Pollution engulfed waterbodies, land and atmosphere as man, who once closely lived with the nature, moved away from nature and conflicted with animals, Collector K. Nanthakumar said.
Addressing the Wildlife Week celebration, organised by the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Marine National Park of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department here on Thursday, he said many of the raging pollution problems were the result of increased man-animal conflicts.
He said Sangam literature showed that the mankind lived closely with nature after dividing the landscapes into five – Kurunji, Mullai, Marutham, Neithal and Palai. They also had rich knowledge of nature and animals and the problem arose only when man moved away from nature, he said.
This has necessitated the authorities to enact Forest Protection Act and Wildlife Protection Act, he said and exhorted the students to protect nature and wildlife and preserve the natural resources.
Speaking on the occasion, GOMBRT Director T. S. Dangae called upon the students to develop a culture of compassion for nature. “We are facing all kinds of pollution problems because we are unkind to nature,” he said. The greed economy has overtaken the need economy and the sense of belonging has been lost, he regretted.
Deepak S. Belgi, Wildlife Warden of Gulf of Mannar National Marine National Park said the department organised Wildlife Week celebrations every year to create awareness among the students on the need to protect wildlife.
This year, more than 200 students from 25 schools participated in various competitions organised by the park and won prizes, he said. Winners of drawing, elocution and quiz competitions were awarded prizes and merit certificates.
District Forest Officer M. Pichai said the nature has given mankind in abundance but mankind has done very little to nature and wildlife. S. Sudha, Assistant Conservator of Forest (Training) asked the students to treat wildlife as ‘our property and protect them.’ Earlier, the organisers presented a short film on wildlife activity in Point Calimere.
