Protect The Indian Forests

To,
Dr Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
Prime Ministers Office
South Block, Raisina Hill
New Delhi 110 001
India

We, the citizens of the secular, democratic, republic of India ask the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Indian Government and all political parties to take effective measures with immediate urgency to protect our forests.
India is the 7th largest country in the world with a total forest cover of ~20.64\%. Yet each day, we read reports of tigers being poached for their skin, tigers being killed for straying into human settlements, leopards killed for straying into human habitats and for their skins, elephant deaths are shocking and rampant, birds are losing their habitat due to illegal logging and the home of the only Asiaitic lion is rapidly shrinking due to encroachment.

Rampant corruption, lack of motivation among forest officials, poorly equipped forest guards, lack of coordination between scientific research agencies and the government, ineffective steps taken to protect forest land from encroachment are only few of the reasons leading to loss of forest cover and hence loss of animal habitat, their straying into human habitats, and eventually will lead to their extinction.

We ask the Indian Government to
- please equip forest guards with arms and to train them in collaboration with the Indian army to combat poachers and set up a strong force to protect the borders of forests . Or to make the forest guards a part of the Indian army so that our forests are better protected from illegal logging and poaching.
- To stop encroachment of forest land by farmers and grazers at any cost.
- To rehabilitate those tribals who have sufficient knowledge and contact of the outside world, and to allow only residence in forests of those tribals who sincerely protect our forests and do not excessively utilise NTFPs for their market.
- To prevent tourists, school children from school trips, and college youth from college trips from climbing upto waterfalls (as these serve as major watering holes for tigers), and disturb the tranquility of animals.
- To make it illegal and a punishable offence to play loud music from vehicles on routes that lead through forests.
- To make prevention against cruelty to all animals and birds whether from forests or not as a compulsory subject in all schools.
- To make children and youth in colleges, people in cities and villages sensitive towards animals and birds through educational programmes.
- To make littering of plastic and food waste near forest areas, waterfalls a punishable offence by the visiting party.
- To prohibit the consumption of food near forest and ecologically sensitive areas.

A democracy is of the people, by the people and for the people. And we are asking the government to listen to the democracy.
Protect Our Forests
Protect Our Heritage
Protect Our Future.