Pvt sectors invited to collaborate in wildlife conservation
The focus is on community stewardship and the private sector that expressed enthusiasm to convene and lead several initiatives on wild cats.
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The meeting was in the context of the GEF-7 (Global Environment Facility) project on strengthening conservation and resilience of globally-significant wild cat landscapes through a focus on small cat and leopard conservation, implemented by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and supported by UNDP and WWF (with the inter-governmental platform of Global Tiger Forum (GTF) as the responsible party).
Private sector inputs could professionalise and mainstream wildlife conservation efforts, especially outside protected areas, said Keshav Varma, CEO of the Global Tiger Initiative Council.
Verma was speaking during a consultation meeting with members of the private and public sector organisations for wildlife conservation held at Riverfront House, Ahmedabad.
The meeting was in the context of the GEF-7 (Global Environment Facility) project on strengthening conservation and resilience of globally-significant wild cat landscapes through a focus on small cat and leopard conservation, implemented by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and supported by UNDP and WWF (with the inter-governmental platform of Global Tiger Forum (GTF) as the responsible party).
The focus is on community stewardship and the private sector that expressed enthusiasm to convene and lead several initiatives on wild cats.
The GTF would work on a strategy paper and submit a possible list of activities and projects over the next fortnight.
Mohnish Kapoor, Head of Programme and Partnerships, Global Tiger Forum, stated that “the involvement of private sector can provide positioning of wildlife species as mascots of livelihood and sustainable development, and revive the inherent linkage that people around forest habitats, and citizens at large share with wild denizens, and their natural habitats, that is a life support system for many”.
The GEF-financed project will secure the conservation of globally-significant wild cat landscapes in northern, north-eastern and western India through a landscape conservation approach for wild cats that brings together species conservation programs, connects stakeholders and empowers communities across Protected Areas, tiger corridors and buffer zones.
“The partnership between industry and conservation is of great value, and we support the objective. We feel there is a need to create a wildlife business platform, which will emerge as a platform for creating and operationalising the partnership, while looking towards structuring a conservation fund, and complementing site-specific actions,” Varma added.
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