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Page:Pitting People Against Nature - Madhav Gadgil.pdf/48

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bidding lowest and then pays based on a transparent system of verification.

Scandinavian countries adopt a truly rational approach towards wildlife protection, asserting that hunting is a wise, long-term utilization of renewable natural resources. These countries are globally at the top in both their Environmental Performance and Happiness indices; at the same time the freezers in the houses of many Scandinavians are full of meat of moose, reindeer, even foxes. The Swedish laws include the following provisions: 1} No one owns living wildlife, but landowners have the right to hunt on their land and can also lease access to other hunters. 2} Game meat is a commercial commodity that can be sold on the open market and is considered an important part of the culture. 3} Decision-making is decentralized through empowerment of local stakeholders. 4) Management of species such as moose has been gradually decentralized to allow more precise management in accordance with local management goals. Landowners are given responsibility to manage game populations on their land within a sound regulatory framework designed to incorporate data collected primarily by hunters. 5) Wildlife should only be killed for legitimate reasons including recreation and harvesting meat for the table. Wildlife can be legally killed in self-defence or defence of property.

It isnotable that regulated hunting goes on even inside Sweden’s National Park, the East Vattern Scarp Landscape Biosphere Reserve. Its rugged landscape, cut by many small waterways, is dominated by agriculture

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