Massive urbanisation and industrialisation in Orissa is now taking its toll on the wildlife resources. This apart, the alleged apathy of the state government also threatens the very existence of the wildlife.
Although it is mandatory that the State Board for Wildlife must meet every six months to oversee implementation of the wildlife conservation programmes, the high-power body, chaired by the chief minister Naveen Patnaik, has not met even once in the last two years. Similarly, there has been no meeting of the honorary wildlife wardens for the last two years, according to wild life experts.
“During the ongoing Wildlife Week celebrations, poachers are busy hunting endangered wildlife in Orissa’s forest areas. The forest department, which has a constitutional mandate to protect wildlife, has some misplaced priorities in place as it has turned into a contractor executing various works like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), tourism projects and tribal livelihood projects. With a state obsessed with mining and industrialisation, wildlife has little chance to survive in face of rapid loss of habitat,” said Biswajit Mohanty, secretary, Wildlife Society of Orissa, on Monday.
Orissa is unique in many ways in the country’s wildlife. About 19 species of amphibians, 110 species of reptiles, 476 species of birds, 86 species of mammals are reported from the state. The country’s largest migratory fowl (more than 700,000) congregation is found at the Chilka lake and the world’s largest mass nesting site for sea turtles is at Gahirmatha.
Similarly, the presence of Irrawaday dolphins in the Chilika lake is unique in the world attracting international attention.
But the wild animals are under threat from greedy poachers. “Way back in April 1996, on the basis of our information, the forest department seized 21 leopard skins exposing rampant illegal trade in big cat body parts. In 2005, eleven leopard skins and a pistol were seized from various traders and poachers in Phulbani and Gajapati district,” Mr Mohanty lamented.
Official reports say that 231 elephants were killed by poachers, 166 died due to accidents and 173 died to natural causes in the last 19 years. In the last decade, at least 155 elephants have died due to electrocution. The recent mass killings of elephants in Simlipal Tiger Reserve, a protected area exposed the nexus between poachers and the local official, who even destroyed bodies of dead elephants.
“From 226 tigers in 1993, we have now about 50 in 2008 (All India tiger census done by Wildlife Institute of India) in Orissa. Due to active operation of poachers inside Simlipal, the local tiger population is believed to be almost wiped with the WII census reporting less than 20 tigers in 2008,” Mr Mohanty added.
Thousands of endangered Olive Ridleys turtles perish every year due to illegal trawling and non-use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TED). More than 1,40,000 turtles have been killed during the last 14 years. “Crocodiles, water monitors and snakes are regularly trapped and killed for skins. More than 700 juvenile gharial crocodiles were released in the Mahanadi river Satkosia gorge during the 1970s and early 1980s. Only two survived since most of them have been killed for their skins,” Mr Mohanty informed.