Africa's largest female elephant dies in Kenya.(Photo: facebook.com/KenyaWildlifeService)
Malonza added that to shield wildlife from the devastating impacts of climate change, the government has mobilised resources to drill water pans and supply dried fodder to the parks…reports Asian Lite News
The conservation of Kenya’s wildlife sanctuaries that are grappling with myriad threats, including climate change, encroachment, pollution and invasive species, is a top priority for the government and its partners, an official said.
Peninah Malonza, Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage, said on Thursday enhancing the protection of natural habitats for iconic wildlife species is key to sustainable tourism and the livelihoods of rural communities.
“We are harmonising policy frameworks even as we engage more partners to boost wildlife conservation financing,” she added during the launch of a new initiative to promote the health of biodiversity inside wildlife parks in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
According to Malonza, a strategic alliance between government, industry, and bilateral lenders is expected to re-invigorate the protection of wildlife sanctuaries that are home to iconic species like giant mammals, insects and migratory birds, Xinhua news agency reported.
She said Kenya has domesticated international treaties to strengthen the conservation of wildlife habitats, boost climate resilience and improve rural livelihoods.
Malonza added that to shield wildlife from the devastating impacts of climate change, the government has mobilised resources to drill water pans and supply dried fodder to the parks.
She noted that greater involvement of local communities in protecting wildlife habitats has led to reduced cases of poaching, thereby stabilising the population of charismatic species, including elephants, rhinos, lions, and giraffes.
The Kenyan official said the new partnership with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Conservation Alliance of Kenya will foster knowledge-sharing on tackling emerging threats to wildlife.
Malonza said the alliance will guide investments in nature-positive projects that enhance the health of wildlife habitats while providing new revenue streams to communities.
Silvia Museiya, Principal Secretary in the State Department of Tourism and Wildlife, said partnerships, innovative financing, and greater community involvement are key to the success of wildlife conservation programmes.
The government of the UAE has worked with the UK government to launch a toolkit to support financial institutions in tackling illicit financial flows in Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT)…reports Asian Lite News
Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, UAE Minister of State, has partnered with UK Minister Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon to launch the toolkit, which was launched at Expo 2020 Dubai to coincide with UN Wildlife Day.
The toolkit provides key guidance to institutions in combating the illegal wildlife trade, from large institutions with significant compliance departments to smaller institutions with less experience or fewer resources in countering this trade.
In his remarks at the launch event, Al Sayegh noted, “The illegal wildlife trade forms an intrinsically important aspect of illicit financial flows. The partnership between the private and public sectors is key towards mitigating and addressing this global issue. This is why I am pleased that members of the UAE’s Public-Private Partnership Subcommittee will endorse the IWT toolkit, which will mark a new step towards combating the illegal wildlife trade.”
For his part, the UK Minister of State for South and Central Asia commented, “I am delighted to launch the UK-led IWT Financial Flows Toolkit in collaboration with the UAE Government, TRAFFIC, WWF, and Themis. The toolkit builds on the landmark partnership agreement between the UK and UAE to tackle illicit financial flows and on the growing cooperation between our public and private sectors to tackle financial crime. Together we can fight back against the organised crime gangs who pillage and endanger our wildlife.”
The illegal wildlife trade is the fourth-largest organised crime after drugs, human trafficking, and counterfeiting, costing US$23 billion annually. Wildlife trafficking does not only extinguish at-risk species and destabilise ecosystems, it also promotes corruption and undermines livelihoods around the world.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), approximately 20,000 African elephants are killed by poachers each year, and rhino poaching has soared since 2007 with an average death rate of around 100 rhinos per month.
In recent years, the UAE and its international partners have advocated stricter action against those engaged in the illegal wildlife trade and promoted increased coordination through each country’s financial sector. Through public-private partnerships, information sharing, and international cooperation, countries can establish strong foundations to detect and address illicit money flows that have a detrimental impact on economies and the environment.
