Sanjay Karkare, Assistant Director of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) mentioned:
“The Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Scheme was started in Maharashtra in 2015.Through the efforts of the Government, various NGOs and groups, the situation in far off and remote villages has improved now. Central India has a wonderful diversity of forests and wildlife. 8 tiger reserves are present. Attacks on humans and loss of life due to conflict with wildlife have now emerged as a big issue. In our region, the number of human lives lost due to tiger and leopard attacks was 44 in 2021. Last year, this figure increased to 53. This figure is second the highest in the country and is just below the numbers recorded in the Sunderbans. In the last few years, the need to save humans from Tiger attacks has become more pressing than the need to conserve tigers.
It is imperative that if we are conserving tigers and receiving positive results, we need to increase their natural habitats too. Secondly, we need to care for the local communities as well who depend solely on the forests for their livelihoods. For the balance of the ecosystem, it is important to ensure that no activity is done in excess. In tiger reserves, it is possible to do a night safari for Rs. 45,000. In addition, as we know, day safaris already exist. It is not possible to benefit forests and wildlife in this manner.”
Mandar Pingle, Assistant Director of Satpuda Foundation mentioned:
“Jadav Payeng’s name is synonymous with forest conservation. His passion for the protection of nature is inspirational for all of us. He did not take anybody’s help for his work.
To achieve our objectives, it is very important to have community participation. For the protection of forests, we cannot leave out the people for whom forests are an important part of their lives. Mrs. Indira Gandhi provided the country with a great example of environmental development by passing the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and commencing Project Tiger. The impact of these has been positive. Our constitution has given us rights and also mentioned our responsibilities. Hence, humans don’t have to develop a relationship with nature only for ‘receiving’. We have to take responsibility for its conservation too. Among youth, the awareness about forest conservation is not 100%, but we do see a change. The thought of protecting the environment is growing among them.”