Nine Tourist Lodges in the Sunderbans Receive Demolition Notices

Sunderbans National Park

The Sunderbans National Park of India and Bangladesh is renowned for its remote and mysterious delta consisting of several forested islands with some of the Indian subcontinent's rich variety of wildlife. One of the prime species native to this delta is the Bengal tiger. Despite it's name meaning "beautiful forest" in Hindi, Sunderbans has been and still is infamous for its tiger attacks on the local people who rely on the waters for fish and forests for firewood. In recent times, it had been found that one of the factors contributing to an increased number of tiger attacks in the region is the rise in water levels due to global warming.

In order to prevent further increase in water levels and reduce pollution levels, the government of West Bengal has taken a step in issuing demolition notices to nine tourist lodges in the region. According to Arijit Mitra, block development officer of Gosaba in South 24-Pargans district, the lodges had no papers stating government permission and had been set up in and around the embankments. This could lead to flooding, which is why their owners were asked to demolish them. In addition to that, State Minister for Sunderbans Affairs Kanti Ganguly stated that several other buildings such as houses and schools had been set up in different parts of the region and their owners will receive show-cause notices. Biswajit Mukherjee, law officer of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), said that it is mandatory to get approval from the Coastal Regulatory Management Authority (CRMA) while constructing any building. If that building is built without approval, then it should be pulled down.

I'm very impressed to see how the West Bengal government has come up with a new way to solve the problems in the Sunderbans concerning the lives of both people and the environment. In this case, it has to do with establishing of different buildings in the region. By constructing various buildings in different parts of the Sunderbans, it appears that people are further contributing to the rise of pollution levels which could also lead to attacks by tigers and deaths by flooding. Thanks to the idea of having buildings demolished in and around embankments, the government is helping save lives of people in the Sunderbans from flooding. This could also lead to less attacks from tigers, which has been the goal of the national park. This sure is something to feel proud about.

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Four Chinese Nature Reserves Team Up in Protection of the Tibetan Antelope

A Tibetan antelope pair in China

Recently, four nature reserves in western China have banded together to work in protecting the rare and highly endangered Tibetan antelope on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The four reserves, which includes two in the northwestern part of the Qinghai Province, one in Tibet Autonomous Region, and one in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, have vowed to carry out joint patrols in the animals' habitats to protect them from illegal poaching. According to Tseten Druk, director of the Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve Administration in Qinghai Province, they will carry out joint research and personnel exchanges as part of the protection. The problem is that every Chinese nature reserve has lack of funds, manpower, and facilities. For example in Hoh Xil, there are only nineteen forest guards to patrol a 45,000-square meter reserve. Because of this, the population of the Tibetan antelope had been decimated over the years from extensive illegal poaching.

I'm glad to see that these nature reserves are teaming up together, in order to protect one of their prized treasures. However, it's also very sad to see based on their individual experiences in the past how poaching easily took advantage of them due to lack of essential necessities. The Tibetan antelope, also called chiru, has been labeled as an endangered species since 1979 and has been ruthlessly poached for its hide which is made into shahtoosh shawls that are considered a luxury items. I hope that these four reserves where the antelope lives will be able to make good progress in curbing down poaching by working together as one team. And I also hope that maybe they will receive some additional help for further improvisation in case matters worsen.

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Belizean Maya Villagers Burn Down Crocodile Sanctuary Out of Superstition

American crocodile

A mob of angry Maya people recently destroyed and burned down a crocodile conservation sanctuary in Belize, fearing for the disappearance of two children. On August 7th, 9-year-old Benjamin Rash and his older sister Onelia were sent out to sell limes and were never seen or heard from again. The villagers, fearing for the two children's lives, visited a local psychic who predicted that the operators of the sanctuary had fed the kids to the crocodiles. According to deputy police commissioner James Magdaleno, the indigenous Mayan people have their own beliefs and because of them took the matter into their own hands. However, no arrests have been made and the site is still under investigation. Belizean police even questioned the sanctuary's operators about the missing children, but no connection was made.

