Eco-tourism should be more eco in nature

Selfless Souls

After passing out from IIT Kanpur, Deepak Kumar joined the Indian Forest Service(IFS) in 1995 & was allotted the UP cadre. He worked in different districts of UP, both in territorial forest divisions and in social forestry areas. He was posted in Uttarkashi, Shivalik forest division (Saharanpur), Mainpuri, Kanpur Dehat & many other districts. He served as the Director of Kanpur Zoological Park from 2015 to 2018. Later in 2020, he was posted as CCF, Gorakhpur Mandal. Since 2021, he has been in the CCF Administration and looked after cadre management, direct recruitment, promotions, and disciplinary/establishment issues of Range Officers, Foresters, and Forest guards. Now, he has taken charge as the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Social Forestry, Uttar Pradesh …

Q As APCCF Social Forestry, what are your priorities?

My priorities are as follows:-

1. To give a boost to massive afforestation programme through better coordination between departments & large-scale public participation

2. Microplanning at the level of gram panchayats and urban local bodies (to know about land availability & choice of species for plantations)

3. Raising of better quality saplings in the nurseries

4. Protection and maintenance (aftercare) of plantations for better survival.

5. Coordinating with other government departments on forestry and other related issues.

6. Assisting in the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of the schemes and  projects

Q: What challenges do you face as of now, and how do you plan to tackle them? 

(1) Due to high population density and agriculture-oriented land use pattern, less land is available for plantation activity. The department will use degraded lands and will encourage farmers to go for agroforestry on a large scale.

(2) Less land is available for forestry works, so the department will emphasize developing green belts along roads/railway lines/canals and in river catchment areas. 

(3) Pollution in city areas. Trees control air & noise pollution and are major carbon sinks. So, the department (along with the urban development/industries department) plans for creating highly dense tree cover (like Miyawaki forest) in urban areas.

(4) Shortage of frontline staff. Large-scale appointments of forest guards and foresters going on.

(5) Climate change is a global issue now affecting all especially the poor. Forest and tree cover play a pivotal role in mitigating climate change. Steps are being taken to involve people from all walks of life in the plantation drives so that there is widespread creation of tree patches.

Q: Any major changes you want to bring about for a better man-animal cohabitation? 

Let us not disturb wild animal’s habitat. They have been living there for ages. Human activities should be restricted strictly in areas outside the forest. In forests, we should ensure a healthy and vibrant ecosystem with rich biodiversity so that enough prey base is maintained. By doing so, wild animals will rarely come out of the core protected areas.

Q: What is your take on man-animal conflicts- man first or animal? Here we must also take into account the fact that the wilderness is shrinking very rapidly with the human population invading it. 

Both man and animal need to co-exist. For ecological balance, we need a rich biodiversity. With shrinking wilderness, we need to be more sensitive as we are encroaching on their homeland & they are forced to come out in search of prey. To resolve man-animal conflict, the following measures should be taken:-

1. Regular surveillance by field staff. 

2. Availability of proper types of equipment like thermal cameras, optical fibre, towers with camera & solar panels, UAVs, drones, etc.

3. Wildlife corridors be restored.

4. Awareness campaigns especially in wildlife buffer areas

Q: Share some of your most challenging posts and experiences as a forest official. 

A: Some of the challenging tasks faced by me in my career are as below:-

1. As Director of Kanpur Zoo, I ensured the good health of Zoo animals, created a proper environment for breeding, maintained law and order, organized awareness campaigns, etc.

2. In the Mainpuri district, large areas had salt-affected soils (usar lands). Ensuring the success of the plantation here is a difficult task. But, with proper technique & choice of species, we managed to bring a good result.

3. Controlling illicit felling and wildlife crime cases in territorial forest divisions. We need constant surveillance, local intelligence gathering, proper types of equipment, and a well-trained and motivated staff.

Q: How would you ensure that eco-tourism does not cause any nuisance for the wildlife that you and your team are committed to protecting? 

Eco-tourism should be more eco in nature. We should avoid commercial tourism. Minimum structures - no concrete or big buildings, only those which are in the sink with nature like wooden structures, use of mud/thatches, use of rocks, etc. Rather than merry-making, it should be an awareness tour letting tourists enjoy the bliss of nature - the smell, the sound, the wilderness, etc. Natural forests should never be disturbed.

Q: What is your take when nagar nigams refuse to take responsibility for stray monkeys or captive pigeons and claim that is the forest's task? They say your department must issue a notification to the effect if they are to be dealt with by the civic authorities.

In city/town areas, nagarpalika or nagar nigam has to carry the act of trapping biting monkeys or monkeys causing a nuisance. There is a government order for the same. But for the translocation of such monkeys to their natural habitat, permission of the forest needs to be taken.