| MUMBAI: Sanctuary Asia, India's flagship environmental and wildlife conservation organisation, and Save the Tiger, the Facebook tiger conservation social media platform, with 2.7 million supporters, have come together to launch an education, awareness-building, and activist campaign to save India's iconic national animal, the tiger.
The campaign's name -Leave me alone- arises from the scientific reality that if the tiger is provided with sufficient space, isolation from human activity, and protection from poaching and habitat destruction, it will thrive. The campaign asks for people across India and the world to amplify the tiger's request to leave it alone. Bittu Sahgal, founder of Sanctuary Asia, said in a press release, "Over the past five decades thousands of tiger experts have opined on what we need to do to save the tiger, but the one expert opinion we seem not to have taken is that of the tiger itself. The tiger is saying to us, 'Leave me alone'." Raj Krishnani, creator of Save the Tiger Facebook page, said in the release, "The tiger is our national animal, our pride. We must not lose it to poaching and habitat loss. When the people of a nation realise the importance of a problem, they roar together. That is what I am doing, in partnership with Sanctuary Asia, in echoing the tiger's call to 'Leave me alone'. We can and we will save the tiger." Actor Dia Mirza and Sahil Sangha , Director and Producer of Born Free Entertainment said in the release, "The tiger represents all that is powerful and good about India. It is a metaphor for our entire natural heritage and it has the power to unite us behind the survival task of resurrecting the many natural ecosystems that have been unthinkingly damaged in the process of chasing economic ambitions. We urge each individual to join the 'Leave me alone' campaign and make a difference." Praveen Pardeshi, Principal Secretary Forests, Government of Maharashtra, said in the release, "The tiger is a major priority for Maharashtra and we are working to give it still more space, isolation and protection. We are also equipping and training our foot soldiers whose mandate is zero-tolerance towards poachers and total support for communities living next to our tiger forests." Elements of the campaign On-The-Ground Events: The campaign includes numerous on-the-ground events, organised by Kids for Tigers and by other supporting individuals and several organisations. The Maharashtra Forest Department and other state forest departments are also going to organise local 'Leave me alone' events at tiger reserves. The campaign will further work with and spotlight the critical role being played by the tiger's 'foot-soldiers': forest guards, rangers and officers whose lives are on the line daily in defence of wild India. Tiger Defenders: Sanctuary Asia has honed in on 10 mud-on-their-boots individuals/organisations across India who are working quietly to give the tiger what it needs: space, isolation and protection. We intend to be the wind under their wings in a sustained way over the coming years. We are going out to the public to seek their involvement in supporting such tiger defenders through the 'Leave me alone' campaign, which we expect will be the first crowd-funded/supported Save the Tiger initiative of its kind in India. These 'Magnificent Ten' Tiger Defenders are on the frontlines of India's tiger protection efforts, working with local communities and forest departments, often filling voids left by the inability of the government to finance, or support critical actions necessary for the tiger's survival. For information about each Tiger Defender, please go to the 'Leave me alone' page of Sanctuary's website: www.sanctuaryasia.com. Copyright © 2013 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.  via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEMKZo3fDoQxPBjjB7IxMvN4fbeZQ&url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/flora-fauna/leave-me-alone-campaign-launched-to-save-tiger/articleshow/21467126.cms | |||
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