An Experience Unmatched - From India with Love - Devanshu Sood

(posted by Devanshu Sood) 

Landing in Vladivostok on 18 November, with the flight attendant's comforting words “it’s fine weather outside” when the temperature was -12 degrees Celsius, seemed a blessing after the unexpected experience at Moscow airport due to a ‘technical error’ in my visa. The 8 days I spent in Vladivostok, Russia, along with the 27 delegates from 14 countries, at the International Youth Tiger Summit organized by the Russian Government, in association with the United Nations and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, were truly special.

Meeting and interacting with the delegates brought home the fact that the youth from the different countries were no different from us (almost the same as the realization that the Amur Tiger is also just like the Royal Bengal Tiger – a beast of meagre needs and accommodating habits!)   

During our walks through the inhospitable habitat of the Amur or Siberian Tiger, through Orlinoe and Kedrovaya Pad State Nature Reserve, we learnt about the habitat, habits and prey of the Amur Tiger. We also learnt about the practices adopted by the Russian conservation authorities, such as the feeding stations for wild ungulates (the tiger’s main prey) and boars, the mineral salt licks to supplement their diet, the feeding grounds for the herbivores and the limited hunting in designated areas of wild deer and boar. This active management helps these animals find food in the cold winter, to maintain the numbers of both, the tiger and its prey. The hunters have to apply for licenses to hunt particular types of animals, and are allowed to shoot a pre-determined number by paying a fixed amount. This issuing of licenses is done through State rangers who accompany the hunters on the hunt. Based on surveys (mostly pug mark and hoof-print methods), the number of licenses issued per year for a particular species is determined. This process is strictly controlled, resulting in an enviable record of no reported poaching in the 35 years of its existence. Such practices are not followed in India, where hunting of any sort is not allowed, except in rare cases of man-eating tigers.

The nature walk through the Kedrovaya Pad State Nature Reserve also taught us how tiger conservation, along with other wildlife conservation, is undertaken in such an inhospitable climate. We learnt about the census methodologies used for the tiger and its prey. Though these have a lot in common with the Indian methods, learning how they are used in snowy terrain where animal tracks get wiped out with every fresh snowfall was a unique and educative experience.

It is all very well to say that the Tiger is the most magnificent creature that roams our planet. But why do we need to save the Tiger? The Tiger is a metaphor for life, for the forest and ecology it is a part of. So, saving the Tiger means saving and securing everything that the Tiger represents. When we save it, we save its habitat, water resources and all the animals, insects, birds, reptiles and other living organisms that inhabit its pristine ecosystems.

The Youth Tiger Summit provided me the opportunity to be a part of the process of drafting the Youth Declaration that was presented by us to the heads of government and the other delegations at the St Petersburg Summit via video uplink. The aim of this Summit was to chart a global strategy to conserve the Tiger across habitats and stem the rapid decline in its numbers, while fighting organised wildlife crime and trade. It hopes to improve cross-border cooperation between the Tiger range nations, keeping in mind that Tiger habitats know no borders and neither do the Tigers, roaming freely through their territory, regardless of passports. However, the Summit at St Petersburg did not address the issue of use of tiger parts in traditional Chinese medicine. Neither did it address the rapid increase in tiger farming across the world, where tigers bred for purposes of research are instead used to meet the demands of the lucrative tiger trade, hence undermining anti-poaching and tiger conservation efforts across the world.

Such efforts are commendable, however, as they show the possibilities that exist, in spite of all the pitfalls. Meeting like-minded young individuals is, indeed, heartening. Working our way through discussions and sharing our ideas with the youth from other tiger range countries, it was easy to see that connecting with the youth is possible because we share a love for life, are passionate about things that concern our future, have respect for others and do not worry about territorial boundaries. We belong to a generation that is determined to solve the problems it faces―of terror, hunger, disease, poverty and, most importantly, environmental degradation. The Summit also showed us that our leaders also share our concerns and that there is political will (as was evident when we addressed the Prime Ministers of Russia, China, Laos, Nepal and Bangladesh along with the Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank and the other delegations that were present at the summit, including that of India ).

A lot needs to be done not only to save the Tiger and its ecosystems in India, but also in the 13 tiger range countries. It is essential to involve the youth from across the world in initiatives that will bring about change as they represent a collective voice that can galvanize governments and societies into action and initiate change. This, then, is the cornerstone of our action plan.

Having grown up with a passion and love for the tiger I have always seen the tiger as a symbol of harmony in nature – as a metaphor for nature – and have never thought that it is not possible to save the tiger. I feel that our consciousness and awareness of the dangers we face and the loss which will be ours if we don’t take care, can help us take steps to prevent the tiger from dying out. We have the opportunity – our time is now – and we can do it. All we need is a commitment and passion and the will to do it. And that will can come from the youth, more than even the political leadership.

I thank the United Nations, Government of Russia, the World Bank Group, Ministry of Environment and Forests - Government of India, Government of India, World Wildlife Fund for Nature – International, WWF – India and WWF ― Russia, for giving me this unique opportunity to not only express myself but to be able to add to the international wildlife and environment conservation efforts in a way that I never imagined. I would also like to thank my school, The Shri Ram School, Vasant Vihar and Moulsari for inculcating the value of life and a love for the tiger and nature.

Now, armed with both our National Youth Outreach Project and the Global Outreach Project, that was chalked out by us at Vladivostok, we shall set to work and meet again next year to assess the progress we make in saving the Tiger.

Let’s HOPE FOR THE TIGER!

Together!