From Poacher to Protector

In my previous post, I've talked about engaging the communities that are nearest to the wildlife as part of wildlife conservation efforts. Today, I'll be sharing a success story, about how poacher turned himself in, and converted from a poacher into a protector.

Basumatary says he has remained most proud of his work in rehabilitating two clouded leopards. Photo credit: IFAW-WTI

"For over five years, 33-year-old Maheshwar Basumatary, a member of the indigenous Bodo community, made a living by killing wild animals in the protected forests of the Manas National Park, a tiger reserve, elephant sanctuary and UNESCO World Heritage Site that lies on the India-Bhutan border. Then one morning in 2005, Basumatary walked into a police check-post and surrendered his gun. Since then, the young man has been spending his time taking care of abandoned and orphaned rhino and leopard cubs."

In my opinion, this has got to be one of the best solutions for wildlife conservation. There is very little meaning in telling people what to do if they do not have any other alternatives. For instance, there is very little point in telling poor hunters that they should stop poaching because the animals that they are poaching are endangered. Why should they stop? It does not matter to the poachers whether or not the animals are endangered, but rather, what matter to them is whether they will be able to provide food for their family for the next day. 

Hence, it is very important to provide viable alternatives for these hunters. Currently, there are several "Poachers-to-Protectors" programmes, where they recruit and train ex-poachers to be park rangers, providing these ex-poachers with regular and dependable income. Besides converting poachers to rangers, alternative livelihood could be provided to these poachers, such as sustainable farming or beekeeping. 

"Engaging locals like Basumatary into wildlife protection and conservation is an effective way to curb wildlife crimes such as poaching, smuggling and the illegal sale of animal parts, according to Maheshwar Dhakal, an ecologist with Nepal's ministry of environment and soil conservation." 

Botswana Defence Force members march with school children in the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos

Locals stand to gain the most from wildlife conservation, since they are the ones that are directly dependent on their environment for their livelihood. Hence, for wildlife conservation to succeed, it is essential that we have the support of the locals. 




References

allAfrica.com, (2014). Africa: Curbing the Illegal Wildlife Trade Crucial to Preserving Biodiversity. [online] Available at: http://allafrica.com/stories/201410132924.html [Accessed 2 Nov. 2014].

Wcs.org, (2014). Zambia: Poachers-turned-Protectors – Wildlife Conservation Society - Wildlife Conservation Society. [online] Available at: http://www.wcs.org/conservation-challenges/local-livelihoods/community-based-conservation/poachers-turned-protectors-in-zambia.aspx [Accessed 2 Nov. 2014].