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CSE recommendations to the Government

Produce a white paper on the status of wildlife in the country, which also evaluates the current conservation policies and their effectiveness.

Reassess the Wildlife Act, and bring in appropriate modifications which would allow people to be involved in the management of protected areas, as well as create flexibility to experiment with innovative institutional mechanisms.

Reformulate the committees that deal with wildlife management. The current constitution of committees, like the Indian Board for Wildlife, the State Wildlife Boards, and the Steering Committee for the Project Tiger, are dominated by elite conservationists and foresters, with virtually no representation of people who are directly affected by the wildlife policies. The scope of these commiitees should be broadened from merely serving as a clearinghouse of policies, to that of think tanks, more oopen and sympthetic to the grassroots concerns, and with broader constituencies.

Create scope for experimentation in the development of institutional alternatives to manage protected areas, which are built on people's management and control.

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