By Sanjeeb Baruah
New Delhi, Nov 5 (IANS) The National Board for Wildlife, headed by the prime minister, is formulating an action plan to protect critically endangered species and oversee environment-linked legislation to ensure they do not threaten wildlife habitats.
The board, which met Thursday under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, decided to form a sub-committee to look into legislation passed by the government that could adversely affect wildlife.
“The sub-committee will give suggestions on whether a particular legislative measure could in the long run affect the survival of a species, or adversely affect a wildlife habitat,” M.K. Ranjitsinh, a member of the board who participated in the meeting, told IANS.
It also recommended the setting up of a Tiger Task Force with retired army personnel, who would exclusively guard national parks and sanctuaries and be paid directly by the central government.
The board consists of senior officials of the ministry of environment and forests, army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor, senior officials from the forest department and wildlife experts.
Biswajit Mohanty, a board member based in Orissa, suggested that members of the board should be made part of the central government-run Tiger Conservation Authority. This would help the members give their own inputs in any major decision.
“Thursday’s meeting was different from the earlier ones since the members themselves want to get involved in conservation efforts,” Mohanty, who has worked for more than 12 years for the protection of Olive Ridley turtles in Orissa, told IANS over phone from Bhubaneswar.
Another decision taken at the meeting was to utilise the around $70 billion funds of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), which is under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).
The CAMPA fund is collected from state governments that have diverted some of their forest lands for commercial or developmental purposes. The fund is to be used for afforestation in the states.
Now the board is proposing that part of the fund be used for relocation of villages from protected wildlife areas.
The committee will also study the impact of the Tribal Rights Act on national parks and sanctuaries and recommend measures to mitigate any possible loss to wildlife habitat.
“Though the tribal rights law was passed by parliament, the rules are yet to be formulated. This study can suggest measures that can be incorporated before the rules are made,” said Mohanty.
Members have also stressed the need for more coordination between the wildlife board and the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
The board has decided to create more marine sanctuaries to protect critically endangered marine species.
(Sanjeeb Baruah can be contacted at: [email protected])