While I was busy taking in the sights, sounds and aromas of Kala Ghoda Festival 2010, the team at Mumbaikar.com popped up to shoot what the Tech Guru thought about the Arts Festival. 

 

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080229-ecotourism-video-ap.html
(copy this link in your browser)

This video cites the example of couple of poachers, in west bengal, Kolkata, who have given up the unethical and risky business of poaching wild animals in Sunderbans tiger reserve and have chosen to live an ethical and a satisfying livelihood as naturalists instead.

The Tiger reserve and the tourists benefit from the detailed knowledge of these poacher turned naturalists, resulting in a win-win situation for the wildlife, reserve and tourists.

As of now, these are one-off cases where the impoverished individuals have had a change of heart and have resorted to a legal occupation instead of illegal ways to earn money through tiger trade. But these select few good samaritans also serve as an excellent role model, an opportunity for the Govt., where they can identify poachers and urge them to give up poaching, by promising them a sustainable and a civil life as a park guide or naturalist in the same reserve/ forest.

The poachers' expertise in animal trapping and their knowledge of the topography can also be utilized in conservation exercises.

They don't say it for nothing...Where there is a will, there is a way.

 

 This beautiful sight will soon be a thing of the past...because...

TIGERS ARE FAST BECOMING EXTINCT FROM INDIA. ONLY 1,411 TIGERS LEFT IN THE WILD.
Thats right, this is the alarming truth, tigers are fast becoming extinct in the indian sub-continent, in a habitat which is known to have atleast 50% of the worldwide population of the biggest cat in the wild.
The numbers of Royal Bengal Tigers, the species endemic to India, is dwindling so fast that, if appropraite conservation efforts aren't taken, this royal animal may very well be....a thing of the past.

12th of February 2008, news channels across India flashed in bold big letters...
BREAKING NEWS...TIGERS IN DANGER...TIGER POPULATION DROPS BY 60%.....everyone was crying fowl over the fact that the tigers in India had dissappeared drastically.

The Wildlife institute of India carries out a Tiger Census, the results of which were made public recently and the findings are alarming.

Only an informed state can pressurize its state govt. to take some action against the rampant poaching in the tiger reserves, only the willing citizens of the state can urge the forest department and the ministry to install latest technology to keep poachers at bay and safeguard the tigers.

Its our turn to decide what we want to see in our forests 10 years from now, its our turn to save the National animal of India, its out turn to wake up and ask the authorities for reasons, its our turn to become a little bit selfless and think of the helpless animal who is being killed to make a few people richer in this material world.

Please spread the word, please!

My Andaman and Nicobar islands experience. It is not a happy place you know. I kept telling myself, I kept facing this truth. My first 24 hours in Port Blair were not exactly what you call a happy tourist experience. This archipelago of 572 islands situated in the midst of the Bay of Bengal, makes you believe that you are in in a totally new country. Even though it is just a two hour flight from Chennai or Calcutta, it feels like a whole new planet. Port Blair, looks and feels like any other average city in India. Except the golden statue of Mahatma Gandhi and the Clock tower in the Aberdeen market, nothing that you see leaves an impression on your mind. When you speak to the locals, the most obvious emotion you come across, is that of fear and loss. An infinite sense of something being lost in the dark waters of the tsunami. It is a popular belief that every dark cloud has a silver lining, the fishermen folk here in andaman's are still struggling, are still searching, in despair, for that silver lining. But it is in the midst of this sea of loss and despair, the most exotic, the most virgin, the most unexplored, and I would say the country's best kept secret - Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Out of the 572 islands, only 38 have human settlements. About 350 islands belong to the andaman group of islands. The 10° channel separates the rest which constitute the Nicobar group of islands. The Nicobar group of islands are not open to tourism, even the islanders need a special permit to visit these islands. And it is not because of inaccessibility, but for the fact that these islands are inhabited, by seven traditional tribes. The Jarawa, Onge and Sentinelese are among some of the world's oldest civilisations and of great importance to present day anthropologists. Port Blair is in many ways, ‘Mini India’. You will find a representative of each Indian state on these islands, which makes this a true melting pot of cultures. Andaman has the most beautiful beaches that you can see in India. Most of the beaches are a 20-30 minute boat ride away from port blair.