Conservation & Management

What is wildlife conservation and management?

“Wildlife” is a word whose meaning expands ind contracts with the viewpoint(of

the user. Sometimes it is used to include all wild animals and plants. More often it

is restricted to terrestrial vertebrates. In the discipline of wildlife management it

designates free-ranging birds and mammals and that is the way it is used here. Until

about 25 years ago wildlife was synonymous with “game,” those birds and mammals

that were hunted for sport. The management of such species is still an integral part

of wildlife management but increasingly it embraces other aspects such as conservation

of endangered species.

“Wildlife management” may be defined for present purposes as “the management

of wildlife populations in the context of the ecosystem.” That may be too restrictive

for some who would argue that many of the problems of management deal with

people and, therefore, that education, extension, park management, law enforcement,

economics, and land evaluation are legitimate aspects of wildlife management, and

ought to be included within its definition. They have a point, but the expansion of

the definition to take in all these aspects diverts attention from the core around which

management activities are organized: the manipulation or protection of a population

to achieve a goal. Obviously people must be informed as to what is being done, they

must be educated to an understanding of why it is necessary, their opinions must be

canvassed and their behavior may have to be regulated with respect to that goal.

However, the most important task is to choose the right goal and to know enough

about the animals and their habitat to assure its attainment. Hence wildlife management

is restricted here to its literal meaning, thereby emphasizing the core at the

expense of the periphery of the field.

Kinds of management

Wildlife management implies stewardship, that is the looking after of a population.
A population is a group of coexisting individuals of the same species. When stewardship
fails, conservation becomes imperative. Under these circumstances, wildlife
management shifts to remedial or restoration activities.
Wildlife management may be either manipulative or custodial. Manipulative management
does something to a population, either changing its numbers by direct means
or influencing numbers by the indirect means of altering food supply, habitat,
density of predators, or prevalence of disease. Manipulative management is appropriate
when a population is to be harvested, or when it slides to an unacceptably low
density, or when it increases to an unacceptably high level.
Custodial management on the other hand is preventative or protective. It is aimed
at minimizing external influences on the population and its habitat. It is not aimed
necessarily at stabilizing the system but at allowing free rein to the ecological processes
that determine the dynamics of the system. Such management may be appropriate
in a national park where one of the stated goals is to protect ecological processes
and it may be appropriate for conservation of a threatened species where the threat
is of external origin rather than being intrinsic to the system.
Regardless of whether manipulative or custodial management is called for, it is vital
that

(i) the management problem is identified correctly; 

(ii) the goals of management
explicitly address the solution to the problem; and 

(iii) criteria for assessing the
success of the management are clearly identified.

Goals of management

A wildlife population may be managed in one of four ways:

1 make it increase;

2 make it decrease;

3 harvest it for a continuing yield;

4 leave it alone but keep an eye on it.

These are the only options available to the manager.

Three decisions are needed: 

(i) what is the desired goal; 

(ii) which management option is therefore appropriate; and 

(iii) by what action is the management option

best achieved? The first decision requires a judgment of value, the others technical

judgments.

Biosphere reserve

Biosphere Reserves : Indian Approach

National Biosphere Reserve Programme

India has created a network of protected areas in the form of 102 National Parks, 515 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 28 Tiger Reserves and 32 Elephant Reserves. The area covered under protected area network accounts for around 5% of the total geographical area of the country. The rich biodiversity in India has given shape to variety of cultural and ethnic diversity which includes over 550 tribal communities of 227 ethnic groups spread over 5,000 forest villages.

The national Biosphere Reserve Programme was initiated in 1986 and its aims and objectives are as follows:

Aims of the Scheme

·                     To serve as wider base for conservation of entire  range of living resources and their ecological foundations in addition to already established protected area network system To bring out representative ecosystems under conservation and sustainable use on a long term basis.

·                     To ensure participation of local inhabitants for effective management and devise means of improving livelihood of the local inhabitants through sustainable use.

·                     To integrate scientific research with traditional knowledge of conservation, education and training as a part of the overall management of BR.

·                     The Core Advisory Group of Experts, constituted by Indian National MAB Committee identified and prepared a preliminary inventory of 14 potential sites for recognition as BRs in 1979. Subsequently additional BR sites were proposed by the National Committee/State Governments, Experts.

Objectives

It may be noted that BRs are not a substitute or alternative, but a re-enforcement to the existing protected areas. The objectives of the Biosphere Reserve programme, as envisaged by the Core Group of Experts, are as follows:

·                     To conserve the diversity and integrity of plants and animals within natural ecosystems;

·                     To safeguard genetic diversity of species on which their continuing evolution depends;

·                     To provide areas for multi-faceted research and monitoring;

·                     To provide facilities for education and training; and

·                     To ensure sustainable use of natural resources through most appropriate technology for improvement of economic well-being of the local people.

These objectives should be oriented in such a way that the BRs are the Units wherein the Biological, socio-economic and cultural dimension of conservation are integrated together into a realistic conservation strategy.

What are the Criteria for selection of Biosphere Reserves in India?

The criteria for selection of sites for BRs as laid down by the Core Group of Experts in 1979 are listed below:

Primary criteria

·                     A site that must contain an effectively protected and minimally disturbed core area of value of nature conservation and should include additional land and water suitable for research and demonstration of sustainable methods of research and management.

·                     The core area should be typical of a biogeographical unit and large enough to sustain viable populations representing all tropic levels in the ecosystem.

Secondary criteria

·                     Areas having rare and endangered species

·                     Areas having diversity of soil and micro-climatic conditions and indigenous varieties of biota.

·                     Areas potential for preservation of traditional tribal or rural modes of living for harmonious use of environment.

How are Biosphere Reserves designated in India?

At the initiative of the central/state governments, detailed study is carried out and a project report is prepared by the concerned state following the criteria adopted for designation of BRs. The land and forest being the state concerns, the respective state governments have to agree to designate the identified area as Biosphere Reserve. The Central Govt. provides financial assistance for management and research activities in these BRs. The Management of

Biosphere Reserves is the responsibility of the concerned State/UT with necessary technical input and training facilities provided by the Central Government.

How Biosphere Reserves are different from protected areas such as National Parks (NP) and Wildlife Sanctuaries(WS)?

Biosphere Reserves in India are not intended to replace existing protected areas but it widens the scope of conventional approach of protection and further strengthens the Protected Area Network. Existing legally protected areas (National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuary, Tiger Reserve and reserve/protected forests) may become part of the BR without any change in their legal status. On the other hand, inclusion of such areas in a BR will enhance their national value. It, however, does not mean that Biosphere Reserves are to be established only around the National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.

However, the Biosphere Reserves differ from protected areas due to their emphasis on:

·                     Conservation of overall biodiversity and landscape, rather than some specific flagship species, to allow natural and evolutionary processes to continue without any hindrance.

·                     Different components of BRs like landscapes, habitats, and species and land races.

·                     Developmental activities, and resolution/mitigation of conflicts between development and conservation,

·                     Increase in broad-basing of stakeholders, especially local people’s participation and their Training, compared to the features of scheme on Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks.

·                     Sustainable environment friendly development and sustained coordination amongst different development organizations and agencies.

·                     Research and Monitoring to understand the structure and functioning of ecological system and their mode of reaction when exposed to human intervention.

How many Biosphere reserves are there in India?

According to the Annual report 2010-2011 of Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt of India, there are at present 17 Biosphere Reserves in the country as shown in the following table: