People and the Wildlife Management Cycle | Essay | Geography

Read this essay to learn about the importance of people’s management in wildlife management cycle.  

In the definition of “Wildlife Management”, to obtain specific human objectives from wildlife resource; the determination and action are taken for the manipulation in the structure, dynamics and relations of the wildlife- population, its habitat and the related people.

It is, hence, clear that there are three components of wildlife management such as wildlife-population, its habitat and the related people. The conservation and management of the wildlife is possible only through establishing co- relation in all these three components. To get such co-relation, the wildlife manager should be well-knowledge about the structure, dynamics and relations of these three components.

The growth or propagation in wildlife cannot be done until there is proper studies and knowledge of each component regarding the present situation, the causes of such situation, the causes depending their natural-growth and out of these factors or causes which are responsible and effective for their growth etc.

In absence of this knowledge, the manipulation and improvement is not possible in respect of its condition and co-relation with other components. Therefore, the studies of structure, dynamics and relation of these three components are the pillars or basic things of wildlife management.

Hence, it can be said that out of three components, the people’s management is the third important component in the wildlife- management cycle. In true sense, the people are so important component that if other two components are manipulated favourably, even then there will be no beneficial result if people are not favourable or in affirmative direction. Therefore, to run the wildlife management smoothly, it is very much important to manipulate the people in suitable direction.

Before managing the people, they are analyzed. First of all; they are divided into age-classes and then there should be studies in each age-class as per their interest in wildlife, their ideas for its conservation and implementation, their economic status etc.

Their economic status plays important role in the wildlife-conservation as poverty compels them to do offence towards the wild animals.

From age point of view, the people may be divided into three categories such as:

(a) The persons up to 20 years age.

(b) The persons between 20 to 50 years age.

(c) The persons above 50 years age.

The persons up to 20 years age are mostly students. They can be motivated very well as they develop their ideas once, will persist for the whole life. Hence, the young’s and youths of such age-class should be motivated maximally about the importance of wildlife and awareness may be created in their hearts regarding loveliness and kindness towards wild animals.

From the very young stage, they should be visiting wild animals in the jungles, biological parks, sanctuaries, national parks, etc. to bring awareness among them. Speeches, debates, essay-competition, pictures on wildlife etc. should be arranged by the wildlife experts in their school and colleges. Such types of works should not be only restricted in towns or cities but must be extended to rural areas.

The persons attaining 20-50 years of age may be categorized into three sub-categories viz. the persons who are busy in their daily domestic work and are not anxious for wildlife; those who are intellectuals and naturalist and have interest in wildlife; and others are those persons who do offence like hunting and poaching etc. to the wild animals.

Out of these, the first type of persons are generally more in number and they are so busy and do not observe the harms which are going on the environment and wildlife. They should be motivated creating consciousness so that they, being more in number, will also motivate the third type of people who are harming the wildlife.

Such persons should be dealt with separately in the town and rural areas as per their difficulties. There should be arrangement of speeches, pictures, visit to national parks/sanctuaries etc. lessoning them about the importance of wildlife, its relation with the ecosystem and environment, their effects on the existence of human-life and so on.

Villagers should be preached specially as they have the bad ideas towards wild animals thinking that it is harmful to their agricultural crops and as such wild animals are their enemies. Hence, comparing uses and losses performed by the wild animals, they should be convinced that actually the wild animals are not their enemies rather friends and benefactors.

They should be fully convinced that losses made by the wild animals is very less in comparison to the benefits obtained from them, the survival of wild animals is very important and essential for eco-balance performing role in food-chain and food-web and for the existence of human-life.

The agricultural crops are damaged by them up to a certain extent, no doubt; but in absence of wild animals the proper growth of their crops are not possible because, for example, insectivorous birds eat voraciously insects pests and thus not only save the crop but also enhance its yield.

In this way, the wild animals are the friends of the villagers and losses caused by them may be treated as negligible in respect of the benefits pertained by them. The persons harming the wildlife should be first perused to protect the wild animals, and then should be punished as per the law if they do not obey the rules.

The people above 50 years age should also be motivated to be acknowledged creating awareness towards the wildlife so that they may tell interesting favourable stories to protect and save the wild animals to the young’s of their descendants (new generations). Hence, they will be like pillars to create interest and awareness among the new generations.

In brief, it can be said that by the help of the extension media like radio, television, stories, essay, newspaper, cinema etc.; each person of the each category of the people may be motivated and awarded. It is strange in human history that the man has very little knowledge about the nature and exploited the same; while he himself is an essential and
integral part of it.

In real sense, the most obstacles in the field of wildlife management and conservation is the unconsciousness of the people towards the wildlife. Hence, it is essential to procure knowledge through studies and research about wildlife and its relation with human-beings. Such knowledge should be extended to the general mass. Without spreading such ideas, the studies and research done in jungle, laboratories etc. will be of no use.

It should be taken as challenge on mass-scale so that each and every citizen may understand its importance and participate in protection, conservation and propagation motives.

Such motives should include the following objectives:

(i) To give logical and comparative ideas before the general mass regarding interrelations of wildlife, soil, water and the people.

(ii) To teach the general mass regarding recreational, economical, scientific and religious importance of wildlife.

(iii) To promote land-use-planning system, multiple-land-uses and to find out the ecological way-out in land-uses.

(iv) Necessity of the proper utilization of wildlife resources in general mass.

(v) To apprehend the principles of wildlife management and eagerness to implement the same.

(vi) To support such activities which are suitable and helpful for wildlife in the system of land and water utility.

(vii) To gather knowledge and difficulties regarding wildlife-utility among the people through related institutions and agencies, and to find out the remedies of such constraints.

To get success in the mission, the wildlife manager should also take help from the researches done in the field of social sciences. Since, motivational research has been proved effective in many fields; the result of such research work may be studied and applied also in the field of wildlife to create interest and love among the general masses for protection, propagation and conservation of wildlife.

So, in fine, it is now essential that the wildlife manager should apply human-ecology, anthropology, social science, sociology, economics, political science etc. to get favourable and suitable motives of the people of different categories towards the wild animals.