tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21956427.post6456298556904515465..comments2023-10-05T15:01:01.611+05:30Comments on Of Thought & Action: The ReasonRitwikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616694597577112758noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21956427.post-4483803107544101742008-04-02T07:06:00.000+05:302008-04-02T07:06:00.000+05:30Mayuresh,My article was a response to an old Mint ...Mayuresh,<BR/><BR/>My article was a response to an old Mint article by some Arvind Kala, not the Jerry Rao one. <BR/><BR/>Commercialisation/ privatization of natural resources and wildlife is not a particularly new idea, and I do not oppose it a priori. However, the article I was opposing was a confusing mishmash of wrong facts and mixed up issues.<BR/><BR/>My post was a critique, not a construction. I really have neither expertise nor much knowledge about evaluating the workability of commercial conservation efforts - I did however know enough to point out that Mr Kala had gotten it all wrong.Ritwikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00616694597577112758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21956427.post-9821579671722979892008-04-02T01:06:00.000+05:302008-04-02T01:06:00.000+05:30Dude, you are getting all worked up! The guy's poi...Dude, you are getting all worked up! <BR/><BR/>The guy's point is: <BR/>Initiate private players in the conservation game. They will be responsible because their money is at stake here. Details of the public-private partnership can always be worked out to ensure that incentives are geared towards tiger conservation. <BR/>As a start, here's one: "The partnership will end with no refund to the private player if the tiger population fails to become 1.25 times in the next five years, 1.5 times in the next 10 years and double in 15 years. (Again, exact numbers may be worked out by the IFS officers / wildlife experts as you mention it).<BR/><BR/>If the aim is tiger conservation, all the Govt. needs to be concerned about is the increase in the stock of wild tigers. Let the private player worry about how to make his investment work. Here's an idea I have always been toying with as a likely situation a private player would do on his "tiger ranch"(have also written it on the dictator's blog):<BR/><BR/>Catch wild tigers above 11 years of age (i.e. past their reproductive prime) and release them in a game reserve. Charge hunters USD 3,000 to hunt one of these tigers (for the thrill of hunting a tiger from the safety of a machan:-) )and another USD 5,000 for keeping the dead body.Use this money for conservation purposes. <BR/>(Charges can be worked out on a demand-supply basis; I suggest an auction; but that is another matter)<BR/><BR/>Rough calculations indicate:<BR/>Tiger population in the Indian wild: ~3,500<BR/>Let's say, a private player is to manage 500 of these on his/her ranch.<BR/>Approx. tigers turning 11 per year (30)<BR/>Revenues:- USD 240,000 per annum which is approx. INR one crore.<BR/><BR/>Use this revenue for the upkeep of the hunting reserve (can be a small piece of enclosed forest land, even 10 hectares is enough!) and for the maintenance of the tiger population.<BR/><BR/>Also earn money from other sources like the wildlife safaris, etc. (details can be worked out, just think of the idea currently)<BR/><BR/>I think it would be a good idea, as there are other game on the ranch too (such as all kinds of deer, boars, etc.). Auctioning them for hunting is an option too!<BR/><BR/>I have always wondered why we cannot do the same with the tiger population (& all other animal population) in our zoos. After-all, hunters are looking for trophies all the while, they would not mind killing an old animal!<BR/><BR/>Ideas will always sound crazy when they are first proposed, and you have played a good devil's advocate. But it would be useful to use specialized knowledge (maybe your dad could help here) to see if such an idea is workable in any scenario before dismissing it off.Mayuresh Gaikwadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12244274693970257354noreply@blogger.com