DICTATION EXERCISE-67

          The first day of the third phase of lockdown has shown the challenges involved in the graded opening up of the country. On Friday, the Union Government came up with a complex order which categorized the country into red, green and orange zones. It prohibited a set of activities nationally, and allowed other activities in different zones.  India needed a calibrated loosening up to ensure that there was not an immediate surge in cases. For this approach to succeed, there were two prerequisites. The first was proper bureaucratic implementation, and this was always going to be difficult. But the second and more important prerequisite was citizens exercising a high degree of responsibility. On first day, this was missing. The most egregious reflection of this was in liquor shops. People lined up in hundreds to buy cases of alcohol. Liquor is¹⁴⁰ an important source of revenue for state governments. Given the¹⁵⁰ dire straits of public finances, as well as popular demand,¹⁶⁰ opening stores made sense. But if citizens behave with such irresponsibility, then do not rule out a revision of rules in the future. In times of the pandemic, it is about maintaining social distancing and knowing that the right to step out comes with responsibilities.

Our world lies torn and shattered, and all this has happened because of an invisible virus. In our understanding of the coronavirus disease, one critical factor stands out. The destruction of wildlife and wildlife habitats led to its creation. This virus is also a result of the actions of all those political and business leaders who did not care. They scoffed at nature’s warriors and hurled abuse on those who served both wildlife and nature.²⁸⁰ It is shocking that many who serve nature have suffered disrespect all along. Many of us are now angry and³⁰⁰ unforgiving. Our warnings over the last 50 years have come true. We have tirelessly strived to prioritize the protection of³²⁰ our natural world. Those who made policy or took decisions did not listen to us. Today, they should be drowning in guilt. Big business has failed nature. Few provide grants to protect it. Corporate leaders prefer to remain ignorant of the ways of nature. Now they have been hit where it hurts most. Trillions of dollars are lost and economies are at a standstill. Will they learn from this nightmare? Will they shed their arrogance? The less said about our politicians and bureaucrats, the better. I remember how hard I tried to get Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to create a⁴²⁰ department of forests and wildlife so that this essential sector was governed properly. The idea was to create a separate ministry over time and allow a ministry of environment and⁴⁵⁰ climate change to be independent of it. He agreed with my logic 10 years ago, and instructed that it should be done. But a bunch of bureaucrats vetoed him. Prime⁴⁸⁰ Minister Narendra Modi has not held one meeting of the National Board of Wildlife in seven years. Nobody cares about it. They still do not realize that the virus they deal with originates in wildlife and is unleashed because of poor governance. They do not realize that India is in dire straits, the economy a mess and life disrupted because of how we deal with the natural world and its myriad species. Prime Ministers, ministers, political leaders, bureaucrats, business leaders, ⁵⁶⁰ and society must be educated, as nature’s time bomb is ticking. This coronavirus is a warning shot over the bow. Next time around, nature will let loose a virus that will be much more virulent.

