?
Lack of political will, non-committal attitude of the scientific community, and the lack of unified approach by conservationists, and personal hegemony of a few individuals. Politicians are a big challenge – but my concept is to change challenges into opportunities, and create new alliances.
In 2016, a leopard strayed into Vibgyor school. You were involved with its capture and were injured in the process. What did this incident do to our perceptions of man-animal conflict, urban wildlife, and conservation ?
I think it brought the issue of human-wildlife conflict to the forefront. It highlighted the lacunae in the system and also those who sit in far flung areas and comment about issues they have never handled. It provided a platform for the government and civil societies to work on certain solutions.
Where does conservation education stand in India today? Is it gearing up the next generation of conservationists successfully?
The world of conservation training is largely focused on model building and computer simulations. We need emphasis on real-world problem solving. We need a change in curriculum and approach. Today’s children lack negotiating skills. We need an exposure to society, which is very much part of the solution, not just an obsession with statistics.
- The book Second Nature Saving Tiger Landscapes in the Twenty-First Century (RainfedBooks, Rs. 499) centres around author Gubbi quoting biologist Eric Dinerstein, who says: “Conservation is 10 per cent science and 90 per cent negotiation”. The book makes a case for applied conservation- leaving the lab to engage with the public – the real stakeholders- and the government. One of the instances in the book traces in detail his struggles to get Rs. 3,500 per month as hardship allowance to frontline staff in the forest department who work in protected areas – it took well over six years and bounced off four Chief Ministers till it finally came into effect!
- Gubbi is credited with the remarkable feat of linking 21 wildlife reserves in Karnataka to reduce the impact of habitat fragmentation. Today the interlinked landscape covers 9,500 square kilometres, nearly the size of the State of Tripura. In 2011 Karnataka expanded its protected areas by 23 per cent – the largest such expansion since the 1970s when national parks and wildlife sanctuaries were largely formed.
- The book speaks of efforts made in Karnataka, rerouting highways that lie inside the core areas of tiger reserves, restricting traffic through national parks at night, ensuring better working conditions for forest staff, and how the State’s fragile protected areas came to be meticulously mapped and linked.