WAR BENEFITS KASHMIR WILDLIFE

[Anonymous]

Insurgency benefits Kashmir wildlife
The
wildlife population in Indian-administered Kashmir has undergone a
“manifold” increase as a result of the separatist militancy that first
broke out there in the late 1980s.The Chief Wildlife Warden for Jammu
and Kashmir, Naseer Ahmad Kitchloo says the average increase in
population of indigenous animals and birds specific to the area is
20-60%.

The reasons, he says, are simple.
“The
government asked the locals to deposit their arms with their respective
police station when militancy started,” he said.”This was done to
prevent the misuse of weapons and identify illegal ones. It meant that
local hunters thus had no weapons.”

The number of leopards has risen enormously
Naseer Ahmad Kitchloo, Chief Wildlife Warden of Jammu and Kashmir state

And
there is another, more important reason behind the dramatic increase in
wildlife, the chief wildlife warden says.”No one dares to venture deep
into the forests these days,” he said, “for fear of being caught in
exchanges between militants and the security forces”.As a result,
“poaching of wildlife has almost halted for all these years”, he
said.And that is good news for endangered animals like the leopard, the
snow leopard, the hangul (a stag found only in Kashmir which is closely
related to the reindeer) and spotted deer, as well as for numerous
species of birds.Mr Kitchloo said that the “manifold increase in the
number of animals like leopards and bears is creating problems for
people who have been attacked”.He said that there had been a number of
cases of leopards and bears maiming villagers in remote areas.

‘Risen enormously’
The
official has no problem providing figures to back up his claims.Before
the insurgency, he says that the hangul population was between 100 and
120 in 1990. He says that in 2006 the number is estimated to be over
250.Mr Kitchloo said that although physical counting of these animals
was not possible, the figures were compiled using “scientific
methods”.Similarly the population of Himalayan black bear was between
700 to 800 in 1990, whereas today it stands between 2,500 and 3,000.He
said that the number of leopards has also “risen enormously during this
time”.A similar story applies to the musk deer, a rare animal, with
between 2,000 and 2,500 believed to be alive today, compared with an
estimate of between 250 and 300 in 1990.

‘Encouraging factor’
Likewise,
the rare Pirpanjal markhor goat – specific to the Pirpanjal mountain
range – numbered between 100 and 150 in 1990. Now the numbers are
estimated to be between 240-300.”This animal is a sought after trophy
in many European countries that can fetch a minimum of $100,000,” Mr
Kitchloo said.He stated that although bird counts were always a
difficult task, “rare and indigenous species like the black partridge
and the pheasant have increased by a minimum of 50% since
1990”.Officials lay great emphasis on the fact that “all the security
forces serving an anti-militancy role in the state – the army,
paramilitary forces and state police – are under strict instructions
against wildlife poaching”.But they do not rule out stray incidents
“happening and going unnoticed”.Mr Kitchloo said that the increase in
wildlife was an “encouraging factor” for everyone in Kashmir.”It is an
economy generator and a renewable resource,” he said, “and as far as
Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, it can only end up attracting tourists
as well.” 

[Author]

December 15, 2006 at 12:06 PM