Context: Government is not serious about human-animal conflict
Conservation Landscape in India
- Vantara Initiative
- Prime Minister inaugurated Vantara, a 3,000-acre private wildlife conservation facility (15x larger than Delhi Zoo).
- It is endorsed by celebrities like Virat Kohli and Shah Rukh Khan.
- It claims to host the world’s largest cheetah conservation project.
- Contrasting Realities
- Cheetah Relocation Failures: 8 cheetahs and 3 cubs died in a ₹100 crore government project, despite known 50% success rate.
- Rising Endangered Species: 73 critically endangered species in 2024 (up from 47 in 2011).
Government Priorities and Policy Failures
- Inadequate Conservation Efforts
- Great Indian Bustard (GIB) Crisis
- Only ~100 left in the wild (2022 data).
- The Supreme Court’s 2021 conservation order deemed practically impossible by the government.
- Funding Cuts
- Project Tiger & Elephant: 23% budget reduction between 2019 and 2023. 7 out of 10 states received no funds in FY2022.
- Wildlife Habitats Scheme: 20% funding cut between 2019 and 2023.
- Reactive and Extreme Measures
- Human-Animal Conflict
- Elephants: 2,800 human deaths between 2019 and 2023. 316 deaths in Kerala between 2021 and 2024.
- Tigers: 300 human deaths and 75 tiger deaths (poaching, seizures) in the same period.
- Shoot-at-Sight Policies: Despite 2016 parliamentary assurances, states like UP, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Maharashtra continue lethal measures against wolves, leopards, and tigers.
- Legislative Negligence: Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023
- Exempts forest conservation rules for land near international borders.
- Rushed through Lok Sabha with only 30 minutes of debate (against 3-hour allotment).
Case Study: Gujarat’s Conservation Crisis
- High Mortality Rates
- 286 lions (58 unnatural deaths) and 456 leopards (153 unnatural deaths) in two years.
- 45 zoo animal deaths in 2023–24 in Gujarat.
- Poor Zoo Management: Ahmedabad Zoo ranked lowest among large zoos. Only 2 out of 6 Gujarat zoos are rated good.
Role of Philanthropy in Conservation
- Potential Benefits
- Funding and Research
- Private initiatives like Vantara could boost veterinary research and conservation capacity.
- Encourages students to pursue veterinary sciences.
- Public-Private Partnerships (PPP): Aims to strengthen state institutions, not replace them.
- Risks and Accountability: Lack of Oversight
- Private projects may prioritize glamour over ecological impact (e.g. private zoo model).
- Need for transparency to ensure alignment with public conservation goals.
Challenges and Recommendations
- Key Issues
- Policy-Practice Divide: Grand initiatives overshadow systemic underfunding and bureaucratic apathy.
- Reactive Measures: Lethal responses to human-animal conflict reflect poor long-term planning.
- Inequality in Conservation: Orwellian paradox that ‘Some animals are more equal than others.’
- Recommendations
- Increase Funding: Restore and expand budgets for Project Tiger, Elephant, and wildlife habitats.
- Science-Driven Conservation: Prioritize data-backed strategies over political symbolism.
- Strengthen PPP Frameworks: Ensure private projects complement state efforts with accountability.
- Mitigate Human-Animal Conflict: Invest in habitat corridors, early warning systems, and community engagement.
- Legislative Reform: Transparent debate on laws like the Forest Amendment Bill to balance security and ecology.
Conclusion: India’s wildlife conservation efforts remain fragmented. It is caught between high-profile private ventures and systemic government neglect. Bridging this gap requires urgent policy realignment, robust funding, and collaborative governance to protect biodiversity as a shared national priority.