Major threats to wildlife....

MAJOR THREATS TO WILDLIFE

Habitat loss: Fewer natural wildlife habitat areas remain each year. Moreover, the habitat that remains has often been degraded to bear little resemblance to the wild areas which existed in the past.

Climate change: Since many types of plants and animals have specific habitat requirements, climate change could cause disastrous loss of wildlife species. A slight drop or rise in average rainfall will translate into large seasonal changes.Hibernating mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects are harmed and disturbed. Plants and wildlife are sensitive to moisture change so, they will be harmed by any change in moisture level.

Pesticides and toxic chemical: Widely used, making the environment toxic to certain plants, insects, and rodents.

Unregulated Hunting and poaching: Unregulated hunting and poaching causes a major threat to wildlife. Along with this, mismanagement of forest department and forest guards triggers this problem.

Natural phenomena: Floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, lightning, forest fires.

Pollution: Pollutants released into the environment are ingested by a wide variety of organisms.

Over-exploitation of resources: Exploitation of wild populations for food has resulted in population crashes (over-fishing and over-grazing for example)

Perhaps the largest threat is the extreme growing indifference of the public to wildlife, conservation and environmental issues in general

CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE

The National Wildlife Action Plan provides the framework of the strategy as well as the programme for conservation of wildlife. The first National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) of 1983 has been revised and the new Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016)  has been adopted. The Indian Board of Wildlife, headed by the Prime Minister, is the apex advisory body overseeing and guiding the implementation of various schemes for wildlife conservation.

Project Tiger (External website that opens in a new window), now renamed as the National Tiger Conservation Authority, was launched in 1973 with a mandate to conserve tigers in a holistic manner. Its mandate was to be fulfilled by facilitating focused, concerted management of eco-typical reserves in various states, constituted on a core-buffer strategy through funding the technical support including site-specific inputs to elicit local community support for conservation. The project has put the tiger on an assured course of recovery from the brink of extinction, apart from conserving the floral and faunal genetic diversity in some of our unique and endangered wilderness ecosystem.

Under the Project Elephant , which was launched in February 1992, States that have a free-ranging population of wild elephants are being given financial as well as technical and scientific assistance to ensure long-term survival of identified viable populations of elephants in their natural habitats. Elephant Task Force Report, Gajah, lays out a comprehensive action agenda for protecting elephants in the wild and in captivity, and for addressing human-elephant conflict.

Established in 1982, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) (External website that opens in a new window) offers training programmes, academic courses and advisory in wildlife research and management. The Institute is actively engaged in research across the breadth of the country on biodiversity related issues.

Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) (External website that opens in a new window) is a statutory body under Section 4 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 with its headquarters at Chennai. Its basic mandate is to advise the Government on animal welfare issues, and create awareness regarding animal welfare. AWBI gives financial assistance to the eligible Animal Welfare Organisations for Shelter Houses, Model Gaushalas, for setting up Bio-Gas Plants, Famine/Drought Relief, Earthquake Relief, etc., in the various states.

Zoological Survey of India (External website that opens in a new window) is a nodal organization under Ministry of Environment and Forests which plays a significant role in fulfilling India's commitments under various international conventions. This organisation is a vast repository of National Zoological Collection in the form of various types and reference collections needed for the bio-systematic research and conservation strategies.