Sustainable Development, Poaching, and Illegal Wildlife Trade in India

Abstract

Wildlife poaching is directly associated with illegal wildlife trade. Although poaching is recognized as a major threat to wildlife in India, it has not been analyzed quantitatively, because of a lack of data. Thus, the understanding of poaching or illegal wildlife trade and its true implications on conservation has not been considered by policymakers. The deficiency of data on poaching in the public domain also hampered scientific research on poaching. The lack of a scientific approach to analyze poaching creates a gap between reality and an effective solution to reduce its implications on wildlife conservation. Poaching has also been affected by fast economic development in India and the region, which has given rise to increased demand of wildlife. Protected areas, created to conserve wildlife, face pressure from poaching and demographic growth. Economic developments affect poaching and demographic changes and affect conservation.Analyzing this trend at the country and the global level can help predict future scenarios and develop effective strategies to reduce loss to biodiversity.We examined stakeholders' perspectives on wildlife policy development in India(Part 1) and analyzed poaching and other emerging threats to 3 different protected areas in India (Part 2). This analysis is based on the perceptions of the village communities living inside and on the fringe of the protected areas. We also conducted a temporal and spatial analysis of poaching in India from 1992-2006 (Part 3). This period sees the transformation of Indian economy following an economic liberalization process, which increased the development process. Finally, we analyzed the relationship between growth in the economy and wildlife conservation in India from a historical and statistical perspective(Part 4). This part also develops system feedback loop diagrams to determine possible10relationships between variables that are connected to conservation. The relationships are then assessed at the global level to understand the impact of economic growth on wildlife conservation and understand how it influences the endangered mammals and birds.