Interview with Green Warrior, Biswajit Mohanty

This post was written by Shilpi Sampad at Asian College of Journalism. 

A chartered accountant by profession, Cuttack based 46-year-old Biswajit Mohanty is among the top green warriors in the country today. He is now a member of the National Board for Wildlife headed by the Prime Minister of India, a member of the Board of Directors of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, the project co-ordinator of Operation Kachhapa and Secretary of the Wildlife Society of Orissa. He has spearheaded a number of successful campaigns for conservation of forest, wildlife and environment.

In an e-mail interview with Mohanty, Shilpi Sampad probes into the major wildlife and environmental issues plaguing the state of Orissa.

You have expressed strong reservations against the expansion of tourism in Chilika. Why?

Chilika is an eco-sensitive water body to which several species of migratory water fowl are attracted every winter. Besides, the lake and the islands contain some very rare species of flora which are not found anywhere else in the state or country. The Irrawady dolphins are also a unique feature of this lake since this is one of the two places in the world where we can see them. We cannot afford to allow unregulated mass tourism in this lake which would destroy the habitat. If you visit Satpada, you will understand how mass tourism is affecting the dolphins and the local habitat. People throw polythene carry bags, biscuit wrappers, and empty plastic bottles into the lake which pollute the lake.

There are plans by the state tourism department to use high speed boats to chase the dolphins, build up resorts in the islands by cutting down the existing trees, use high power lights for parks, etc. All this is going to affect the lake and its wildlife.

Paradip Port is already contributing to beach erosion but the government plans to go ahead with the establishment of 11 new ports in the state. What measures are being taken in this regard?

No measures are in place to arrest the expected erosion of the beaches due to the new ports.

There have been several elephant deaths in the state owing to mining activities and man-animal conflict. Will the elephants soon feature in the list of endangered species? 

The elephants are already endangered since they are on Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 in which highly endangered wildlife species are classified.  The Orissa elephants have a bleak future since most of their habitat is now cut up by mining and industrial projects. The most important thing for the long term survival of the wild elephants is the corridors through which they migrate from one forest to another.  This ensures that they get proper food throughout the year and also the mixing of different populations leads to better genetic variation of breeding adults.  Rengali irrigation canal has cut up the Satkosia -Kapilash- Keonjhar corridor. Similarly, other important corridors of Simlipal – Hadgarh - Kudiha are now affected by the quarries and mines in Hadgarh and Niligiri area. 

Most elephants in Orissa die due to man-elephant conflict since they tend to raid crop fields. Electrocution is now commonly used. Sometimes, the high tension electric lines sag and touch the elephants when they cross below it leading to death. Many elephants of Keonjhar district have fled the district due to excessive mining activity.

Why isn't there any animal rescue centre in Orissa to cater to injured wild animals? 

The state government always announces plans to set up animal rescue centres. But they have not done so till now. Injured wild animals are treated at the Nandan Kanan Zoo. But unfortunately, instead of being released into the wild after full recovery, they are being imprisoned in the cages and displayed to the public.  

In July 2009, a pregnant sambar was hunted down by poachers at the Simlipal Tiger Reserve. What is being done to tackle poaching inside the reserves? 

Simlipal Tiger Reserve is now more or less abandoned after the March 28th attack by Naxalites. The forest field staff members are terrified to work inside the park and they visit it only during the day.  The government has posted a small police force at Gudgudia and Nawana who do not go out on field patrols. As a result, there is massive illegal timber smuggling and animal poaching.  

There is always a conflict between the reports of the Wildlife society and State Government on the number of tigers in Orissa. What is your take on this?

The conflict is expected since we try to portray reality and the state government tries to sell fiction! Admitting the loss of tigers in Simlipal would lead to fixing of responsibility on the officers responsible for the same. Besides, it would lead to reduction in central aid for the Park. Despite spending 12 crores of rupees for protection during the last five years, the number of tigers is on a constant decline. Secondly, there is zero accountability in the forest department as the Chief Minister who is in charge of it, does not have the time to look into the functioning of the department.

How far has NDTV's Save the Tiger Campaign been effective? 

The campaign has been successful in pulling together people from all walks of life on to the Tiger platform. Many celebrities joined in and this added weight to the campaign. However, tiger deaths continue all over the country since the state governments are still not much concerned about protecting tigers. After the campaign, we learnt that the Panna Tiger Reserve has also gone the Sariska way since it has lost all its tigers.

What factors contribute to the rapid extermination of the endangered Olive Ridley sea- turtles in Orissa, their second largest nesting ground in the world? 

Several factors are contributing to this unfortunate process. Firstly, the developmental projects in close vicinity of their breeding and nesting grounds. Secondly, large scale illegal mechanized fishing during the breeding season which is leading to the deaths of more than 10,000 to 15,000 mature breeding adult turtles. Even far off ports have also destroyed their traditional nesting grounds. Paradip port has destroyed the Ekakula nesting grounds which are almost 50 kms away. The nesting beach has eroded and has forced the turtles to migrate to the Nasi islands off north Orissa coast.

'Operation Kachhapa' has been engaged in the protection of the Olive Ridley turtles since 1998. How far has it been successful? 

We have failed in our efforts. We have not been able to control the large scale mortality despite our best efforts, since the state government does not take enforcement measures seriously.  The only successful result we got was putting the issue on the media centre stage as a result of which you see and read numerous stories on both television and print since the last seven to eight years during the turtle nesting season. However, the government is unmoved even by the media exposure.

How do you see Orissa in terms of wildlife and environment, in general, ten years down the line?

Orissa would be one of the hottest places in the country once the planned 50,000 MW of coal fired power plants are set up. The forests of Keonjhar and Sundargarh would have vanished leading to water shortages for the local tribals. Bhitarkanika mangroves would have withered away after the Rengali canals start operating since they would choke the supply of fresh water. The Olive Ridleys would have abandoned the state since all the three nesting areas are now being threatened by ports. Dhamra would destroy Nasi islands nesting beach. Gopalpur port and Palur port would destroy the Rushikulya nesting beach. Astaranga port would also lead to the extinction of the Devi river mouth nesting area. The Irrawady dolphins would have dwindled to half a dozen due to tourist pressure and tourism in the lake would be hit hard. The tigers would have gone extinct due to poaching since there is hardly any effort   to protect them now. Some elephants out of the current 1,800 odd individuals would have survived (less than 500) in isolated pockets in remote forests. Most of them would be females since the males would have been hunted down for their tusks.

Yes, the situation would have turned hopeless beyond retrieval since there is no effort till date to protect our environment and wildlife.

Image courtesy : CSE