- India has a wide variety of wildlife; various regions of India have been designated as biological hotspots due to the rich endemic species of wildlife.
- However, India is also a growing economy and the large urbanization due to it is making inroads into previously untouched forest land home to a multitude of species.
- Roads and development projects have brought the forests into our cities and frequent encounters with animals are now common place.
- Another common problem due to highways and roads going through dense forest is road accident. Or an animal killed on the road due to incoming vehicles or human action.
Solutions available:-
A. Infrastructure activities such as roads, hotels etc to be realigned outside the core zone of the protected areas .
B. Escorted convoys to be made available and regulating private vehicles entry in the sensitive areas.
C. Underpasses for smooth movement of animals.
D. No construction activities without proper EIA.
E. All the stakeholders such as NGOs, government, NTCA, People participation etc for creating a framework to prevent road accidents.
F. Stringent punishment for those causing harm to animals and violating laws.
G. Patrolling by local people, police etc in sensitive areas prone to road kills.
Why it is necessary to act urgently?
● to protect endangered species from extinction
● to protect gene pool of vulnerable species
● to protect animal right to live with dignity
● to maintain balance between food chain and food web
● to give effect to international treaties such as CBD,CITES etc
Such efforts should be implemented in letter and spirit to prevent road accidents.
