‘From lions to bustards, rewilding Indian species will benefit people’

K Ullas Karanth is a conservation zoologist whose work on preserving tiger habitats is globally renowned. Emeritus director of

the Centre for Wildlife Studies

(CWS), the distinguished ecologist spoke to Srijana Mitra Das at Times Evoke about how rewilding can work in India — and which species need care urgently:

Why is rewilding so important globally?

Many wildlife species have been extirpated by human action across a huge part of their

original distribution range

. This goes back over 15,000 years — as humans spread across the globe, much of the world’s megafauna was wiped out. The current range of most species is a fraction of what it was.

However, the restoration of biodiversity is crucial for humanity be-cause these species represent ecosystem services which produce our food and balance climatic changes. Rewilding, or the restoration of lost species to their range, was first tried for the

North American bison

. This was once abundant but as gun-wielding settlers arrived,

huge numbers

were shot. Bison became virtually extinct by the 1900s. Now, they’ve been somewhat restored due to rewilding.



The tiger has lost over 90% of its natural range in the last 100 years. Once, it was found from

Armenia

to Bali and Russian Siberia to Iraq. To-day, it occupies only seven percent of that range. We must extend the range of such species, by protecting animals in rewilded areas and relocating animals from captivity into the wild.

A LONELY BIRD: The Great Indian Bustard has been extirpated in over 90% of its natural scrubland habitat. Only 150 of these critically endangered birds survive



What is rewilding’s context in India?
Humans colonised India some 60,000 years ago. Their advance has been relentless — by the 19th century, only a quarter of the country had natural forests left. The British tried to slow this loss down by creating reserved forests, which equalled 20% of the total area. However, over time, this too has been eroded, mainly due to agricultural expansion. Now, just four percent of the land in India is protected to conserve nature, in the form of national parks where you can still see some of the species which have been wiped out elsewhere.



Yet, rewilding opportunities are growing. In our research at CWS, we’ve noted a global trend of people moving out of agriculture into services and manufacturing. India too had about 80% people dependent on agriculture at independence. Now, that number is around 55%. As people become urbanised, the pressure on land reduces. Opportunities emerge to expand the range of natural areas.

A core element for successful rewilding is ensuring human populations prosper via the conservation of nature. From the 1990s, CWS has focused on creating such zones, mainly through voluntary relocation. We have augmented government efforts. It isn’t easy to convince settled groups to move in order to expand or protect wild areas. Local communities need help to tackle a new way of life or manage a different dominant community. We’ve represented these groups with the government.

We are now researching possibilities for farmers to earn through ecotourism in the rewilded areas which they help to protect. This could be a win-win situation as farmers earn more and wildlife gets addition-al habitat. Our experience shows that it is possible to bring people on board, fill gaps in nature reserves and broaden corridors for wildlife.

Today, there is a global consensus that ecosystems must be preserved in human interest. Some questions arise, including whether a developing country like India can afford rewilding? However, 96% of our land is already being used for economic growth. If we haven’t solved our economic problems by using 96% of our land, it seems unlikely that we’ll do so by finishing the remaining four percent as well. It is far better for us to imagine different land uses now, which will benefit nature’s diverse species — and, through them, benefit us.

TO ROAM AGAIN: Over 50 million bison were killed in North America through the 19th century, reducing them from 60 million in the 1500s to a few hundred by the 1900s. Rewilding efforts have now seen bison numbers rise to 5,00,000 (Photo: iStock)



In terms of habitat loss, which species concern you the most now?

There are several but consider the Great Indian Bustard — the bird was once found across Gujarat, Rajasthan and the Deccan forests. However, due to habitat loss, it’s virtually extinct today except for some parts of Rajasthan. The lion was found across northwest India till the 1900s — today, it’s limited to one park in Gujarat and some spillover population in the surrounding countryside. The Terai, the tall grasslands which the rhinoceros needs, is now just a tiny remnant of a huge, sprawling habitat. Opportunities to rewild exist for multiple Indian species.

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