Planet plight

“Our friendship with nature is one-sided affair. It should be reciprocal”,says Bhau Katdhare,nature activist and ornithologist,who participated in the discussion held at Patrakar Bhawan on Saturday on the topic — Enmdangered Spicies Conservation.

Other two guests,who participated in the discussion were Shekhar Dattatri and Kiran Purandare,both were the recipients of Vasundhara Mitra Sanman as well,along with Katdhare. Katdhare also discussed his association with turtles and the danger that looms large on the specie.

“Our sea-coasts are facing a dramatic dip in the number of turtles. We need to conserve the marine turtles in order to maintain the ocean ecosystem. Sahyadri Nisarg Mitra (SNM),an NGO that works towards sensitizing the masses about the environment,aims at protecting nature and ocean life through fieldwork,creating awareness about the conservation of marine turtles and the uplift of the local communities near the sea-coasts. Katdhare expressed his concern over the little response from the people in such activities.

Purandare,who had spent 400 days in the forests of Nagzira studying the nature and its inhabitants,points that ultimately all the nature related problems boils down to one thing that is people’s attitude towards nature. “People are already feeling the rub with scarcity of water during summers,” he adds.

A movie on tigers – The Truth about the Tigers – by Shekhar Datttri will be showcased today. The film will feature facts about man-made problems that are proving to be fatal for tigers. Addressing the gathering,Datttri,says,”Tigers are going to the extinct because of our wrong activities. Not only are humans’ activities proving fatal for the animal,but we are also sacrificing our ecosystem for the so-called growth. Preserving nature is not charity but our duty,which will,in turn,save our life. It’s the wildlife that saves us and not the other way round. Our forests give us the identity as a nation and not the swanky malls. Without environment,we cannot exist.”