Early days of HWP
We gather here today to mark a time in the history of the GHNP. A time that comes rarely when we look at the past and to the future of an institution that has come to symbolise the continuity of our natural heritage amid rapidly changing times of uncertainty; the looming threat of climate change, the shrinking of wilderness and its inhabitants and the growing impact of the relentless Human footprint. Particularly vulnerable are the fragile high mountains harbouring unique ecosystems and species. Rare apex predators like the snow leopard, Threatened and Endangered in their in shrinking habitats , are in line to probably the next to get onto the Extinction Chart! Unless we are able to bring in radical changes in the way we manage Protected Areas and the species they harbour. The GHNPCA is possibly one of the last intact sites in the NW Himalaya that can possibly be ‘bequeathed’ to the next or future generations of people who have come to value wildlife and wilderness as an irreplaceable planetary treasure. But much work over several decades by a range of enthusiasts and committed Wildlifers has brought GHNPCA to where it stands today. Many of these people have gathered here today, to witness and to bless this momentous occasion. On behalf of GHNP we will remain ever grateful to them. Among the many, there are a few who stand out like shining lights, never to be forgotten, whenever and wherever the history of GHNP is remembered. The first and foremost being sh. Sanjeeva Pandey. A name that has become synonymous with wildlife in general and GHNP in particular. We are indeed fortunate and blessed to have him here with us today. If you ask foresters randomly what name comes to their mind when wildlife or GHNP are mentioned? It is almost certainly to be “Pandey sahib”! I remember those early days when Sanjeeva was searching for a suitable site that satisfied his many ‘criteria’ necessary for long term investment in a ‘Mecca’ of wilderness and wildlife in the Western Himalaya. I think that Time has confirmed that we were unlikely to have a better deal than the present site, given the various pulls and pressures of a development paradigm that nearly always insists on ‘doing away with Nature’. In retrospect the GHNPCA is lucky to have survived the many demands for Roads and related destruction of the idea of ‘pristine’ habitat. Another stroke of fortune presented itself in the persona of Payson R Stevens and his wife Kamala Kapur, both of whom sought and received spiritual rewards in exploring deeply the idea of Nature. Like Sanjeeva, Payson too talked the Walk. Their joint trekking, covering over a thousand kilometres into every nook and cranny of the area finally confirmed the selection of GHNPCA as the site of a new National Park. Today, we are blessed to have a unique wilderness with us and a huge responsibility to ensure its continuity intact for generations to come. We are hopeful that the HP Forest Department and its wildlife wing drawing upon the extensive goodwill of its many supporters and dedication of lifelong friends, will inspire the coming generations to ensure that the wilderness of the Western Himalaya encapsulated in the GHNPCA is passed on sacredly, like blessed heritage, into the future.
