Subject: HISTORIC TIGER APPEAL IN INDIA
On behalf of TIGER LINK, we are delighted to pass on the following news:
SAVING THE TIGER - 320 M.P.s SIGN APPEAL
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of India's independence, an historic move
was made when 320 Members of Parliament signed an urgent TIGER APPEAL
addressed to the Prime Minister of India, stating:
"The tiger is the greatest symbol of natural heritage, not just
in India but in the World.
We urgently appeal to you to initiate new and immediate reforms in
the mechanisms of administration, funding and enforcement in order
that the tiger and its habitat can be saved across the length and
breadth of the country.
Prime Minister, the future of the tiger lies in your hands. Its
extinction will herald a downward spiral of ecological decay which
can only escalate the misery of millions. There is not a moment
to lose. We ask you to please demonstrate your concern and take
action now."
In the monsoon session of Parliament on the 29th and 30th of July, cutting
across party lines this unanimous appeal to SAVE THE TIGER appears the first
of its kind anywhere in the world by elected representatives of a country to
save a species and the entire ecological system in which it lives. The
analysis shows that 222 members of the Lok Sabha and 98 members of the Rajya
Sabha signed the appeal. They represent more than 22 political parties and
other independents from more than 24 State and Union Territories of India.
The Members of Parliament include 95 of the Congress (I) party, 75 of the
B.J.P. and 23 of the Janata Dal. Two former Prime Ministers, Shri Chandra
Shekhar and Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee and 13 leaders of their parliamentary
parties in both houses of Parliament signed the appeal. The signatories
include 50 M.P.s from Uttar Pradesh, 29 from Madhya Pradesh, 24 from Bihar,
31 from Maharashtra, 18 from West Bengal, 17 from Andhra Pradesh, 15 from
Orissa, 12 from Karnataka, and so on.
Never before have so many elected representatives of any country,
representing several hundred million people, signed such an appeal. For the
tiger it is a new moment where political will has finally been shown in the
ongoing effort to secure its future.
======================================================================
Belinda Wright, Executive Director
WILDLIFE PROTECTION SOCIETY OF INDIA
Thapar House, 124 Janpath, New Delhi 110001, India
Email: blue@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in
wpsi.wildlife@gems.vsnl.net.in
INDIA'S LEGISLATORS ASK TO SAVE THE TIGER
320 M.P's SIGN AN APPEAL TO THE PRIME MINISTER
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of India's independence, history
was made in India when 320 Members of Parliament signed an urgent TIGER
APPEAL addressed to the Prime Minister of India. It read as follows:
"The Tiger is the greatest symbol of natural heritage, not just in India
but in the World.
We urgently appeal to you to initiate new and immediate reforms in the
mechanisms of administration, funding and enforcement in order that the
tiger and its habitat can be saved across the length and breadth of the
country.
Prime Minister, the future of the tiger lies in your hands. Its
extinction will herald a downward spiral of ecological decay, which can
only escalate the misery of millions. There is not a moment to lose. We
ask you to please demonstrate your concern and take action now."
The appeal was communicated in the course of the Monsoon session of
Indian Parliament, which took place on July 29-30, 1997. Several
Legislators who did not attend the session are likely to add their names
to the appeal, thus raising the total number considerably.
What is very significant about this appeal is the fact that in an age of
coalition politics, when in-fighting is taking place even within
parties, this appeal has managed to cut across all party lines to
achieve a kind of unanimity which is unprecedented in recent years.
Moreover, the appeal to 'SAVE THE TIGER' could well be the first of its
kind anywhere in the world by elected representatives of country who
have come together to save not only the species, but its entire
ecosystem. India badly requires issues such as this to unite around.
An analysis reveals that a total of 222 members of the Lok Sabha and 98
members of the Rajya Sabha signed the appeal. These individuals
represented more than 22 political parties, plus nominated and other
independents from 24 states and Union Territories of India.
The break up of the Members of Parliament who signed the statement is as
follows:
Congress (I) -- 95 MPs
B.J.P -- 75 MPs
Janta Dal -- 23 MPs.
