wildlife tv as voyer feed

Legendary crocodile hunter Steve Irwin died doing what he loved, diving the depths off the Australian coast searching for yet another creature and tempting fate. Even as the world mourns a man who did more than anyone else to bring wildlife to the drawing room, his methods have brought up important questions that have divided the naturalist community.
While some believe that his style popularised wildlife among the masses, for others it reduced wildlife to a sideshow for couch potatoes. That Steve had no scientific training was another criticism towards his cowboy approach masquerading as ecological knowledge.
By intruding into the space of diverse fauna across the world, Steve trivialized the many complexities involved in the relationship between an animal and its ecology, thereby peddling a sort of eco-porn.
His was a brand of spectacle where enthusiasm made up for rigor, audacity substituted scrutiny and showmanship replaced information. When one grapples with a 350-pound anaconda in the remote Amazon basin, or gets up, close and personal with a 20 foot Nile crocodile, the line between wildlife documentation and circus-entertainment blurs. It was this that troubled serious and committed wildlife photographers and filmmakers and true lovers of ecology.
Steve of course was aware of the limitations of his stunts and had argued that all he was trying to do is to take away the unjustified fears that people have of wild animals they perceive as dangerous. However in realty, the effect was quite the opposite. Animals that in their natural surrounding would most likely leave humans alone were portrayed as dangerous beasts that can be ‘tackled’. The fact that Steve was seeking and provoking the animals was left unsaid. This important fact was never put into context by the producers of his dramatic documentaries. A lot of this change has to do with the changing nature of those who fund wildlife programming. The transformation happened with pay television taking roots in the developed economies. The sober, scholastic approach best underlined by the work of David Attenborough for the BBC was replaced by an emphasis on production quality and viewer interactive stunts. This meant that the "color" of the story became the overriding priority for the producer. To achieve this color, many a time wildlife encounters were simply set up. Tigers, surrounded by trekkers astride elephants, were seen huddling for the camera with bait tied all around. Similarly, fights were deliberately provoked between wild African elephants. The audience of course only saw the action and not the artifice. In a famous case it was reported that Britain-based John Downer Productions had used a plastic Solomon fish to film grizzlies in the Alaskan wilds. But as long as the bears bared their fangs, who cared if the fish was fake.
Even as the world mourns Steve's death, it is perhaps time for all involved, the channels, the production companies but most important of all the viewer to choose between wildlife as informed documentation or the sexed-up version, which, while pleasing to the eye, is not the 'real thing.' The wild is a primeval, lonely space that can be best understood on its own terms. It is time for the mass media and its audience to respect those terms.

india's tiger crisis

The story of the vanishing tigers of India is a crisis way beyond the environment. The royal Bengal tiger, now down to a mere 1400 in number has fallen prey to a crippling crisis of governance and astounding indifference towards this magnificent big cat.
The failure shows that in India governance in tiger conservation has nothing to do with ground realities. For years, project tiger flogged the myth of 4000 plus cats when it was clear from habitat loss and rare sightings that the number was fictional. The bureaucratic stonewalling resulted in a lost decade when action should have taken place to ensure tiger numbers do not reach what many scientists consider a critical low. It is shameful that the number of tigers today is lower than at the time of the launch of project tiger. At that time, there were an estimated 1800 tigers in India.

It took the Indian express to expose the lie in Sariska. The Prime Minister's subsequent intervention hasn't done much beyond ensuring that a scientifically sound count takes place.

A combination of four factors has decimated the tiger in India.

Indian forest were opened for "development" through an amendment to the Indian conservation act in late 1990's under the regime of Narsimha Rao. India is fast realizing that economic development cannot come without costs - and in this case it costs the pelt of the tiger. The loss of habitat and prey is killing more tigers than poaching.


The second reason is that at the level of the states the tiger simply is not a priority. In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, for instance there are an estimated 1200 vacancies for forests guards and it is there not surprising that the state faces the specter of empty forests. Ranthmbore and Bandhavgrah have seen the most decline in numbers. What is more, the Indian forest act is toothless and even third time offenders get quick bail in poaching cases. The law needs to be tightened up as a priority.

