OCT 2017 | |
Editorial ![]() |
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Editorial | |
This month, our cover story highlights that unprecedented hunting or poaching in tropical forests is fast depleting the population of wild animals and birds across the world. Hunting is the single greatest threat to the persistence of our planet's larger mammals and birds as hunting not only directly affects harvested wildlife but also reshapes entire ecosystems and, in some cases, human societies. Our cover story discusses that hunting and/or poaching is carried out for various reasons of which the primary ones are hunting for wild meat, as a sport, and for the commercial trade of wild meat and other priced possessions, such as tusks of elephants and horns of rhinocerous. Hunting is a serious concern and its occurrence in various parts of India has become quite common. Hunting for body parts of wild animals is one of the causes for the drastic decline in the population numbers of these animals. But apart from the lure of big money, the animals and birds are also hunted for their meat. Hunting and consumption of wild meat is also known to transfer diseases, such as Ebola virus to humans and in turn putting the entire race at a risk of contracting deadly diseases. The special report this month highlights that sustainable fisheries in the developing world have taken a significant step forward with the certification of India's first clam fishery in the Ashtamudi estuary in Kerala. The certification is a landmark in Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification in India. An ecolabel for any fishery is the recognition and reward for managing fisheries, in a sustainable manner, ultimately leading to monetary and ecological benefits to fishers. Eco-labelling provides marketbased incentives to improve sustainable fishing practices. Eco-labels can reassure consumers about the sustainability of fishing, allowing them to make informed purchase decisions. The plan being that environmentally conscious consumers will shift their demand towards eco-labelled fish which, in turn, generates a price premium over nonlabelled fish. In this way, producers are rewarded for fishing in a sustainable way. Ajay Mathur, Director-General, TERI |