Wildlife Protection Act Amendment 2022
Context:
- The inclusion of an excessive number of species in the revised schedules of the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Act, 2022, without a measurable or repeatable method, has angered many ecologists.
The WPA Act 1972 was amended in 2022:
- India’s fifty-year-old wildlife conservation law was significantly amended in 2022 by the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Act, 2022, which also changed the number and objectives of schedules. The previous six schedules under the WPA 1972 were “rationalised” to four schedules under the new legislation.
- With the new law, there are roughly 600 vertebrate species and hundreds of invertebrate species in Schedule 1, which offers the maximum protection, and about 2,000 species in Schedule 2, of which 1,134 are birds.
Concerns with conservation:
- The first problem with this designation has to do with conservation in general. The original goals of the WLPA were to control commerce, police the trafficking of species, and govern the use of different species, including hunting.
- This is how the original Act was drafted, with the hunting section providing an exception for study. By linking itself with CITES and incorporating its appendices, the new Act goes one step further.
- There is no explicit mention of a link between conservation and endangerment in the Act. The following are the immediate impacts of listing a species.
- One would need to prioritise species even if there were benefits for conservation. There are hundreds of species of mammals, more than a thousand species of birds, and countless more taxa included, thus it’s not clear how resources should be distributed based just on this list. The king cobra and rat snakes, the great Indian bustard and common barn owls, and tigers and jackals all receive the same degree of protection.
- Second, all actions have repercussions, generally negative ones in the legal system. For instance, cutting down native trees is prohibited by the Kerala and Karnataka Tree Preservation Acts. These Acts discourage plantation owners from growing native trees and instead encourage exotics like Silver Oak, which they can chop whenever necessary, rather than encouraging conservation.
- One particularly ridiculous outcome of listing, in the case of the WLPA, has been the inclusion of the spotted deer (chital) in Schedule 1. These are widespread in India, but they are invasive in the Andaman Islands, where they have severely damaged the flora and wildlife. But because of the WLPA, they cannot be lawfully eliminated or removed.
Effect on Humans:
- Numerous Schedule 1 species seriously endanger people’s bodily, emotional, and financial well-being. Elephants everywhere, leopards in some areas, and crocodiles in the Andamans all murder people, ruin their livelihoods, and cause long-lasting psychological effects. Nonetheless, eminent conservationists glibly advise the populace to learn “coexistence.”
- This point of view is enforced by the WLPA. Since wild pigs and nilgai are now classified as Schedule 1 under the new Act, the few States that still permit the restricted killing of problematic animals may not be able to maintain that policy. This demonstrates complete disdain for the predicament of farmers and small-scale producers.
- Additionally, even in cases where hunting and animal use have been customary for hundreds of years, the WLPA maintains a restricted stance on these topics. Use restrictions were put in place because the population of those species had decreased, but by the same reasoning, controlled use ought to be taken into account when animal populations are abundant, if only to maintain the standard of living for nearby communities. However, this is viewed as disgusting by many conservationists and inappropriate by the bureaucracy, with little regard for society or science.
Wildlife research issues:
- The third problem is that the documentation required to obtain research permissions is time-consuming and laborious, even with the backing of numerous forest bureaucrats. Research may suffer greatly as a result of the listing of so many species.
- Environmental non-profits will find it more difficult to obtain licences for conservation and research, even with regard to common species like barn owls. It remains unclear if citizen science will be allowed to continue.
Bigger problems:
- Regretfully, despite complaining about how the WLPA has affected their job, many ecologists have frequently shown insensitivity to the more significant problems at hand. Even while western scientists have come under fire for performing ‘parachute research’ in the Global South, many Indian ecologists have engaged in similar behaviour, flying in and out of far-off, remote field sites, gathering biological material and knowledge while leaving no trace.
- Even worse, we frequently supported policies that harmed the very communities we took advantage of. The Act that interferes with our job is a far greater threat to the lives of those it affects.
- In actuality, varying degrees of urgency call for attention to be paid to the three issues of conservation, people’s issues, and research. First and foremost, we must protect those whose lives are under danger.
- Ecosystem, species biology, and context-specific management strategies are required for both species and habitats. This frequently necessitates research, or at the very least, ongoing observation by impartial organisations, which is complicated by the scheduling of species.
In summary:
- Lastly, as long as it respects the fundamentals of ethical animal care and does not unnecessarily harm populations, both ecologists and citizens have the right to study the natural world and gather data.
