Letter to IUCN gave goosebumps to Madhya Pradesh

An NGO refuted MPs' desire ~ Mumbai based NGO acted bold as brass to the Lions translocation issue


These are the translation of the below report published by a Hindi language newspaper

Certainly, the letter to IUCN and other international wildlife bodies washed the desire of Kuno Palpur for translocation to an extent, and the media support to the NGO boiled the blood of MP for sure. There is a long chain of media publishing against the translocation project one after another which clearly portrays exactly what people want, unfortunately still it's not able to open the eyes of the troop of happy and crazy chimps. Further this report states, the translocation shouldn't happen, because the habitat of Kuno is totally unsuitable for Lions. The report reveals the details of the letter we wrote to IUCN for the intervention in this matter.

However, in middle of the report, it's written that after Hon'. SC supported the translocation, Gujrat had no other option than to be on their knees and plea the NGO for protest. "This is a totally unfamiliar notice for us even" for which Empower foundation is strongly against as this statement tries to tie a knot between the Gujrat Govt and the NGO. NGO has made very clear from the first day that its not riding on any political chariot, and just fighting for Wildlife and nothing else.

Where this report quotes Empowers' statements and reveals the facts as why this translocation is necessary to be reviewed, it also quotes an wildlife activist from MP (Ajay Dubey) who opposes the NGO and comments in favor of translocation. 

The wildlife activist is the president of a MP based NGO (Prayatna). Ajay is associated with wildlife since years and has achieved countless appreciations for his dedication and work for Tigers in MP. Let me take you to some more details of the activist. Ajay fought against illegal mining in MP reserve forests, and also filed several RTIs and PILs in this respect. The story didn't ended here till he fought to the Hon' Supreme Court for the same. The activist also fought strongly against Tiger tourism in MP tiger reserves for years. He also plead the apex court to direct MP to notify buffer zones in all its tiger reserves and ban commercial tourism in critical tiger habitats. "Unless the core and buffer zones are notified, a tiger reserve is technically not a tiger reserve. This is a prerequisite for the preparation of the tiger conservation plan as required by WLPA" says the activist. Ajay raised the issue of Tiger poaching in MP throwing the reason being heavy tourism and near to no security for wildlife, and strongly stood against it. Dubey brilliantly raised the issue of the knot between the Tiger reserve officials and poachers to the CM of MP and demanded CBI probe for the same.

Okay.. enough of Ajay Dubey the famous wildlife activist, but let see how the news paper column quoted him for the translocation subject. The newspaper quoted below: 

"Ajay Dubey, president of the NGO, Prayatn, said that SC already pronounced the verdict for translocation. In such a case, writing to any international organization for their intervention is wrong. He had wrote to Wildlife and forest minister Ms. Jayanti Natrajan and requested to get the translocation happen ASAP".

Sorry friends, but I don't have enough understanding and skills to compare the activists' thoughts for Tigers and Lions. Please.. try if you could?

Although, irrespective of whatever the MP lovers are quoting and planning, this report surely gave goosebumps to MP as well as those happy and crazy chimps, and the fight is still on. Moreover I could say the fight has caught the heat..

~ Black Pearl

NGO seeks global body’s intervention to stop translocation

Hindustan Times (Bhopal), Ssarkar@hindustantimes.com, 10 Aug 2013

There has been no successful lion translocation in the past in the country 

Jalpesh Meha

Founder chairperson, Empower Foundation

Sravani Sarkar 

On eve of the World Lions Day (August 10), a Mumbai-based NGO has sought intervention of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - the oldest global environment network - on the issue of the translocation of Asiatic Lions from Gir in Gujarat to Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh. 

The NGO - Empower Foundation - has been opposing the translocation of lions - saying that the conditions are adverse in the proposed site of Kuno Palpur and that serious animal rights’ issues are involved with the entire process. The organization is rather insisting on increasing habitat availability for lions through restoration, connectivity, corridor establishment, habitat protection and natural movement of lions.

Now, the NGO has also said that the translocation would amount to serious violations of IUCN guidelines on 29 counts and has urged the IUCN authorities to appoint an international expert/team of experts to intervene in the matter and guide the authorities in two states.

The founder chairperson of the Empower Foundation, Jalpesh Mehta has written to the IUCN authorities including the chairman of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) Reintroduction Specialist Group Dr Frederic Launay seeking this intervention. In the letter to the authorities, the NGO has given details of all the 29 guidelines violation and the 12 adverse conditions in Kuno Palpur (based on NGO’s own study) to draw attention of the international body.

The translocation issue is hanging fire between two states - Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh since more than a decade. Recently, the Supreme Court mandated translocation of Lions to MP, but Gujarat government filed a review petition pointing out that the decision was one-sided and highlighting the poaching culture of MP (50% of world’s tigers over the last decade were poached in MP).

“We have been working on this issue since a while and in a situation where there has been no successful lion translocation in the past in the country and concerned persons having no expertise on Lions, we thought it apt to seek the intervention of IUCN,” Mehta said while talking to HT.

He added that the Empower foundation was not against translocation, but concerned with the end result. “We simply want to save lions from being pushed to extinction,” he said.

IUCN help sought to oppose translocation

Hindustan Times, Sravani Sarkar, August 10, 2013

NGO opposes movement of Gir beasts to MP claiming adverse conditions

BHOPAL: On eve of the World Lions Day ( August 10), a Mumbai-based NGO has sought intervention of International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN) - the oldest global environment network - on the issue of the translocation of Asiatic Lions from Gir in Gujarat to Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh. 

The NGO - Empower Foundation - has been opposing the translocation of lions - saying that the conditions are adverse in the proposed site of Kuno Palpur and that serious animal rights’ issues are involved with the entire process. The organization is rather insisting on increasing habitat availability for lions through restoration, connectivity, corridor establishment, habitat protection and natural movement of lions. 

Now, the NGO has also said that the translocation would amount to serious violations of IUCN guidelines on 29 counts and has urged the IUCNauthorities to appoint an international expert/team of experts to intervene in the matter and guide the authorities in two states. 

The founder chairperson of the Empower Foundation, Jalpesh Mehta has written to the IUCN authorities including the chairman of the Species Survival Commission ( SSC) Reintroduction Specialist Group Dr Frederic Launay seeking this intervention. In the letter to the authorities, the NGO has given details of all the 29 guidelines violation and the 12 adverse conditions in Kuno Palpur (based on NGO’s own study) to draw attention of the international body. 

The translocation issue is hanging fire between two states - Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh since more than a decade. Recently, the Supreme Court mandated translocation of Lions to MP, but Gujarat government filed a review petition pointing out that the decision was one-sided and highlighting the poaching culture of MP (50% of world’s tigers over the last decade were poached in MP).

“We have been working on this issue since a while and in a situation where there has been no successful Lion translocation in the past in the country and concerned persons having no expertise on Lions, we thought it apt to seek the intervention of IUCN,” Mehta said while talking to HT. He added that the Empower foundation was not against translocation, but concerned with the end result. “We want to save lions from being pushed to extinction,” he said.