Other parties whose MP's signed the appeal include the C.P.I., C.P.M.,
R.S.P., S.A.P., T.D.P., D.M.K., Samajwadi, Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv
Sena, B.S.P., A.I.D.M.K., T.M.C., National Conference, H.V.P., A.I.F.B.,
and others.
Significantly, the signatories include two former Prime Ministers (Shri
Chandrashekar and Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee) and 13 leaders of
parliamentary parties in both the houses of Parliamentincluding Sharad
Pawar, Nitish Kumar, George Fernandes, Kanshi Ram, Chitta Basu, Surjit
Singh Barnala, M.Jagannath, Sikander Bakht, S.B.Chavan, Jayanta Roy,
Satish Pradhan.
Though the analysis of signatures is yet to be fully completed the
state-wise break up of signatories that has emerged is as follows:
Uttar Pradesh -- 50 MPs
Madhya Pradesh -- 29 MPs
Bihar -- 24 MPs
Maharashtra -- 31 MPs
West Bengal -- 18 MPs
Andhra Pradesh -- 17 MPs
Orissa -- 15 MPs
Karnataka -- 12 MPs
Perhaps over 400 million people are represented by the individuals who
signed this appeal. One reason for the recent decline in the fortunes
of the tiger -- to the point where it faces almost certain extinction --
was a lack of polical support to save the animal and its forest home.
Could this be the first step towards a recovery?
For further details contact:
Bittu Sahgal
Tiger Link,
Western Region Coordination Office
602, Maker Chambers V,
Nariman Point,
Mumbai 400 021
Fax: 022-2874380
email: Will TIGER LINK and/or other organizations be formulating a plan to
> build upon this (MPs "Save the Tiger" signature drive) success and to > formally monitor progress?
> Vivek
================================
Yes, there is a game plan and everyone on this link can play a part.
Essentially, we seek to restore "political support" or at least the aura
of political support for the protection of ecosystems, using tigers,
Bengal Floricans, Great Indian Bustards or what have you as symbols.
Fortunately, we have received a positive response from the Prime
Minister's Office and we intend to strengthen his hand to take the few
initiatives we would like to see on board... for instance a "no
development zone" comprising six percent of India's land mass in and
around our PA Network.
What we need very desperately is for more than "the usual suspects" to
be heard constantly in the Ministry of Environment, the press and in the
corridors of power where the begging, pleading and threatening goes on
in defence of wild India.
Tiger Link "nodes" and members are going to work concertedly over the
next few weeks to build a sort of cresendo of "tiger support" which
should make an impact during National Wildlife Week -- the first week of
October. But we want the various initiatives to be decentralised. And
they should obviously emanate out of the existing agendas of different
groups, organisations and individuals both in India and overseas. The
tiger is, afterall, probably capable of getting all kinds of Presidents
and Prime Ministers to send in appeals to the Indian Prime Minister...
provided someone campaigns effectively.
Joanna Van Gruisen, Valmik Thapar and Paola Manfredi will collate
monitor and collate all the various initiatives out of the Tiger Link
Delhi Office and will communicate this through the Tiger Link network
which has been set up over the past two years. To make their task
easier, we will all try and present information to them in as organised
a fashion as possible.
Kids will be signing petitions (Jenny Osgood will be travelling to India
with the 7,000 signatures she collected... one for every living tiger),
NGOs will be stepping up their campaigns, friends in the press are being
persuaded to ensure that their newspapers highlight both the tiger
crisis and glimmers of hope.
The truth is that each one of us must act within the limits of our own
interests, time and talent. If you are a poet... use poetry. If you
are an accountant... use that talent in the way you know best. But let
us all try and collectively place pressure on a venal and apathetic
system to recognise that destroying millions of years of evolution is a
sign of advanced cretinism... not development. Our collective timing is
crucial. Letter writing campaigns, press reports, pressure...
everything should lead up to the first week of October.
Bittu Sahgal,
Tiger Link,
Western Region Coordination Office
602, Maker Chambers V,
Nariman Point,
Mumbai 400 021
Fax: 022-2874380
email: