Asiatic Lions Wildlife Gujarat - policy a roaring success

Gujarat is Animal friendly state in India.

While the number of any particular animal might have grown in some State or other, Gujarat is probably the only State where the populations of as many as four big wild animals have gone up.

While the rise in population of the Asiatic Lions in Sasan Gir, its last natural habitat, is well-known, the numbers of three other big animals, too, have grown in Gujarat during the past few years.

Apart from the Asiatic lions in Gir, the big wild animals whose populations in Gujarat have grown are leopards, wild ass and sloth bear.

The increase of Asiatic lions in Gir to 411 in 2010 from 359 in 2005 was well publicized, but around the same time, the State’s leopard count, too, rose to 1,160 from 1,070 in 2006 and the number of wild ass in the Little Rann of Kutch went up from 3,800 to 4,038 in 2009.

The sloth bear population, found mostly in the eastern tribal belt of the State, grew to 293 in 2011 compared to 270 in 2006.

As per Latest Pradeep Khanna Interviews who is Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) said that, “While the number of one particular animal might have grown in some State or other, Gujarat is probably the only State where the population of as many as four big wild animals have gone up.”

“People in Gujarat have a lot of respect for wildlife.”

Khanna attributed the phenomenon mainly to the “animal-friendly nature of the people and the local culture in Gujarat”.

He also cited the State’s conservation efforts and the “dedication of the Forest department field staff” for the flourishing wildlife population.

Though the growing number of wild animals raises the possibility of man-animal conflicts, Khanna said that there are ways to tackle such problems.

When the growing number of Asiatic lions started to stray out of the designated Gir National Park, the State Government quickly decided to notify new adjoining areas as sanctuaries.

Thus, Mitiyala and Girnar areas were notified as new sanctuaries in 2004 and 2008 respectively to accommodate the growing number of the big cats.

The rise in the number of wild ass in the Little Rann of Kutch led to these animals straying into fields with standing crops. “People had to be convinced not to poison them.

Similarly, cattle-lifting by lions led to confrontations with villagers.

“The compensation paid in such cases has been much less than the actual price of cattle killed. Villagers want more, but are tolerant enough not to harm the lions.”

The number of sloth bears is growing in the sanctuary areas of Surpaneswar (Narmada district), Jambugodha (Vadodara), Ratanmahal (Dahod), Balaram and Jessore (Banaskantha), primarily because these areas have been left unaffected by urbanization. “Good forest areas have not been diverted for industrial use.”

Junagadh Fort Saurastra Samachar

Wildlife board clears sanctuary land for Power Grid, Adani Transmission line.

The state Wildlife Board will soon send a proposal to the Centre requesting it to allow some industrial houses as well as government agencies to use forestland for non-forest purposes in the four protected sanctuaries in the state.

These four include the Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary, the Wild Ass Sanctuary in the Little Rann of Kutch, Velavadar Blackbuck Sanctuary and the Narayan Sarovar Bird Sanctuary.

A decision to send the proposal was taken at the state Wildlife Board meeting here on Saturday under the chairmanship of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Among the main items cleared at the Board meeting were a proposal for diversion of 89.74 hectares of land in the Wild Ass Sanctuary for the power transmission line of Adani Power Limited, and another 241.59 hectares for the state-owned Power Grid Corporation’s transmission lines in the same sanctuary.

The Board also cleared a proposal for the diversion of 7.29 hectares in the for Usha Breco Limited (UBL) for power Girnar Sanctuaryropeway construction, and another 0.450 hectares each for Vodafone Gujarat Ltd and Reliance Communication Gujarat Ltd for laying fiber-optic lines in the famous Narayan Sarovar Bird Sanctuary.

It also cleared the proposal of the State Road Development Corporation, seeking the diversion of 4.40 hectares of land in the Velavadar Blackbuck Sanctuary for laying a six-lane Sarkhej-Vataman-Bhavnagar Road, and BSNL’s proposal for 0.315 hectares diversion In Balaram Ambaji Sanctuary for laying fiber-optic lines.

Pradeep Khanna, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), told News line after the meeting: “All these proposals seeking clearance under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 will now be sent to the National Wildlife Board which, in turn, will forward it to the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee for consideration.

The apex court will take a final decision on the proposals.” Khanna said the Board meeting also approved other proposals, including a 265 km-long “garland road” to be laid around the Gir Sanctuary, the setting up of Leo-genetic lab for Gir lions and other wild animals at Junagadh,

Besides creating a communication network for surveillance, management and protection of animals in the Gir Sanctuary.