The toolkit was developed with a focus on the Africa to Asia route, and highlights the importance of public-private sector cooperation in global financial centres, including the UAE, Hong Kong, and Singapore, to combat this trade. The IWT Financial Flows Toolkit has been translated into Arabic and Mandarin by the UAE Government and TRAFFIC’s China office. It can be accessed at https://crime.financial/iwt.
South Africa records decline in Rhinoceros poaching
A total of 451 rhinoceroses were killed for their horns in 2021 which is 24 per cent less than the pre-Covid period in 2019, said Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries…reports Asian Lite News
A total of 327 rhinoceroses were killed in government reserves and 124 on private property, Xinhua news agency reported.
Creecy on Tuesday attributed the decline in poaching to collaboration between the parks rangers and other law enforcement agents.
“Over the last year, conservation and anti-poaching efforts have intensified countrywide as a joint effort is made by state-owned conservation areas, government, and private landowners to reduce the poaching of rhinoceros in South Africa,” she said.
In 2021, there were 189 arrests in connection with poaching activities, in comparison with 156 arrests made countrywide in 2020. In the 38 verdicts, handed down by the courts, 37 cases resulted in the conviction of 61 accused rhinoceros poachers or traffickers.
Ashok Bishnoi, the grandson of Chaudhary Sant Kumar and a retired forest range officer, is now the National Vice President of the AIWDC…reports Asian Lite News.
An unobservant traveller, driving from Rajasthan and entering Punjab through the city of Abohar in the Fazilka district, might completely miss the fact that they are passing through a wildlife sanctuary. The animals know to keep away from the open and busy roads criss-crossing the land. And there are no forests here, only farmlands.
The sanctuary is essentially a close-knit community of nearly a dozen densely populated villages where hundreds of the rare blackbuck roam fearlessly in the fields amidst the bustle of agrestic life. The forest department does not own any land in this area and yet there is a thriving wildlife sanctuary, home to thousands of wild animals.
Elephants (ANI)
The sanctuary, which begins from the Punjabi village of Bazidpur Bhoma, is also home to over 30,000 people of the Bishnoi community. The Bishnois are a Hindu sect founded in the late 15th century in Rajasthan and are well-known for their fierce love for the environment and all things living.
The Bishnois here in Abohar have solidified that legacy over the last century by allowing their private land to moonlight as a special reserve for the protection of the Krishna (blackbuck) and Chinkara deer (Indian gazelle).
Establishing a ‘private’ sanctuary
The person credited for the founding of the sanctuary is Chaudhary Sant Kumar Bishnoi of Dotaranwali village, born in the year 1915. Sant Kumar grew up in the tradition of wildlife preservation; his father and grandfather were persistent in their patrols to drive poachers out of the area. Sant Kumar was more radical and started fining the poachers and handing them over to the police. He mobilised people in the surrounding villages to become more proactive in protecting the deer, eventually forming the All India Wildlife Defense Bishnoi Committee (AIWDBC).
At the request of the Bishnois, the Punjab Government issued a notification in the year 1975, declaring the villages of Raipura, Dotaranwali, Rajwali, Sardarpura, Khairpura, Sukhchain, Seetoguno, Maharana, Himmatpura, Rampura, Narainpura, Bishanpura and Bazidpur Bhoma as the Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary. Sant Kumar was felicitated with the Indira Gandhi Environment Award in 1992, and he passed away six years later. In 2000, the 13 villages were legally declared a sanctuary under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
A lion (Panthera leo) (Wikipedia)
Ashok Bishnoi, the grandson of Chaudhary Sant Kumar and a retired forest range officer, is now the National Vice President of the AIWDC.
He said, “Thousands of people of the Bishnoi community are involved in protecting wildlife. They guard these creatures day and night. As a result, this is the only area in Punjab where blackbucks are now found.”
