The Vanishing: India’s Wildlife Crisis

The sole point of understanding a problem is the motivation to solve it. This book keeps going on and on about plight of animals and wildlife problems/mishandling in India.. without suggesting rock solid solutions. I already know things aren't good, but what's the point of reading the text if I don't get to understand solutions, or atleast the way to solutions, or part solutions, or half cooked solutions, or maybe just ideas that can lead to solutions.

The book in one word, brilliant! Being a former member of the government’s inner circle on environmental decision making, the author has a first row view of the destruction caused to our forests by adhoc and insane governmental policies. Everybody knows the future of our environment is bleak in India, but reading this book might just give you the chills.A personal experience is the road widening right in the middle of the Karnala Bird Sanctuary outside Mumbai which I have myself experienced over the years. That widening has and will kill the endemic flaura and fauna in the heart of the forest, but will the government care about it? That’s an open question with a very obvious answer.Similarly the author has given innumerous personal experiences of wildlife & forest destruction all over the country. It’s a heart-rendering book. A reminder for us to save the last vestiges of the natural world.

A brilliant commentary on the state of our wildlife and protected areas, but disturbing. The development onslaught is destroying many of our pristine areas, threatening the last refuges of wild creatures like the flamingo on the wet coast and the Oliver Ridley nesting sites on the east coast, not to speak of the central Indian tiger forests (Kipling country). Mining and other development projects are also assailing the tribal communities, who were hitherto protected to some extent by their very remoteness.The invidious effect of linear intrusions like roads and now the massive project of inter-linking of rivers is also described. It appears that the Indian wildlife and natural habitats are doomed. Perhaps the ruling classes will reconsider their approach only if some appeal could be made to their sense of pride in our unique natural formations; the sense of pride in Gujerat's lions must be extended to its flamingoes and wild asses! All kudos to the author, who has grown from book to book into one of our leading wildlife advocates.

Prerna, an IIMA Alumnus who gave up a cushy corporate career to stand for the wild, treads a fine balance between emotion and practice in this brilliant piece of work - an almost impossible ask from a conservationist who's seen species Vanishing from close quarters. Best part, this book isn't about climate change boo boo, or an insinuation of human actions. It's about the age old and lovely co-existence of humans and animals on this beautiful planet, and how each supports the others' survival, and our need to ensure this balance.This book is hope, not just for the Vanishing and awe inspiring wild, but also for us humans who might cause irreversible loss to our own ecosystems, and our beautiful home called earth.Recommended reading for all, and for those who've never seen an animal in the wild - this is your entry ticket to the enigma of the wild.

The book brings to fore the deliberately inept and inadequate working of MoEF&CC, India. It detials the near extinction and conservation actions around at least 5 animals - tiger, snow leopard, gharial, Olive Ridley Turtle, & Great Indian Bustard. It highlights how the nature is receding from our sourroundings and we are growing deaf to the natural aural environment. The last chapter speaks of the shortcoming of measuring progress in terms of GDP and the displacement that development brings making the point that India cannot let itself follow the path of growth followed by First world countries and China. While not being a leftist rant on unbridled capitalism led consumption based lifestyle, the book is very informative about the biodiversity India is bestowed with and how in nooks and corners poor people are involved in conservation activities often locking horns with the State, corporate sector, own community and family!