New Delhi, October 30, 2012: Authorities of India’s bear range states met here today to finalise the national plan on the conservation and welfare of bears and discuss its implementation on ground. The final plan will be released during the 21st International Conference on Bear Research and Management to be held in the city during the last week of next month.
The meeting was organised jointly by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). It was supported by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
Dr Sathyakumar from WII presenting the National Action Plan for Bears
Over more than a year, efforts were on to assess the status of the bears, threats faced by them and other details to prepare state action plans for conservation and welfare of bears. These state plans were then used to finalise a common national plan.
Out of the eight species of bears found in world, India, being one of the mega biodiversity centers of the world, is home to four species – the Himalayan bear, the sloth bear, the Asiatic black bear and the sun bear. Across the country, they are found in 26 states. Bears in India are continuously threatened with problems of poaching, habitat degradation, trade of live bears / bear parts and increasing retaliatory killings due to bear-human conflicts.
The meeting saw the CWLWs and other state Forest Department representatives discuss the national plan draft, as well as urgencies, needs and difficulties faced by the states in bear conservation. Their suggestions and changes were recorded for incorporation in the draft plan for finalisation.
Stressing on the significance of the national plan, S Sathyakumar, Scientist – F, WII, says, “Bears are perhaps better representatives of overall Indian biodiversity, more than the tiger or the elephant, because of their (almost) pan-India presence. Most problems to Indian wildlife are also represented through bears – trade in life animals and their body parts, habitat degradation, conflicts with people, and even poaching for meat.”
“It is only logical that a national plan for bears would cover more areas and more issues across the country than any other group of animals. This could therefore help provide directions or national goals for protection of the country’s natural heritage,” said Dr Rahul Kaul, Senior Director and Chief Ecologist, WTI.
Photos: Sheren Shrestha, Asavari Sharma/ WTI
A session in progress