Wildlife conservation

Every year, Wildlife Week is celebrated across India from October 2nd to 8th with an aim to protect and preserve the flora and fauna of India. The first Wildlife Week was observed in 1957. The Wildlife Week 2021 is celebrated from 2nd October to 8th October 2021. Wildlife Week 2021 marks the 67th Wildlife Week which is celebrated under the theme Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet. During this week, experts conduct workshops to make people understand the importance of wildlife conservation. Besides this, several awareness-building activities are organised on different levels to make people more aware about wildlife. Last week Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha too inaugurated the Wildlife Week-2021 at SKICC in Srinagar. The Lt Governor also e-inaugurated the online permission for entry to Dachigam National Park and Hangul Eco-Stop near Parimahal. He also released Hangul census report and brochures of Trekking Routes. The LG said that J&K’s wildlife has rich and rare assets in the form of its flora and fauna, biodiversity, and wildlife sanctuaries, and the Government was giving focused attention towards conservation and protection of invaluable natural resources. The role played by wildlife in maintaining the ecological balance of nature is undeniable. Any harm to the wilderness can pose a threat to the entire ecosystem. Thus, it is very crucial to preserve flora and fauna. The animals and plants that live in the wild have an intrinsic value and contribute to the ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic aspects of human well-being and to sustainable development. World Wildlife Day is an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that their conservation provides to people. At the same time, the Day reminds us of the urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime and human-induced reduction of species, which have wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts. In Kashmir, the biggest issue during the current time has been the human-animal conflict. It wasn’t a pleasing season for Wildlife Front Line workers and animal rescue teams as human-animal conflict incidents have kept them on toes. Deforestation and unplanned expansion of residential and commercial constructions have shrunk the natural habitat of these wild animals. As humans trampled and occupied their spaces, it is natural that more and more incidents of man-animal conflict are taking place. Official data shows that at least 33 people have lost their lives in different incidents of human-wildlife conflict in the last four years across Kashmir. Similarly, 498 persons have got injured in the last four years in the region. Human-wildlife conflict refers to an interaction between wild animals and people and resultant negative impact on people or their resources, or wild animals or their habitat. Human-Wildlife Conflict occurs when wildlife requirements overlap with those of human populations, creating costs both to residents and wild animals. Of late, the valley has seen a spike in such incidents. According to wildlife experts, there are many reasons contributing to man-animal conflict. One of them being the change of agricultural land use over the years in rural and semi-urban areas from traditional crops (paddy) to cash crops (fruits, mostly apples). This attracts bears which get good quality and large quantities of food in an orchard, rather than in the forest. A study titled, Casualties of human-wildlife conflict in Kashmir valley, India; a neglected form of trauma: our 10-year-study, reveals that in the human-animal conflicts, bear was the most common animal responsible for the human-animal conflict, followed by a leopard.