Facts about Deforestation and poaching

Already in my previous posts I shared my Rural experience.

In Indian cultural context, forests are considered as van devata means the god of forests. In Indian epics, forests have a significant role.

 But nowadays things are changing nobody cares about forests.

Facts :

1. Worldwide forest cover about 31% of Earth's land surface.
2. Of that, 36% of forests are primary forests which have taken hundreds of years to grow and in our lifetime we can't grow them.
   
3. Only about 5% of our forests are rain forests. 

These valuable forests are destroyed I will explain to you what is going in and around village boundaries.

Livelihood:

• Usually, so many rural  people depend on forests for the timber they use to cut some branches which are used as firewood in their homes.
• But those who are depending on forest timber will not like its end. So, in some parts they will plant trees for their future purpose.
  
• Nobody will entirely kill a tree just they cut dried branches and some green branches.
• Some countries encourage social forestry in order to conserve their forest area, where people engaged for guarding their forest. 

But taking this as an advantage some people used to cut valuable timber and used for smuggling. I can explain you in a few points how this is going on.

• If you ask people all will say officers are corrupted but this is wrong, persons who are involved in Illegal activities will have a huge following in villages. They play a crucial role in politics also officers are regularly been harassed and they can't do anything. corruption is there but in a small amount only.
• Based on the season this illegal activities are going on. If it is summer they will not cut more trees in an area but people use to cut trees in a zigzag manner. In rainy season lots and lots of trees are cut down and thrown in nearby rivers and collected somewhere else.
• The transportation of all these material is going on when the security guards cannot perform their activities quite normally I mean in hot summer days, cool winter nights, on rainy days. All the commercial vehicles are checked at forest check posts. But illegal activities are highly through domestic vehicles only. How all vehicles are being checked it is impossible.
• Forest officers and guards are also humans they are living in hard conditions where their life is in risk still people blame them It is not fair.They are not provided with adequate facilities to control illegal activities.
• There are so many techniques for smugglers. The only remedy is giving employment to the rural youth of that area who knows in and out of surrounding forests a drastic change can be seen.

Normally people who are carrying these activities will not use any machinery they just use natural means for destroying trees.

Very important tricks they are following 

• As a large scale, people use to put on fire under large trees which are commonly seen.
• Nowadays techniques are going at rapid speed. Some follow techniques like using alcohol and some chemicals to kill aged trees naturally.
• Some trees have been destroyed by employing natural means like termites and even ants also. I don't want to explain in deep because it may hurt some nature lovers. But it is true I was shocked by seeing people are using such a large scale techniques to destroy age-old trees.

Poaching of animals:

• Normally people think poaching is carried by guns and other traditional means that may be right but not through advanced guns.
  
• Native guns are used largely I don't want to share the chemicals and all because it may cause some problems. I want to share how they are getting these chemicals.
•  The element lead, normally used in some country fishing nets they gather it and after processing or heating attains shape these are  used as bullets.
• Some chemicals Wrapped in body parts of animals are use as a bait for animals.
• Current is also employed for this process.
• Even dogs are used for catching animals.
• At night, people use large electrical lamps focusing on animals trying to get attention and firing on them.
• In summer for killing animals, they employ traps near ponds and lakes in forests. It's a heart touching even pregnant animals are being killed. Skin of these animals is taken off carefully in a series of dipping and drying it every single hair on the skin is preserved. Forest Officials can easily control these activities controlling chemicals from the market can reduce this. Why the government is not coming forward and controlling it.
• Everybody says preserve environment why you are not coming forward to educate society. Why urban people are not buying goods from tribals. Yes, some organizations in India coming forward to promote sale why people are not educated about forest products. The arts traditional crafts made by these tribal people are exporting abroad.
• Religious superstitions are being encouraged saying kill a tiger take its skin sit on it and pray you will attain moksha. Wear a tiger nail in your neck get lucky for the lifetime. I am a Hindu but not supporting these superstitions even somebody says that spend some money buy horn of any deer and grind it and use to apply on the baby skin baby is going to be strong and beautiful.
• Why environment activists are not against these superstitions from my childhood onwards I have seen many many incidents. Still now no NGO is coming forward for conserving our forests in my area.
• Why India is not controlling videos on killing of animals you can see a lot of videos on how to cut a forest animal why activists are not against this.The Government can ban these videos.
• Showing one or two animals saying these are tied with chains and not allowed to roam freely why they are not concentrating on remaining animals in the forest why???
  

        People who are engaged in aquaculture firms are  poaching a large number of eagles and endangered birds and also some migrating birds.Community lakes have been taken from forest villages where they are doing this. At night times, some people use to climb trees where these birds are living and catch hold of them if they missed they destroy bird nests and sit nearby the trees to shoot them.

       Birds are killed and they use to sell them in local markets forest department must take certain action to control this type of  selling in the market.

       This poaching is encouraged by locals because of annoying by animals like boar, deer and many more wild animals which are causing damage to their fields.

       People should be educated for not encouraging it and borders should be cared. Employing live fence to avoid some wild animals to enter into villages.The Cultural practice of hunting animals also decreasing day by day, but people involving in illegal activities are growing to meet their basic needs.

       Even educated youth are diverted to illegal activities because they are not supported by the Government. Officials employed in forest department didn't have practical knowledge on these forest traditions.

       The Government should take appropriate measures to control these type of activities. It's a never ending topic, but I should end it here.....

       If u like it then share this post in every social media platform. " We should conserve our forests and the wild life".