‘Give wildlife stakeholders their due’

In a remote corner of eastern Jaipur, Harsh Vardhan keeps himself busy observing the birds that visit his premises. What does he get out of it? “Satisfaction,” says Harsh Vardhan, “which is not easy to derive from many other preoccupations in life!” This sense of fulfilment in the octogenarian scribe-turned- wildlife crusader and scholar of Rajasthan’s natural history is neither unfounded nor limited to bird watching alone.

During his five-decade-long, impactful and multifaceted journey across journalism, public relations, and wildlife conservation, he, along with his associates, accomplished several commendable feats, leaving distinct footprints behind. The conservation of the ‘Godawan’, Rajasthan’s state bird, the protection of Siberian cranes, and the preservation of Ranthambhore National Park and its tigers remain among his closest-to-heart projects. These achievements, he believes, will always give him a reason to smile whenever he reflects on his life’s work. In an exclusive conversation with Satish Kumar Sharma, renowned ecologist Harsh Vardhan, credited with leading the campaign to save the Great Indian Bustard from extinction in the 1970s, and the man for all seasons as far as ecology and wildlife are concerned, talks about bustard conservation and ecology, and the ‘Save Tiger’ campaign, among others. Here are excerpts:

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Q: Let us start with your efforts to save the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) from extinction. How did it all begin?

A: Arab sheikhs began arriving in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan during the 1970s. I discovered that their activities violated India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Along with my colleagues, I opposed their wanton falconry. The press picked up the issue because it attracted considerable readership, and The Statesman also published reports on it. The campaign received unprecedented support. The Rajasthan High Court in Jodhpur granted a stay order, and the royal guests had to return. Very little was known about bustards at the time, so we organised an International Symposium on Bustards in Jaipur from 1–3 November 1980. It brought an enormous workload upon me.

My book, Bustards in Decline (co-authored with Paul D Goriup), was formally released by the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, in 1983. However, appeals to begin captive breeding of the Great Indian Bustard fell on deaf ears from 1980 onward. Then, in 2019, Chief Wildlife Warden Arindam Tomar took the initiative. An ex-situ breeding facility for the species was established in Desert National Park, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. As a result, around 80 chicks are now in safe hands, meaning that the extinction threat to this critically endangered species has, to some extent, been averted.

Q: Is there any other species in a similar situation that you have tackled?

A: Siberian Crane numbers were declining at Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur. During my visit to the Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary in 1969 (it was not yet a national park then), I had counted around 65 Siberian Cranes. By the 1970s, the number had declined to 25. The International Crane Foundation in the United States came forward to support the cause. In the early 1990s, a satellite transmitter was attached to a bird in the park to ascertain its migration route between Bharatpur and Siberia, and vice versa, in an effort to conserve the wetlands and stopover sites along the route. The last Siberian Crane was observed in the park in 2002. The species is now considered extinct in India, though it continues to breed successfully in Siberia. Its eastern population, numbering a few hundred birds, still migrates annually from eastern Siberia to Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province, China.”

Q. You must have collaborated with overseas bodies and experts in your conservation efforts. Please tell us about them?

A: The US Fish and Wildlife Service recognised my work and offered me a five-week exposure visit to wildlife habitats and species in the United States. The US experts I met there have remained connected with me to this day. Dr George Archibald, co-founder of the International Crane Foundation in the US, has often suggested that India should once again host Siberian Cranes. There is a possibility that Keoladeo National Park could receive a few pairs of Siberian Cranes and maintain them in its wetlands. Food, particularly aquatic grass, is available in abundance there. During summer, when the habitat becomes dry, the birds could be shifted to a specially created enclosure designed to retain a wetland-like environment. These birds would not only become a major attraction for visitors but would also present a new conservation challenge for forest officials. In the mid-1990s, the park received captive-born Siberian Cranes from a US breeding facility. During the summer, a few birds were removed from the park to protect them from predation by jackals and stray dogs. They were then housed at Jaipur Zoo. With the support of forest officials, I managed their care to everyone’s satisfaction.

Q. Tell us about your work in Ranthambhore National Park, particularly in the context of the ‘Save Tiger’ campaign of earlier years?

A: Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve is probably one of the greatest success stories for India as a whole in recent years. I organised an Eco-Development Assessment of the needs of rural areas around this reserve in the early 1980s. I am told there are 57 Project Tiger Reserves in India today. However, tiger sightings are most frequent only in a few of them: Ranthambhore, Sariska, Bandhavgarh, Panna, Kanha, Pench, Tadoba, Nagarhole, and Bandipur, among others. The remaining reserves are also being managed with adequate personnel and financial inputs. However, tiger numb ers may no t b e increasing significantly due to demographic pressure. Many reserves are not very popular with visitors because of the low likelihood of tiger sightings during safaris. The tiger is a major conservation success at the global level, and India has reason to be proud of this achievement. By the turn of the 1970s, it was widely believed that tigers would become extinct in India due to widespread hunting and pressure from human and cattle populations. Today, India is home to about 4,000 tigers in the wild. I must point out that tigers also generate substantial revenue for the hospitality sector in India. Numerous large and mid-sized resorts have come up around tiger reserves, benefiting from this ecosystem. Smaller hoteliers are also joining the competition. I estimate that tigers contribute around Rs 1,500 crore annually to the economy. However, this revenue is largely captured by the hospitality sector – the tiger receives nothing , and the forest department receives very little.

Q: What would be your suggestion in this regard?

A: Give the stakeholders their due. Villages surround tiger reserves, so their crops and courtyards are impacted by blue bulls during the day and wild boars at night. Crops are raided, and farmers receive no compensation. They are the worst sufferers. Hardly any villagers receive employment in the mechanisms being developed in this country. Environmental economist Madhu Verma’s assessment of ecosystem services from some tiger reserves stands out as one of the most exemplary case studies. She conducted this work while teaching at the Indian Institute of Forest Management. The reports were co-authored with scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India as well. She clearly demonstrates the benefits of tiger reserves, both tangible and intangible. The authorities now need to follow the recommendations emerging from these studies.

Q. The number of leopards and tigers has risen in urban areas. Should oneview these a s counterproductive effects of the wildlife protection?

A: As already outlined, India stands proudly on the podium in terms of conserving megafauna. Leopards are more opportunistic wild cats than tigers. They tend to stay away from tiger-dominated areas to avoid encounters with tigers. As a result, they range along the peripheries of reserves and prey on domestic dogs, as well as occasionally attacking buffaloes, cows, goats, and sheep. Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Jhalana Leopard Reserve are glaring examples where citizens often find themselves on the receiving end of human–wildlife conflict. A shortage of prey species is a key reason, compounded by the increasing population of predators. Consider the situation at Tadoba, Bandhavgarh, and Ranthambhore: tigers often move into rural pockets, forcing villagers – men, women, and children – to abruptly shut their doors at the sight of a tiger entering village lanes. While confirmed man-eating incidents are not on the rise, cattle lifting is rampant. However, compensation for livestock losses is often delayed due to evidence-based verification procedures. At times, villagers are also alleged to have to share compensation amounts with officials, reflecting concerns of corruption that I have heard about. The time is ripe to address the management of carnivore populations. How can this be done? Today, forest officials often track and capture a wandering tiger or leopard for hours, sometimes days and nights, tranquillise it, and release it back into the forest. Is this the end of the problem? No. The same animal often returns to the same area after a week or a fortnight. We must either expand forest reserves to accommodate the increasing number of predators, which is not easy, or increase the prey base, such as deer populations, which is also difficult. Population control of carnivorous predators remains a contentious idea, often resisted by scientists. India is known for sweeping such issues under the carpet.