Young Leaders Programme: Gir project, India
Executives from Hong Kong and India are to work with villagers living on the fringes of a forest reserve that is the only home of lions outside Africa to devise a plan that benefits both man and beast.

Thirsty work: lions enjoy a cooling drink at a Gir Sanctuary watering hole

The Young Leaders are travelling to Gir Sanctuary and National Park in north-western India – the last home of the Asiatic lion – as part of the second Young Leaders Programme (YLP).

The YLP is designed and run by the Global Institute For Tomorrow, a private, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to advancing understanding of the challenges of globalisation in Asia.

A list of corporations with international reputations are supporting the Gir YLP project by sending participants: metro builder and operator the MTR Corporation, Hongkong Electric Company, global safety and services company TUV Rheinland, mining company VS Dempo, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

Regional broadcaster Star TV is to film the project. A group of some of the University of Hong Kong’s and the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s brightest are also taking part.

The complex interplay of issues within Gir park – from human-wildlife habitat conflict and rural poverty to finding positive and sustainable ways to develop – are essential to the “life-changing experience” that is at the heart of the YLP concept. They will see for themselves how global decisions made in one part of the world have real and significant effects in others and at a very local scale.

The Gir project was carefully selected because of its strong link with the varied impacts of development and the opportunity for business through globalisation aspects like eco-tourism to make a positive socio-economic change. It is the second of a two-module format. Module 1 is a rigorous academic MBA-style component in which participants learn and discuss the theories of corporate governance, socio-economic and political transformations, business ethics, sustainability principles, diversity issues and social responsibility.

At Gir, the Young Leaders are to work Dr Satya Sinha, the respected expert on Indian wildlife and nature, local trackers, business operators and communities within the 1400-square-kilometre Gir Forest. They will learn about locals’ values, customs, needs and their concerns about wanting to become more self-sufficient and prosperous. At the same time they must recognise the importance of ecological balance and conservation.

Gir is the last abode of lions outside Africa. With areas designated as sanctuary, national park, and buffer zone, Gir has become a stable ecosystem with tremendous regenerating power, and wildlife population is increasing rapidly.

At close quarters: a tracker traces a lion's paw print on a morning trek at Gir

However, a large human population in and around the periphery of Gir’s forests in close proximity to the wildlife has created conflict: cattle predation, crop damage, loss of property, and even human casualties among at least two communities – the Maldharis and the Siddhis. Humans are also dramatically changing how the land is used, affecting the natural habitat.

Young Leaders are expected to work with communities and Dr Sinha to draft a business plan outlining how they can set up and implement a sustainable eco-tourism strategy to address the human-wildlife conflict and development needs.

Gir is the second YLP project. The first was run successfully last year at Haitang rural village in Yunnan province in western China.