Fundamental to a modern society, the essence of wildlife conservation relies in understanding and applying the principles of scientific wildlife management. A multidisciplinary subject, wildlife management encompasses scientific interpretation and logical reasoning. It involves various activities such as monitoring, protection, habitat restoration, and population control to maintain healthy ecosystems with blending of balancing basic human needs and requirements of wildlife. Wildlife conservation and management have recently gained prominence alongside persistent challenges like climate change, global warming, and health education. This has resulted in not only elevating wildlife as a scientific discipline but has also attracted students from all backgrounds who are eager to explore and understand its core principles, practices and benefits. Although wildlife management and conservation have roots in ancient and medieval times in India, it gained momentum during the British colonial era, which laid the foundation for scientific management practices for the conservation. Encouraged by these initial efforts, several national and international organizations emerged to conserve this invaluable natural resource. In the past, studies on wildlife management and conservation were limited, focusing primarily on population estimation, habitat management and natural history observations. However, in the mid-twentieth century, these studies evolved to include scientific appraisal and wildlife legislation, supporting the development and expansion of protected area networks. The vast areas of community reserves, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and conservation reserves collectively known as protected areas have experienced considerable progress since 1972. As of January 2023, the protected area network (PAN) spans an impressive area of the country’s 173,629.52 km2, representing approximately 5.28% total territorial area. This expansion demonstrates the continued commitment of legislative governments to conserving its diverse ecosystems and safeguarding the rich biodiversity found within them. Advanced technologies including radio telemetry, satellite technology, camera/CCTV trapping, and drones have emerged as effective alternatives for collecting data on wildlife populations and monitoring. Such Internet-based technologies present numerous benefits, including higher accuracy, reduced costs, and reduced disturbance to animals. As technology continues to evolve, it is expected more advanced and sophisticated techniques will be developed to improve our understanding of wildlife, its populations and their respective habitats. Furthermore, India’s liberalization policies and the advent of the new millennium opened doors to new avenues, especially in the IT sector, facilitating the access and exploration of the digital era in wildlife photography and filming. Today, climate change and the growing human demand on freshwater, marine, and terrestrial resources are intricately linked to the preservation and its management of important wildlife habitats and their biodiversity. It is projected that one-third of the expected baseline biodiversity will be approximately declined by 2050 through climate change. Deforestation and urbanization are two significant contributors to species extinction, with an alarming rate of 36 million acres of natural forest being destroyed globally each year, as per the latest data from organizations like the World Wide Fund for Nature also known as WWF. These human activities have pushed over 16,000 species to the edge of extinction. The interaction of humans with wildlife has become increasingly complex primarily due to human-assisted change in the environment. Wildlife management, as a permanent conservation policy, is essential to ensuring the long-term viability of wildlife resources. Different underlying values shape conservation policies, with ecological, economic, and cultural considerations playing key roles. Such ideals can sometimes lead to ethical dilemmas and disagreements, highlighting the complexity of wildlife management and the need for careful decision-making. Furthermore, it is critical to acknowledge the historical evidence of human reliance on animal resources for survival, emphasizing the interdependence of human and wildlife existence.

Wildlife Management

章节
发表日期：

2025年

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Khursheed Ahmad,
Amir Bhat

摘要

Fundamental to a modern society, the essence of wildlife conservation relies in understanding and applying the principles of scientific wildlife management. A multidisciplinary subject, wildlife management encompasses scientific interpretation and logical reasoning. It involves various activities such as monitoring, protection, habitat restoration, and population control to maintain healthy ecosystems with blending of balancing basic human needs and requirements of wildlife. Wildlife conservation and management have recently gained prominence alongside persistent challenges like climate change, global warming, and health education. This has resulted in not only elevating wildlife as a scientific discipline but has also attracted students from all backgrounds who are eager to explore and understand its core principles, practices and benefits. Although wildlife management and conservation have roots in ancient and medieval times in India, it gained momentum during the British colonial era, which laid the foundation for scientific management practices for the conservation. Encouraged by these initial efforts, several national and international organizations emerged to conserve this invaluable natural resource. In the past, studies on wildlife management and conservation were limited, focusing primarily on population estimation, habitat management and natural history observations. However, in the mid-twentieth century, these studies evolved to include scientific appraisal and wildlife legislation, supporting the development and expansion of protected area networks. The vast areas of community reserves, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and conservation reserves collectively known as protected areas have experienced considerable progress since 1972. As of January 2023, the protected area network (PAN) spans an impressive area of the country’s 173,629.52 km2, representing approximately 5.28% total territorial area. This expansion demonstrates the continued commitment of legislative governments to conserving its diverse ecosystems and safeguarding the rich biodiversity found within them. Advanced technologies including radio telemetry, satellite technology, camera/CCTV trapping, and drones have emerged as effective alternatives for collecting data on wildlife populations and monitoring. Such Internet-based technologies present numerous benefits, including higher accuracy, reduced costs, and reduced disturbance to animals. As technology continues to evolve, it is expected more advanced and sophisticated techniques will be developed to improve our understanding of wildlife, its populations and their respective habitats. Furthermore, India’s liberalization policies and the advent of the new millennium opened doors to new avenues, especially in the IT sector, facilitating the access and exploration of the digital era in wildlife photography and filming. Today, climate change and the growing human demand on freshwater, marine, and terrestrial resources are intricately linked to the preservation and its management of important wildlife habitats and their biodiversity. It is projected that one-third of the expected baseline biodiversity will be approximately declined by 2050 through climate change. Deforestation and urbanization are two significant contributors to species extinction, with an alarming rate of 36 million acres of natural forest being destroyed globally each year, as per the latest data from organizations like the World Wide Fund for Nature also known as WWF. These human activities have pushed over 16,000 species to the edge of extinction. The interaction of humans with wildlife has become increasingly complex primarily due to human-assisted change in the environment. Wildlife management, as a permanent conservation policy, is essential to ensuring the long-term viability of wildlife resources. Different underlying values shape conservation policies, with ecological, economic, and cultural considerations playing key roles. Such ideals can sometimes lead to ethical dilemmas and disagreements, highlighting the complexity of wildlife management and the need for careful decision-making. Furthermore, it is critical to acknowledge the historical evidence of human reliance on animal resources for survival, emphasizing the interdependence of human and wildlife existence.