Wildlife circle sits idle for lack of plan

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Officials of the wildlife circle under the Department of Forest are virtually sitting idle for years as the government does not have any specific plans or budget allocation to save the country’s wildlife.

The wildlife section of the forest department is supposed to work to protect, rescue, treat and increase the number of wild animals and birds as well as their habitat. But the officials don’t have any such activities so far since launch of the wildlife circle in 2001.

Speaking anonymously, a high official of the section said: “We just do the file work. Since 2006 when I was transferred to this section I didn’t have any designated task to do.”

“Even the government has yet to establish any wildlife rescue centre, any wildlife hospital or any specific project to save the wildlife,” he added.

Officials concerned say the wildlife section has a 378-strong designated workforce headed by a conservator of forest who has four divisional forest officers in four wildlife divisions –Dhaka, Khulna, Sylhet and Chittagong.

In Karomjol under the Sundarbans Forest Division there is a wildlife hospital. “The hospital doesn’t have any maintenance,” said an official asking not to be named.

Sources say the wildlife section gets only Tk 25,000 budget to feed 17 captive deer in Vawal National Park.

The sources add many of the officials are working in the section without any specific knowledge or training on wildlife.

Experts observe that the wildlife section’s activities in fact leads to increasing human-wild animal conflicts resulting in wildlife extinction.

The villagers of Shyamnagar in Satkhira killed a royal Bengal tiger last month as it killed three villagers. On the other hand, eight people were killed by elephant attacks in Bandarban.

“The animals are coming out of the forests and attacking human due to destruction of their habitat. The government has to work on protecting their habitat and food. Otherwise, we’ll lose our last remaining wildlife,” said Dr Reza Khan, a noted wildlife expert.

“The government must take proper conservation measures by making a separate active wildlife department,” he added. He asked all the experts in this field to take the lead to save the wildlife.

In a densely populated country like Bangladesh where around 800 people live in per square kilometre, many species have already been extinct and many others are on the verge of extinction.

The experts say now around one hundred species of mammals, birds, and reptiles are critically endangered who need immediate attention.

Over the years, many species of vertebrates including three kinds of one-horned rhinoceros, two-horned rhinoceros, java rhinoceros gaur, banteng, wild buffaloes, nilgai, swamp deer, hog deer, wolf, pink-headed duck, common peafowl and marsh crocodiles were extinct.

The experts believe some other species like white-winged wood duck have also disappeared from the country but yet to be enlisted as extinct.

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