In my opinion, this is truly an extreme case of taking evasive action by local people towards an animal which has been highly regarded as dangerous by the human race for generations. These people, the Mayans, have committed an act out which turned to be out of superstition and no other reason. They did not have any real proof regarding the two children's disappearance. Because of this, all the crocodiles in that sanctuary ended up being senselessly massacred. Even worse is that the event shattered the  sanctuary's operators' hopes of helping to save and conserve the local crocodile population. I think that the Mayan people in Belize are sticking to their cultural beliefs to such extremes, that they end up committing such an act which other people see as senseless and without strong evidence. I can only hope that they will one day come to their senses, and realize what important roles crocodiles play in their native habitat which also happens to be their ancestors' for generations.

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Six Months Jail Time for Wildlife Smuggler in Malaysia

Anson Wong's briefcase crawling with snakes

A notorious wildlife smuggler named Anson Wong has recently pleaded guilty on charges of illegally smuggling exotic reptiles from the Malaysian island of Penang to Jakarta. Wong, nicknamed the "Lizard King", was arrested on the 26th of August at the Kuala Lumpur airport when his suitcase burst open on the conveyor belt exposing the victims. They included 95 boa constrictors, two rhinoceros vipers, and one matamata turtle. The Lizard King has had a brush with the law before. He was once convicted for wildlife smuggling in 2001 in the U.S and sentenced to 71 months, according to the Department of Justice. However, he has recently been sentenced for six months in prison and fined 190,000 ringgit (an equivalent of $61,000). This led to several criticisms by several Malaysian wildlife groups. A wildlife trade monitoring organization known as Traffic Southeast Asia stated that the sentencing was disappointing, and showed that wildlife smugglers have little to fear from the law. According to the regional director of TRAFFIC, William Schaedla, the organization hopes that the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment will appeal for a stiffer penalty. Another conservation group known as WWF-Malaysia called the nations government to revoke Wong's license in the wildlife trade.

I'm very much in support of Malaysia's wildlife groups and their opinions towards Wong's sentencing. The illegal smuggling of wildlife is a major environmental catastrophe that has been plaguing the regions of Southeast Asia for decades, and yet most of the perpetrators involved are never given tough penalties. Wong's case is a classic example of this. These criminals should be convicted in a same manner as regular felons like murderers and robbers. Instead of months, they should be sentenced to some number of years behind bars depending on how serious their activities turn out to be to the authorities.

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Some American States are Easy in the Exotic Pet Ownership

Capuchin monkeys are often victims as exotic pets

Recently, a black bear had fatally mauled and killed its caretaker in a Cleveland suburb. This became a latest example of animal violence in Ohio, which has some of the weakest laws in restrictions in owning wild exotic pets and even having the highest number of injuries and deaths caused by them. State officials are now setting up strong restrictions on ownership of dangerous animals after a standoff between the Humane Society and agriculture interests. According to Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, the issue is a free-for-all in Ohio and is a disaster waiting to happen. In addition to Ohio, there have been other similar incidents across the nation. One example was seen in Connecticut in 2009 when a woman was fatally blinded by her friend's pet chimpanzee. Another was in Florida when a family suffered a terrible loss when their two-year-old daughter was squeezed to death by their pet python. Both of these states have voted to ban the ownership of dangerous animals. But elsewhere, other states also impose few or no restrictions in owning non-native animals. These include Alabama, Idaho, Missouri, and Montana. Many owners of such animals believe that they are keeping the animals safe from the dangers of habitat loss and illegal poaching. They see themselves as conservationists, but instead, they are exposing the animals in an inhumane environment. One database highlighting the numbers of escapes and attacks by exotic pets collected by an an animal rights group Born Free USA since 1990 showed that Florida ranked first place with 43 incidents. It was then followed by Texas with 19 cases, New York with 18, California with 16, and Ohio and Alabama with 14 cases.