          This global pandemic could⁶⁰⁰ have come much earlier. It did not because of the tireless service of both nature warriors and wildlife warriors. These people come from all walks of life, in villages, towns and cities and spend their time passionately defending nature. Without⁶⁴⁰ them, we could have no world to live in. They provide the most essential service to the nation, but are not recognized or respected. More often than not, they are neglected to oblivion. We need to remember all of them today and salute them. Who are these people? First of all, there are 1,50,000 forest officers and forest guards. About 1,00,000⁷⁰⁰ are scientists, wildlife watchers, wildlife travel promoters, wildlife hotel creators, wildlife photographers, wildlife filmmakers, writers, conservationists, naturalists, village volunteers and non-governmental organizations. We need to celebrate them when we are out of this crisis. The Prime Minister must brainstorm with them. You cannot run an economy without a healthy⁷⁵⁰ natural world. This virus reveals how easily economic collapse comes.  Leaders of the world will have to put forests, wildlife and the environment on the top of the agenda if they do not want to be plagued with more disease and death. Economic recoveries must be green. We can no⁸⁰⁰ longer harm the natural wealth of our country or any country. This virus has proved that it can bring the world to its knees. That is the interdependence of the world today. Healing nature must be our call sign. Our leadership⁸⁴⁰ across this planet must wake up to a new era where life, the economies of it, the design of it are non-wasteful and non-exploitative and tempered with great respect for nature. Preventing global warning and the climate crisis must be immediate priorities. This virus has revealed how our planet is vulnerable and without healing nature, the human race will⁹⁰⁰ die. Let us learn our lesson and act hand-in-hand with the natural world. We need an educated and enlightened media that does its homework. We need urgent global meetings of world leaders on forests and wild life. We need global decisions to close wet markets and wildlife trade. We need to find non-invasive solutions for our future. There has been⁹⁶⁰ enough of diplomacy. It is time to call a spade a spade. There have been enough of G7 and G20 meets.⁹⁸⁰ They need to be re-strategized in light of what has happened. Our mission today must be to create key strategies to protect natural ecosystems, wilderness and all the life that abounds in it. If we do not achieve this mission, there is no hope for our planet’s future.

The biosphere is the narrow zone of contact between the land, water and air. It is in this zone that life¹⁰⁵⁰ exists. There are several species of organisms that vary in size from microbes and bacteria to huge mammals. All the living organisms including humans are linked to each other and to the biosphere for survival. The organisms in the biosphere may broadly be divided into the plant kingdom and the animal kingdom. The three domains of the earth interact with each other in some way or the other. For example, cutting¹¹²⁰ of forests for fulfilling our needs of wood, or clearing land for agriculture may lead to fast removal of soil from slopes. Similarly, earth’s surface may be changed due to natural calamities like earthquakes. For example, there could be submergence of land, as happened in the case of Tsunami. Parts of Andaman and Nicobar islands were submerged under water. Discharge of waste material into lakes and rivers makes the water unsuitable for human use. It also damages other¹²⁰⁰ forms of life. Emissions from industries, thermal power plants and vehicles, pollute the air. Carbon dioxide is an important constituent of air. But increase in the amount of carbon dioxide leads to increase in global temperatures. This is termed as global warming. There is a need to limit the use of resources of the earth to maintain the balance of nature between¹²⁶⁰ the domains of the lithosphere, the atmosphere and the hydrosphere.

         

Forests are very useful for us. They perform various functions. ¹²⁸⁰ Plants release oxygen that we breathe and absorb carbon dioxide. The roots of the plants bind the soil and they control soil erosion. Forests provide us with timber for furniture, fuel wood, fodder, medicinal plants and herbs, honey, gum etc. Forests are the natural habitat and wildlife. Natural vegetation has been destroyed to a large extent because of the reckless cutting of trees. We should plant more trees¹³⁵⁰ and protect the existing ones and make people aware of the importance of trees. We can have special programmes to involve more people in making our planet green. Forests are home to a variety of wild life. There are thousands of species of animals and a large variety of reptiles, amphibians, mammals, ¹⁴⁰⁰ birds, insects and worms which dwell in the forest. The tiger is our national animal. It is found in various parts of the country. Besides, elephants, camels, wild asses, and many other animals are found in our country. India¹⁴⁴⁰ is equally rich in bird life. The peacock is our national bird. Other common birds are parrots, pigeons, and ducks. There are several bird sanctuaries which have been created to give birds their natural habitat. These provide the birds protection from hunters. There are several hundreds of species of snakes found in India. Due to cutting of forests¹⁵⁰⁰ and hunting, several species of wildlife of India are declining rapidly. Many species have already become extinct. In order to protect them many national parks, sanctuaries and biosphere reserves have been set up. The Government has also started Project Tiger and Project Elephant to protect these animals. We can also contribute in conserving wildlife. We can refuse to buy things made from parts of the bodies of animals such as their bones, horns, fur, skins, and feathers. Every year we observe wildlife week in the first week of October, to create awareness of conserving the habitats of the animal kingdom. ¹⁵⁹⁸