Every
single day, we lose some part of our natural heritage. Somewhere, a tiger dies,
or a patch of forest is cut down or a dam floods pristine jungle. And while
development will continue to extract a price, this is taking us straight down the
precipice of disaster. And disaster not just for the denizens of the forest,
but for all mankind. We’re robbing the bank just so we can live better today,
but what about leaving the future generations bankrupt and facing utter ruin? How
can we claim to be responsible parents, when all we’re going to leave our
children is vulnerability to Mother Nature’s most severe tantrums?
These
problems are not getting solved, there is not even a comprehensive solution in
sight. And all valiant efforts of our conservationists don’t seem to be going
anywhere. Isn’t it time we stepped back and asked ourselves one simple question?
"How effective is a cause when it can’t even
enlist a few million in a country of a billion plus people?"
But
why is enlisting people such an issue?
1. Serious lack of engagement with people
The primary
problem is lack of engagement with the people first, and hence, with the
issue. Unfortunately, this problem is not visible or immediately apparent to
those of us cocooned in our urban comforts. Most people don’t know or don’t
realize the seriousness of these problems. Hell, most don’t even understand why
we need tigers or forests. They don’t know that their action or inaction is
capable of causing disasters for the future. Because if they did and understood
the magnitude of the problem, would they not act?
The
problem is, very few people in the conservation world really want to engage
with regular people. Because engaging means understanding what drives and
motivates your subject. It means you need to create messaging that they ‘want
to hear’, not necessarily always what you want to tell them.
The
preferred solution is to lecture them via any and every media contact point. Unfortunately for them, the decision to engage is dependent on the subject and not on the perpetrator.
So, the lack of engagement means it’s obvious that we haven’t been able to engage sufficiently with enough
people.
2. Messaging
disconnect
Moaning that the tiger is vanishing is not enough to motivate someone busting his butt in
the daily grind. “Save the Tiger”, “Our World is dying”, “Apocalype coming” are
all coming out of urban orifices. But the message doesn’t really permeate the
surface. Because most people haven’t seen a tiger in the wild. And even the
most cynical “I’m not a tiger-person” conservationist will agree that it is a
life changing moment. I can count at least a hundred people I know, who’re
passionate about saving this animal because they can’t bear the thought of
never being able to see it again in the jungle.
But if you haven’t seen one, then how does it matter if Panna loses its
tigers? Bannerghatta safari or Alipore Zoo still has tigers!
3. ‘Holier than thou’ attitude to wildlife
tourism
“The
house is burning down, but we’re more worried about the neighbor stealing the
crockery. “
The wildlife
tourist is treated like a pariah in this country. Like I heard someone say,
“They want our money, but they don’t want us”.
The
single most important source of support can be the million plus people who
visit our forests every year. And that number is growing. These are the very people who are there, have
taken the time, spent the money and are very likely to sample some of our
amazing wildlife. The iron is hot,
someone just has to ram home the message. Imagine a million people petitioning
the government to stop mining in Tadoba. Isn’t it easier than a bunch of people
repeatedly going to the Supreme Court? Because a million people mean a million
VOTES.
But
what do we do? Treat them like shit. Find ways to keep them out of the forests
with asinine, poorly worded guidelines. And
the problem is not the guideline, it is the thought behind it. Which says – ‘I
refuse to engage with you, so I will turf you out.’ Because I can. And on
issues which are largely aesthetics-driven and can be addressed with proper
enforcement.
So
you stop tourists from entering the forest. That’s easy. But is that the
solution? What about people who encroach into the forests or about poachers? Or
will they meekly obey these ‘new’ guidelines?
So what is the answer?
“A
hundred pickaxes pack more power than one mighty sword”
1. Inclusive Conservation
The
answer is not to be ‘exclusive’, conservation needs to be ‘inclusive’. Deomcratize
conservation, take the onus from the hands of a few onto the shoulders of many.
If
you ask a person who’s just seen a tiger whether he’d like it to go extinct,
what do you think the answer will be? That’s where ‘Save the Tiger’ will be at
it’s most effective. When you find your subject at their most receptive and
drive home your message.
2. Get more people to care. Then leverage the Snowball effect
People
get people. Believers get more believers. And lovers beget more love. And this snowballing effect is what
will enlist more people than a Telethon (which is wonderful, but it is more for
people who have already seen the light) So if someone has a wonderful time in Ranthambhore
or Velavadar, you bet your life that more will be motivated to follow. Let
people create a wildlife epidemic, infecting each other with their experiences.
And this will happen on its own. No one need spend any money or effort creating
support.
3. Actively empower and enlist people
Empower
people, make them feel valued. Like they can contribute. Like they are part of
the cause. Make them feel like brand ambassadors or advocates, to go and spread
the joy of the wild. We need to make people come to our forests (and behave
properly of course) discover their love for the wild and then, enlist their
support for the cause.
4. Scale up tourism
Of
the responsible kind I may add, before the hawks rip me to shreds. Lay down,
clear, transparent and enforceable rules and enforce them. Punish
rule-breakers, whoever they may be. Enable people people to have memorable
experiences in our forests. After all, isn’t sighting a huge male tiger, an
elephant calf between his mother’s legs or thousands of flamingos taking to
flight far more of a treasure than watching your thousandth sunset on Baga
beach?
This
may sound simplistic, but the most effective movements are built on simple,
single minded, inclusive ideas. Again, I do not claim that this is the only solution to all our ills, but what it should do is solve one fundamental issue
with conservation – lack of engagement and support from people en masse.
And
when this does become inclusive and lays claim to becoming a serious movement,
trust me, no one will be able to ignore a few million voices. Or should I say
VOTES?
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