Guardians of the blackbuck
The Bishnois are zealous in their mission to protect the wildlife here and have been managing the sanctuary with the support of the forest department. The Forest Department has deployed 11 employees in the sanctuary and, together with 10 daily wage contract workers, they oversee the vast reserve spread over 46,513 acres.
But the real deterrent for hunters and poachers are the Bishnois who number in the thousands. The other communities living here, though small in number, have assimilated into the Bishnoi way of life and are just as committed to the cause. RD Bishnoi, head of the Punjab branch of the AIWDBC, said that many a time unarmed Bishnois have caught gun-wielding poachers and handed them over to the police. When the wildlife is in any perceivable danger, even women single-handedly take on the hunters, he said.
Anita Rani, Acting Range Officer, Punjab Forest and Wildlife Protection Department, credits the Bishnoi community for the lack of poaching in the area for several years now. “The people of the Bishnoi community have saved these innocent creatures. They are always ready to protect them from poachers and provide first aid if they get injured,” she told 101Reporters.
For the last 26 years, Rajendra Bishnoi has been guarding the sanctuary. He said: “The forest department and the villagers work day and night. We have no fixed work hours. As soon as there is information about a wild animal being injured, we immediately reach the spot. If it is a minor injury, the animal is treated on the spot and freed. If it is serious, it is taken to the rescue centre for treatment. Many times we have even taken injured animals to Ludhiana.”
Apart from the blackbuck, other animals such as nilgais, pheasants, hares, jackals, wild cats, porcupines, wild boars and black ducks are also found in abundance. The community here takes efforts to make arrangements for food and water for the animals at different places in the fields.
From birth to death, the Bishnois nurture the wildlife around them like they are part of a large family. RD Bishnoi said that the community performs the last rites of animals killed in accidents. Sometimes, after the death of a female deer, villagers are known to bottle-feed the newborn fawns.
“Visitors come here in large numbers and find inspiration to protect nature,” said Kuldeep, the watchman at the Shaheed Mata Amrita Devi Bishnoi Park that was inaugurated last year by former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. The state government spent Rs 10 crore to construct this memorial in Maharana village to honour the sacrifice of 363 Bishnois in Jodhpur three centuries ago, who laid down their lives to protest the felling of trees by the king for his new palace.
In the shadow of this memorial, the Bishnois continue to cement their legacy.
A dogged situation
The sanctuary also has its fair share of difficulties and a recent development has left the Bishnois between a rock and a hard place. Attacks by stray dogs on deer are increasing. Also, the barbed cobra wire that was installed around the fields to protect the crops from wandering animals has been causing fatal injuries to the deer during dog attacks. RD Bishnoi said: “When we raised our concerns, the administration banned cobra wire. So far, most of the cobra wires have been removed. But the dogs are still a threat as their number is increasing exponentially. These dogs attack the deer whenever they get the chance. In the last two years, about three dozen deer have died in dog attacks. Many nilgais have also been killed by dogs.”
With the last wildlife census conducted in the area ten years ago, there are no recent numbers to drive home the seriousness of the situation and, in fact, there are conflicting views. According to Rani, when the census in 2011 found about four thousand deer in the sanctuary. She believes that this number has not decreased as the Bishnois have consistently protected them. But RD Bishnoi said that the number of deer has been falling due to the dog attacks. Rani promises a new census soon. “We had sent a proposal to the Wildlife Institute of India Dehradun in this regard, which they have accepted,” she said.
Ashok Bishnoi considers the increasing number of stray dogs a major threat to the sanctuary. “For us, all living beings are equal. We cannot protect the deer at the cost of harming or torturing the dogs. The administration should come up with a safe and speedy resolution for the stray dog problem,” he said, highlighting the helplessness of the Bishnois in handling the dog attacks.
Forest department officials have taken up the issue with the district administration who are considering a sterilisation drive for the stray dogs. But in the meanwhile, the number of dead blackbucks and nilgais are piling up, according to locals.
