“We tell them not to harm the leopards, and explain that they are coming in search of the prey and will return to the forest. But they want us to remove the leopard and confine them to the forest, which is not possible,” he says. The workshop is being organised in association with the Maharashtrabased NGO Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which has worked extensively in this field and Rufford Foundation. This two-day workshop, on September 18 and 19, has been divided into three sessions. On day one, at the Forest Colony Hall in Ponda, the morning session is being organised for officers of the forest department, officers at the divisional and sub-divisional level of the revenue and police department. The afternoon workshop is targeted at field-level officers, such as the range forest officers, officers who control police stations, mamlatdars, etc. The panel of speakers include the prolific Dr Vidya Athreya from WCS, Sunil Limaye from CCF Maharashtra Forest Department and Sunil Wadekar, who is a Range Forest Officer from Nashik.
“We are roping in two officers from Maharashtra, who have handled such issues in a large scale during their postings and can share their first-hand experience,” says Kumar.
The workshop on September 19, to
be held at Institute Menezes Braganza
in Panaji, has been organised for representatives
of Panchayat Raj Institution
and media. The media panel is being
represented by Virat Singh from Mumbai
Mirror and Ranjeet Jadhav from Mid-
Day, who will share their reporting experiences
from Mumbai and the role
of media in dealing with human leopard
conflict in a high conflict site in Mumbai.
“If there are people interested in
understanding this issue, they are welcome
to attend the session on September
19,” states Kumar.
According to the deputy conservator
it is not an issue of conflict; it is a lack
of techniques of management.
In an attempt to address this issue,
he says, the forest department has also
embarked upon the propagation of
solar fencing.
While, the state government is giving
upto 90 per cent subsidy for erection
of solar-powered fencing for agriculture
lands, the forest department has proposed
that if any private party is willing
to erect the solar fencing, the forest
department may pay the remaining 10
per cent subsidy too.
“It is very effective in controlling
all sorts of wildlife. This is one of the
solutions,” says Kumar, adding that
the department, on its part, has also
started identifying trial sites for solar
fencing.
In the most recent census conducted
in Goa in April, the forest department
found a healthy population of leopards,
which is a good sign, proving that
Goa’s ecosystem supports big carnivores.
Reiterating the ill-effects of translocation
of leopards, Kumar states that it
only complicates the problem.
“These are free ranging animals, so
they are not confined to one area. In
Goa, you don’t have pockets of forests
that are insulated from habitation. So
it is difficult to gauge where the animal
may resurface,” he says.
Currently, captured leopards are being
released either in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary
or Mollem National Park, since
these are contiguous with Bhimgad
Wildlife Sanctuary and Anshi National
Park in Karnataka, in the hope they
will escape to the adjoining forests or
roam in the same forest.
Referring to the leopard sighting at
the naval station in Vasco, where there
is no forest nearby or the many incidents
reported in Canacona too, Kumar state,
“In most cases, it doesn’t harm human
beings until prodded. In one case in
Shiroda, a leopard sustained bullet injuries
and died. Many land owners,
use wire snares instead of solar fencing,
which injures the animal.”
Speaking about such similar workshops
in future, the deputy conservator
states that the next workshop will be
on presenting a design for bison-proofing
land.
“Bison-proofing is a mix of rubble
wall fencing and solar fencing. Now,
people have either of the two, which
bisons can overcome with time. The
use of both fencings together has been
implemented in Kerala and has been
very successful. We are working on a
design suitable design for Goa. Once
we fine-tune the financial aspects, we
will conduct the session,” he says.
