A 33-year love story with nature comes to an end
UNTIL recently, like other park rangers, Roshan Chaudhary left for patrolling in the morning and returned at sunset. And when there was a tip-off on the movement of poachers for several nights at a stretch he had to camp for the conservation of Western Himalayan biodiversity.
His job as a deputy ranger was to protect the highly endangered species, ranging from the elusive endangered pheasant western tragopan to the musk deer and the Himalayan tahr in the Great Himalayan National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site in the northwest Himalayas.
This besides watching over a host of native avifauna and mammal species, and a large number of medicinal plants.
Park authorities fear for their vulnerability from poaching from localised settlements in the buffer zone known as an eco-zone.
This national park in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, ranked as the best managed protected area in the country by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2021, is characterised by high alpine peaks, alpine meadows and riverine forests with minimal tourism impact.
The 90540-hectare property includes the upper mountain glacial and snow melt water sources of several rivers, and the catchments of water supplies that are vital to millions of downstream users.
“Human settlements pose the greatest threat to park fauna and flora species, besides illicit felling,” Chaudhary said.
The longest-serving official retired on December 31 after serving the park in various capacities for 33 years.
Chaudhary said other threats to the park include agriculture, traditional grazing and hydropower development.
Locals often venture into forests in groups to collect the expensive herbs. They stay for weeks to collect them.
“They are posing a serious challenge as they are familiar with the local topography and (are) even sturdy compared to outside poachers,” Chaudhary said.
The park’s eco-zone has some 160 villages and hamlets. Park authorities normally involve locals in conservation of biodiversity at the park. Besides protecting it from poachers, they play an important role in managing sustainable eco-sensitive or nature-based eco-tourism.
The effective conservation management of habitat and endangered species is really a challenge for park authorities.
“After a day-long strenuous trek over scree, boulders, and very narrow paths into high alpine meadows, the park offers fantastic places for stargazing, allowing you to gaze the night sky like never before,” Chaudhary said.
Regarding his favourite and the most challenging trek in the park, Chaudhary said it was the Shupakuni Pass between two wildlife ranges – Tirthan and Sainj.
Starting at an altitude of 1 700m, the highest peak within the Himalayan park approaches 5 800m.
The park, which is totally untouched by a road network, has four valleys: Tirthan, Sainj, Jiwa Nal and Parvati.
According to Chaudhary, the Himalayan park holds religious significance as it is home to several high-altitude Jognis, meaning prayer sites. During summer, the local deity and villagers visit these places.
The Great Himalayan National Park, notified in 1999, is home to 209 bird species, including the western tragopan, the Himalayan monal, the koklas, the white-crested kalij and the cheer, all pheasant species.
One of the richest biodiversity sites in the western Himalayas, the park supports the snow leopard, the Tibetan wolf, the Himalayan brown and black bear, the Himalayan blue sheep, the Asiatic ibex, the red fox, the weasel and the yellow-throated marten. The small mammals include the grey shrew, a small mouse-like mammal with a long snout, royal mountain vole, Indian pika, giant Indian flying squirrel, porcupine and the Himalayan palm civet.
Chaudhary, who is wild at heart, said animals in the wild mostly avoid any encounters with humans, and when they did attack people, it was usually in self-defence. “They attack only when the people disturb them. I have spent nights in their habitat with just a rucksack carrying a raincoat, cap, sleeping bag and an LED torch and they just passed my rucksack without bothering me.
“Man-animal conflicts are more a social issue. For the conservation of the wildlife, you need co-operation of the local communities,” he added.
Chaudhary advocated the need to link eco-tourism with the local communities. “If we fail to create awareness on wildlife, we will fail to preserve them for the future generations,” he said. |