I'm glad to see that Ohio has put its foot down and take action against the ownership of exotic pets after its latest incident. However, four other states do not impose such restrictions the way Ohio is doing. I can only hope that they will follow Ohio's example, and one day the chances of any attacks by dangerous exotic animals in those four states will eventually cease. Owning an exotic wild creature as a pet is not as same as owning a domestic animal of any type. According to Adam Roberts, chief executive vice president of Born Free USA, it is inhumane to keep large wild animals in captivity. He even stated that exotic pet ownership results in several problems such as the risk of infectious disease, damage to the native environment from escapees, and financial burden on rescue groups that operate sanctuaries for abandoned sanctuaries. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums provides an in-depth information at the lethal diseases carried by wild animals. These include distemper and rabies in carnivores, herpes in primates, and salmonella in reptiles. It even notes that vaccines used on domestic animals do not work on wild animals. In my opinion, this seems like enough proof to persuade a state infamous for providing citizens a free right in owning exotic pets to take assertive action against the ownership.

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130 Leopards Killed in India This Year

An Indian leopard in a residential area in Shimla, India

The year of 2010 has recently marked the deaths of 130 leopards in India. Many experts have described the figures as "alarming." Among the states, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra have the highest count of leopard deaths. The issues varied from illegal poaching, man-leopard conflicts, road accidents, and even death by forest departments. Some have even died during rescue operations. This is truly an appalling situation, especially when the forest department does the unthinkable: shoot the animals on sight, rather than safely trap them and relocate them away from human settlements. Another issue involves an indigenous tribe native to the state of Haryana known as the Bawaria. According to Paramjit Singh, chief conservator of forests in Uttarakhand, some members of this tribe have been known to be involved in organized poaching as they happen to be expert. It is their area of expertise, and have nothing else to do. Therefore, the leopard population in India has dropped dramatically along with other known issues.

I'm deeply appalled by the factors that have been contributing to the downfall of India's leopards. But out of all of them, I personally find the forest departments' actions in eliminating the animals to be horrendous. Instead of trapping and relocating the animals, they are doing the opposite. In my opinion, it seems like a shocking case of desperate times calling for desperate measures in which forest officials are left with no choice but to simply shoot the animals on sight. This really creates a bad impression on the forest department, in general. The departments work for top organizations such as the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), who oversee all the dirty work of exploiting the nation's wildlife. And when the WPSI sees one of its partners kill a wild creature, especially an endangered one, it is almost as if they are betraying that partnership of helping save and conserve India's natural heritage. I hope that some solutions can be done, such as giving up the idea of shooting leopards on sight by forest departments and move to new alternatives. I also hope that this tribe, the Bawaria, can somehow be persuaded to give up the practice of hunting and be introduced in new safer areas to help make living. This way, the chances of India's leopard population plunging further will most likely be reduced.

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China and India to Work Together in Curbing Tiger Poaching

Tiger

Recently, China and India have made an agreement to work together in putting a stop to illegal poaching of tigers. The two neighboring nations have made a commitment in sharing intelligence on the illegal trade of tiger body parts between them. The Chinese officials were paid a visit from Indian officials at the nation's State Forestry Administration, and assured them that they were willing to exchange actionable intelligence on wildlife crimes. They also acknowledged that illegal poaching and trafficking of wildlife were "the biggest threat" to conservation in the region. In addition to that, India and China have also agreed to set up nodal officers to boil down real-time information sharing as well as instigate collaborative information into "backward and forward linkages of wildlife crimes" and well-organized criminal syndicates functioning in the region. The Chinese officials even promised their Indian partners that they did not have any immediate plans to raise the ban on domestic trade in tiger parts. According to conservationists, lifting the ban would further increase the demand for poaching.

I'm very happy to see that China has made a decision to cooperate and work with India in the battle against one of the most catastrophic environmental issues affecting our world. According to Indian officials, the talks with their Chinese counterparts showed real progress between the two nations on a subject neither have been seeing eye to eye. In the past, China had rejected India's concerns that much of the nation's poaching was originated from the growing demand for tiger parts in traditional Chinese medicine. This time, however, things are different as the two nations have partnered up and are seeing the problem eye to eye. Another interesting fact is that China has expressed deep interest in joining the Global Tiger Forum, an inter-government conservation led by India which also involves seven of fourteen tiger countries. This is truly something to be proud about.

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