Are Remaining Sustainable Habitats Less Important than P.A.?

After the poisonous spring - the ransaking of our precious habitats and mass killings of our wild animals, the aftermath is still in a precarious state. In India large swathes of forests, grasslands and mangroves and other niche habitats have been completely ravaged throughout the past centuries. Not forgetting our marine life and riverine ecosystems which are under attack as well.

Should we not declare an emergency for the sake of diversity? 

We have come to a point where we have to notify the remaining habitats with perfect ecosystems as protected areas (PAs). Albeit thankfully, this conservation measure has proved as a boon for the endangered species like the tiger, rhino and swamp deer little do we realize that this development has come about as an imperative rather a shameful imperative thanks to our misdeeds.  

Swamp Deer

The biggest damage has been brought about by rapid expansion of agriculture in order to feed our ever increasing population. But this has been done at the cost of forests and grasslands which has resulted in the decimation of many species in the wake and brought about near extinction of those which are now labeled as endangered. Fast spreading unplanned settlements in rural and urban areas has resulted in complete disappearance of land habitable for other creatures.

But the paradigm has changed we are in an industrial age now and rapid urbanisation is an associate which was not the case in the agrarian era. 

The creation of core inviolate areas have provided much needed undisturbed space for the diverse life forms in India. At least an iota of land has been wisely spared for others by a humanity that has come down heavily on land and ransacked ninety percent of mass under one pretext or another.      

We have failed to rationalize land as a precious commodity and that it should be included under the ambit of resource management in order to use it sustainably. 

Sabai Bhoomi Gopal Ki!

The saying stands true but is often interpreted wrongly. The land belongs to Lord Gopal and its creatures - the latter means all life forms and not  just humans. But in the contemporary era we have begun to interpret the saying to facilitate our own greed and the rabid development that is taking place.

Concretization is one of the deadliest activity that is taking place within our towns and cities besides digging the Earth for minerals and coal. Remember for every platform we make of concrete we kill a habitable land and the creatures that depend upon it. The building industry is supplemented by raw materials from nature like the sand and pebbles which damage the ecosystems. The fumes from steel and cement plants are an industrial hazards of which the general populace knows very little. 

Unrestrained use of our fast depleting resources does not impact only quantitatively but the end products like deadly chemical affluents, pesticides and toiletries are polluting our rivers and waterways and poisoning streams and precious pools of water which sustain diverse forms of life in our neighborhood including us humans.        

Similarly we are fast losing remaining shreds of habitats in our surroundings which were once complete ecosystems. Nevertheless these still support small life forms which are important anyway.  Take a peek in your neighborhood you will find birds, butterflies, jackals, hares, foxes, civets, porcupines and even hyenas, leopards and wolves.

If you do not desire to save these creatures then you should not subscribe to this article. These precious life forms and habitats are being lost to urbanization spreading its tentacles far and wide,  and due to our lack of regard and our callous attitude. We do not care where we are heading to hence leave it on our nextgen to face and suffer.   

In this context it has become pertinent that there is a paradigm shift as to how we perceive development and immediately stem the rot. The remaining sustainable habitats are being subjected to exploitation under the spanner of development an imperative where in alternate is never seemed to be found or deemed to be looked for. Such is the haste that we think nothing of the greater ecological impact our actions will lead to.      

The dispensations are always hell bent to outdo the previous in order to present impressive figures in the index. This is usually at the cost of our precious land and all its inhabitants. If the dispensation is not circumspect regards the preservation of habitats that have gone through centuries of evolution to come to a stage to support life and be in a state of equilibrium...much needed to sustain it for posterity, should we as responsible not step in stem the rot? What we should we do if the succesive governments do not pay heed to what all is precious? 

Act as responsible citizens and speak, write and act!
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Uday works as a naturalist and writes on issues connected with environment and tiger conservation in India.
He can be contacted at: pateluday90@hotmail.com
Mob: 9755089323