TOPIC OF THE DAY
“Clearing The Path: On Protecting Elephant Corridors”
The Supreme Court’s order to seal and close 27 resorts operating in corridors used by elephants in the Nilgiris is a necessary step to restore the ecology of these spaces. Weak regulation of ecotourism is severely impacting important habitats, and affecting animals that have large home ranges, like elephants. Fragmentation of forests makes it all the more important to preserve migratory corridors. The movement of elephants is essential to ensurethat their populations are genetically viable, and help regenerate forests on which other species, including tigers, depend. Ending human interference in the pathways of elephants is a conservation imperative, more so because the animals are then not forced to seek alternative routes that bring them into conflict with people. Forests that have turned into farms and unbridled tourism are blocking their paths, resulting in growing incidents of elephant-human conflict. These encounters claim the lives of about 450 people and lead to the death of nearly 100 elephants in retaliatory actions every year on average. A review of elephant corridors published by the Wildlife Trust of India jointly with the Environment Ministry’s Project Elephant last year indicates that there are 101 such identified pathways, of which almost 70% are used regularly. Nearly three-quarters of the corridors are evenly divided among southern, central and north-eastern forests, while the rest are found in northwest Bengal and the north-western region. Some of these passages are precariously narrow, at only a hundred metres wide. These landscape characteristics, and the evidence that there are an estimated 6,500 elephants in just the Brahmagiri-Nilgiris-Eastern Ghats ranges, call for complete protection of the routes they regularly use. Surprisingly, the District Collector’s report on 39 resorts in the Nilgiris points to their having come up right under the gaze of the Forest Department, the majority without the requisite permissions. This must be thoroughly investigated to check whether there was any wrongdoing. The grey area of mushrooming home- stay structures, which are just hotels on forest fringes, also deserves scrutiny. But more importantly, the effort should be to expand elephant corridors, using the successful models within the country, including acquisition of lands using private funds and their transfer to the government. Among the major factors affecting conservation, two need quick remedies: about 40% of elephant reserves are vulnerable, as they are not within protected parks and sanctuaries; and the corridors have no specific legal protection. Illegal structures in these pathways should be removed without delay.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
- Corridors
Meaning: A belt of land linking two other areas or following a road or river.
Example: “the security forces established corridors for humanitarian supplies”
- Ecology
Meaning: The relationships between the air, land, water, animals, plants, etc., usually of a particular area, or the scientific study of this.
Example: The oil spill caused terrible damage to the fragile ecology of the coast.
- Ecotourism
Meaning: Tourism directed towards exotic natural environments, intended to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife.
- Migratory
Meaning: Denoting an animal that migrates.
Example: “migratory birds”
Synonyms: Migrant, Moving
- Ensure
Meaning: Make certain that (something) will occur or be the case.
Example: “the client must ensure that accurate records are kept”
Synonyms: Secure, Warrant
- Viable
Meaning: (of a plant, animal, or cell) capable of surviving or living successfully, especially under particular environmental conditions.
Example: “the largest and most viable population of this endangered vetch”
- Regenerate
Meaning: Bring new and more vigorous life to (an area, industry, institution, etc.); revive, especially in economic terms.
Example: “the money will be used to regenerate the heart of the town”
Synonyms: Revive, Revitalize
- Imperative
Meaning: Of vital importance; crucial.
Example: “immediate action was imperative”
Synonyms: Pressing, Indispensable
Antonyms: Unimportant, Optional
- Conflict
Meaning: A serious incompatibility between two or more opinions, principles, or interests.
Example: “there was a conflict between his business and domestic life”
Synonyms: Clash, Variance
Antonyms: Harmony
- Unbridled
Meaning: Uncontrolled; unconstrained.
Example: “a moment of unbridled ambition”
Synonyms: Unrestrained, Rampant
Antonyms: Restrained
- Retaliatory
Meaning: (of an action) characterized by a desire for revenge.
Example: “fears of a retaliatory attack by the victim’s friends”
- Precariously
Meaning: In a way that is uncertain or dependent on chance.
Example: “a country poised precariously between economic boom and social catastrophe”
- Landscape
Meaning: All the visible features of an area of land, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.
Example: “the soft colours of the Northumbrian landscape”
Synonyms: Scenery, Countryside
- Gaze
Meaning: A steady intent look.
Example: “he turned, following her gaze”
Synonyms: Stare, Watch
- Requisite
Meaning: A thing that is necessary for the achievement of a specified end.
Example: “she believed privacy to be a requisite for a peaceful life”
Synonyms: Necessity, Essential
Antonyms: Non-essential
- Wrongdoing
Meaning: Illegal or dishonest behaviour.
Example: “police have denied any wrongdoing”
Synonyms: Crime, Misconduct
- Mushrooming
Meaning: Increase, spread, or develop rapidly.
Example: “environmental concern mushroomed in the 1960s”
Synonyms: Proliferate, Spread
Antonyms: Contract, Fail
- Fringes
Meaning: The outer, marginal, or extreme part of an area, group, or sphere of activity.
Example: “his uncles were on the fringes of crooked activity”
Synonyms: Unconventional, Offbeat
Antonyms: Mainstream, Middle
- Acquisition
Meaning: The process of getting something.
Example: The acquisition of huge amounts of data has helped our research enormously.
- Conservation
Meaning: Preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural environment and of wildlife.
Example: “nature conservation”
Synonyms: Preservation, Protection
- Vulnerable
Meaning: Exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.
Example: “we were in a vulnerable position”
Synonyms: Endanger, Unsafe
Antonyms: Invulnerable, Resilient
