Eco situation in India is both terrifying and encouraging: Paul Rosolie

Interview with Wildlife enthusiast

He may be just 25 years old but in those years, Paul Rosolie has been to places and had experiences few of us might even at 50. A wildlife enthusiast, explorer and conservationist whose work has caught the attention of National Geographic and Discovery, Rosolie has been spending time in the Peruvian Amazon since he was 18, when he decided he wanted to get as far away from staid New Jersey as possible. He has, since, set up an ecotourism company, Tamandua Expeditions, that takes people to the Amazon, made a film that was awarded by the United Nations and written a book about his experiences and wildlife conservation titled Mother of God that will be out next year. In India for a few months, Rosolie talks to Indulekha Aravind about his efforts, the threats to the Amazon and conservation in India.

What are the threats that the Amazon is currently facing?
Contrary to what people may think, it's not logging or gold mining - the biggest threat to the Amazon today is beef production. Hundreds of miles of forests are being cut to make pastures for cows to graze on, which are then slaughtered for beef. Both the United States and Brazil are big consumers of beef, so there is a lot of demand for it. The production of soybean, which China is a big customer of, is another threat. So far, around 20 per cent of the Amazon has been destroyed for beef production.

Have you seen any changes that might be attributed to global warming?

Well, that might be answered by someone living in the Amazon who's now 80. The biggest change I have seen while I was there has been brought about by the completion of the Trans Amazon Highway that cuts right through the forest - it is the most environmentally and culturally destructive project that was ever implemented. The highway has caused an increase in logging, poaching and mining. Where there would have been 20 cars a day on the highway earlier, there are now over 800...

Tell us a a bit about the conservation work you do?

I work in the Madre de Dios (translated as Mother of God) region, and more specifically on the Las Piedras River. The lower Las Piedras region is not officially protected currently. My conservation efforts are mainly through the ecotourism expeditions that I lead, to spread awareness about a region that is incredibly diverse in flora and fauna and also home to the few remaining uncontacted tribes in the world. The ecotourism also helps local employment. My team and I also conduct research from our research station, and we work against poaching. I have also written a book that I hope will help the average person become aware and involved with our work. Our efforts are currently small-scale but I'm hoping to scale it up.

You've spent around seven years in the Peruvian Amazon. What was the most frightening moment?
I had been walking through the forests and I hadn't seen another human being for three days. I was tired and unsure of where I was headed. I tied my hammock between two trees and finally dozed off, only to be woken up to the sound of heavy breathing. There was a jaguar right next to my shoulder! Thankfully, it went away after smelling me.

What kind of conservation work are you hoping to get involved in here in India?
I've spent around five months now, researching tiger conservation in India. I know that people here might be sick of hearing about the subject but I still feel it's very important. The situation in India is both terrifying and encouraging - terrifying because of the size of India's population, which is a challenge to conservation - in Bandipur, for example, they've created a highway right through the forest. And encouraging because I feel people here do manage to co-exist with wildlife. The stakes are very high, but that just makes it all the more interesting.