The third complexity in the tiger puzzle is external. China and Tibet remain the world's largest consumers of tiger parts. It is such an ingrained part of the Chinese culture that in that country tiger farms - akin to a poultry complex - tigers are raised and butchered exist as a routine. Tiger is on the menu across China - especially in prosperous coastal towns. It is estimated that 70 percent of the worldwide trade in tiger parts ends up in China and the rest in other Chinese hands in south East Asia.

The fourth less studied problem for the tiger turned out to be so called scientists and conversations who work in its name. None of them stuck close to the knitting. Instead of scientific research and conservation they branched out into the hotel and resort business. Most of the famous name you here talking tiger have their own resorts - some in brazen violence of environmental laws. Few of these were even demolished for illegal construction in Ranthmbore, Panna and elsewhere. The costs of maintaining bureaucracies like the world wildlife fund with its fat salaries far outweighs any success they may have achieved. The tiger mafia is the least explored but most immediate threat to tiger survival.


So is it too late? Maybe not. But tough calls need to be taken. It is now clear that tigers and humans cannot coexist. There is need to ensure that India spends money in relocating people out of tiger zones where possible. All success like Corbett and Nagaerhole are in places with the minimum human interference. The law needs more teeth. An urgent diplomatic effort with China in world fora is critical for the short term survival of tigers. The corrupt tiger NGO's need to be brought to book with none spared. All this will need political will and economic resources to come together. It is now time to ensure that the second rung parks such as those in Karnataka get the best protection. Tiger are big cats and they reproduce fast - if a stable environment is put in place. This can make tiger revival a possibility. Lastly African style high value tourism model should be adopted to fund sustainable tiger conservation. Today too many tourists are having a free ride in tiger parks. In 1947 we had 50,000 tigers in India if you want the next generation of Indian to see the tiger's unforgettable gait in the jungle civil society will have to force the political class to act. And in India that is a tough call especially when time is as critically short as in the case of the tiger.

pesticides are a clear & present danger

Consumers have won a major victory in the Supreme Court decision that makes it mandatory for cola firms to reveals the details of their contents. In particular the court’s ruling will go a long way in making public the exact amounts of pesticides in an aerated beverage. Given the fact that a large majority of consumers are children, the publication of information on labels will ensure that at least they become more aware of what they are consuming.
The court up held an earlier order of the Rajasthan high court which the cola majors wanted quashed. However the court has a given breather to the cola majors in not forcing any contempt of court proceedings. The cola majors had not carried such details on their labels following the earlier high court order.
The triumph for consumers however is to be seen in a context. The fact is that in India today everything from vegetables by the any the road side vendor, to milk available at the friendly neighborhood dairy is laced with pesticides. Ground water pollution too is a big worry.
That it took a court decision for this to be implemented rather than a state law is in it worrying. In India ever since the green revolution, Growth in food productivity has been accompanied by an enormous dose of pesticides. In India implementation of food and drugs administrations rules is notoriously lax. It is this that needs to be tightened. For water alone India has two laws one from 1974 that addresses water pollution and another from 1990 that address environment protection. However their implementation has been tardy
Urgent attention is needed to address larger issues of pollution. The yamuna in Delhi is the starkest example. While there is water treatment plants on the river the water has become so polluted now that even these are not enough to treat the water body of affluent. According to a TERI, and environment consultancy, a whopping 6000 million have been spent on the Yamnua alone - with no results to show in terms of controlling pollution. If this is the case with a major river one can only estimate the state of smaller water bodies and ground water in other parts of India.India must learn from China, where rampant industrialization has caused poisoning of as much as 40 % of its water bodies. It is all very well to single out high profile companies and make them accountable for pesticides in their wares - but without ensuring higher environment standards and compliance to laws already in place, the Indian consumer is doomed to leave in poisoned envir