The
history of Wildlife Conservation Society research in India dates back to
1960's - with the first-ever scientific study of wild tigers in central
India by George Schaller. Thereafter, following a break of two decades,
Ullas Karanth initiated the present WCS-India program as a single tiger
research project at Nagarahole in 1986. Since then, WCS-India has blossomed
into a comprehensive portfolio of activities that encompass major global
conservation strategies of WCS: scientific research, national capacity
building, site-based conservation and developing new models of wildlife
conservation. Acting synergistically, all these initiatives have contributed
significantly to wildlife conservation in India and rest of the world during
the last three decades.
India is a mega-diversity country that is particularly rich in vertebrate
fauna. This is a result of its unique biogeography, and, evolutionary and
social histories it has faunal elements from the Indo-Malayan, Afro-tropical
and palearctic regions. For example out of the 226 extant carnivore species
in the world, 52 species - ranging from lions, hyenas, tigers, wolves, snow
leopards, leopards and 3 species of bears - occur in India, with even the
cheetah being extirpated only fifty years ago.
The country has an ancient culture that views humans as a part of nature
rather than as its masters; that shows a higher degree of toleration for
other life forms compared to any other part of the world. Partly as a result
- and partly due to India's colonial history - several effectively protected
nature reserves have been established during the last thirty years. These
now cover about 3% of the land area. However, there are formidable
challenges to 'saving wildlife' in India: a billion strong human population
largely dependent on land-based occupations; high degree of reliance on
biomass for fuel, energy and structural materials; excessive livestock
densities - all now supplemented by a modern consumerist economy growing at
6% a year; rapidly changing cultures and attitudes towards wildlife.
However, the major social and ecological transformation that we are now
seeing in rest of the tropical world - such as forest conversation and
fragmentation - had occurred in India over a thousand years ago.
In this context, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), India program focuses
on charismatic endangered megafauna in protected reserves (the last wild
places) - as the most appropriate social tactic for saving biodiversity.
During its 13 years of development, WCS-India program has blossomed from a
single research project to encompass all the major strategies now pursued by
WCS globally: Research; Capacity Building; Policy Interventions and
Site-based conservation.
