A new human-wildlife conflict is brewing

NEWDELHI:There is a new humanwildlife conflict. It’s pond-based fisheries versus birds. You’ve probably seen this -more lines and nets in local village and suburban ponds, a man shooing the birds away, and a bird or two hanging dead, from the strings put out to prevent the birds from feeding.

Wildlife, including birds, feed off the commons. When these spaces are given away to farming, they become private, leaving the birds out. Since micro-entrepreneurs have invested in them, they minimize losses. Keeping the birds out, one of them explained, was key. Here’s a tough problem. According the ICAR in 2013, only 40% of India’s available ponds were put to use like this, a gap that could be filled even though there’s also a focus on intensifying the yield from current ponds. Fisheries contribute to our economy. Aquaculture had a 6% growth rate. India is the second largest fishing economy after China. Plus, 14 million people work in fisheries all told, contributing to 1.1% of the GDP.

But ponds are not just fish hothouses. They gift us with massive eco-system services-keeping water tables up, serve locals food, are home for precious biodiversity, including birds and help fight climate change. How do we balance this? I won’t prescribe because I am not sure. But here’s what our government must do fast--deep dive into the problem and with public inputs, find a way to keep everyone dependant on the ponds directly well fed. The planet and even India is way too fragile now to dismiss either side.

BHARATI CHATURVEDI