Jaipur: Development in the country needs to be redefined and should not be at the cost of the future generations, highlighted Prerna Singh Bindra, author of ‘The Vanishing: India’s Wildlife Crisis’ and ‘When I Grow Up, I Want To Be a Tiger‘. He was speaking at a session on vanishing Forests at JLF on Sunday.
Bindra wanted development to be based on available resources and called for an end to exploitation of nature immediately. Expressing her concern over diminishing resources, she said, “Currently, we are developing at the cost of next generation. Our children would starve in the future.”
During the session, participants opined that the bond between human species and others species on our planet has never been more fragile. There is an immediate need to remind children and adults of their essential nature and necessity to understand, conserve and protect the wilderness that nurtures and sustains our world.
She highlighted the fact that India has 60% of the world’s tiger population. However, the land that tiger occupies has declined subsequently. “We need to understand land and resources are saved in the forests because of tigers. Human beings need tigers for their survival. Tigers don’t need us,” she added.
Hema Maira, educator and conservationist, who shared the dais, said protected forests accounted for only a small part of the country. Maira, who is working to promote conservation among school children, said, “Nature connects with children. Each one of us are born wild and if we could acquaint our children with forests, they would conserve it for the future.”
Maria has co-authored a book, ‘Looking at the Tiger’, with some of her students. She has been visiting the forests of Ranthambhore with school kids and spreading the message of conservation for over a decade. Source : timesofindia