Role of grassroots community in protection of rhinos
The slaughter of rhinos has almost become a weekly phenomenon.
In spite of increased security measures at Kaziranga, there has been no respite.
Now the time is ripe to step up measures for a participatory approach towards rhino protection. There must also be action taken at the community-driven grassroots level as well as at the highest levels.
Recently, an article in The Telegraph mentioned the successful efforts of the forest department of Nepal in protecting endangered species, specifically the rhino.
There has also been an innovative grassroots programme — Partnership of Rhino Conservation, a local community group which focuses on helping residents of the Chitwan National Park’s buffer zone live alongside the one-horned rhinoceros. Taking a cue from Nepal, we could go for grassroots level action with greater participation of the people living in the vicinity of wildlife parks.
This calls for the creation of a shared vision and a sense of ownership among the communities around Kaziranga, which will translate into protection for the rhino.
To begin with, the these measures can be taken in stages: Stage one can comprise project definition and planning, including measures towards community development in terms of education, vocational training, health, disaster preparedness, employment opportunities and gender equality. The stage two can comprise execution. As the community groups work together to accomplish set goals, they will be able to learn from the experience and plan for the next phase of projects.
Stage three, that of networking and capacity building, would involve creation of a platform for interface among local community representatives, NGOs and government officials to identify specific issues requiring attention and chart possibilities of intervention. The attempt here will be to link community endeavour to convergent programmes and schemes at the state, national and international levels.
Stage four, that of evaluation and follow-up, will recommend the formation of a network to provide an opportunity for grassroots groups to come together for mutual learning and sharing of successes and failures and charting improvement plans, while holding steadfast to the shared vision.
Residents and forest officials should be trained for a wider dissemination of information to track, protect and predict unusual instances in the rhino’s habitat. Let us make the magnificent one-horned rhinoceros a true symbol of the pride of Assam and India.
