Tiger conservation in India is going through a time of crisis. As estimations of actual numbers are on a decline, conservationists are concerned that -- and unless -- efforts for protection are substantially stepped up, this decline will lead to criticality.
The predicament of continuous reduction of tiger habitat and fragmentation due to development projects, human habitation on forest land and encroachments, rail lines, roads, canals, is gaining momentum without sufficient care for the environment. This is leading to increased human-wildlife conflicts, the isolation of tiger population and their prey base. Organized poaching for illegal trade to cater to international markets continues to be reported. Coupled with this, the enforcing and executing agencies face a constant lack of support and infrastructure; lack of staffing and management capacity. Clearly, these shortfalls only reflect the dearth of political commitment to the cause of tiger conservation.
“The overall situation evaluation puts the tigers in a classic `tipping point', from which emergence will be impossible unless our government and institutional efforts are enhanced substantially, to deliver at a much higher level. If a change in the implementation of tiger conservation and a target driven policy is not adopted, India will be bidding farewell to a leader amongst Indian species and all the good that it carries.” says Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, WWF-India.
The Way Ahead
• The enforcement need to be strengthened by operationalising the Wildlife Crime Bureau on a priority basis.
• State governments need to be supported to strengthen their enforcement machinery, with a special grant on the lines of the Police Modernization Programmes for insurgency & other civil unrest affected areas.
• The efforts should be concentrated towards enhancing source tiger population, especially in areas outside the protected ones (National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries) - the WII tiger estimation study is indicative that the major decline of tigers are from areas which lie outside these protected areas.
• There is an urgent need to connect habitats to allow dispersal of tigers and other wildlife, which can be particularly helpful in repopulating habitats where the population has gone down. The existing habitats of tigers should be protected at a much higher scale than what exists today.
• A study by the WII has revealed that during the past 80 to 150 years, 26% of the tiger area has been lost in 80 districts within the country. During this period, the human population has increased from 2384 million to 10274 million. (National Tiger Conservation Authority). These figures should be taken to be the wake up call if the tigers are to be conserved in the wild.
• There needs to be a dialogue with China on a continuous basis on the issue of tiger trade, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to oppose any rethink on their domestic ban on tiger derivatives and their parts.
• Like in the initial days of Project Tiger, officers and personnel with both, a vision and passion, who can look beyond the routine, and take on the challenge of conserving India's wild tigers as a mission, should be handpicked to lead the conservation efforts on the ground.
• A strong and visible leadership on the tiger issue is the need of the hour, so that a clear message is sent within and outside the country: that the conservation of our National Animal is not negotiable, and will not be allowed to languish for lack of will or support.
• There is a need for awareness generation among the masses, not just why tigers should be conserved, but also how individual citizens can make a difference.
• Non government organizations need to focus their approach on communities that reside in or around tiger habitats, and on communities that engage in poaching/trapping/hunting of wild animals. Communities understand the value that is associated with the area, due to the presence of tigers, and therefore they should be further involved in conservation measures.
• AND FINALLY, a clear time frame for all of this is needed, so that the nation is aware of the progress on these counts.
For further information:
Anshuman Atroley, Communications Manager, WWF-India
T: +91 11 4150 4797, 98101 69262, e-mail: aatroley@wwfindia.net
The predicament of continuous reduction of tiger habitat and fragmentation due to development projects, human habitation on forest land and encroachments, rail lines, roads, canals, is gaining momentum without sufficient care for the environment. This is leading to increased human-wildlife conflicts, the isolation of tiger population and their prey base. Organized poaching for illegal trade to cater to international markets continues to be reported. Coupled with this, the enforcing and executing agencies face a constant lack of support and infrastructure; lack of staffing and management capacity. Clearly, these shortfalls only reflect the dearth of political commitment to the cause of tiger conservation.
“The overall situation evaluation puts the tigers in a classic `tipping point', from which emergence will be impossible unless our government and institutional efforts are enhanced substantially, to deliver at a much higher level. If a change in the implementation of tiger conservation and a target driven policy is not adopted, India will be bidding farewell to a leader amongst Indian species and all the good that it carries.” says Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, WWF-India.
The Way Ahead
• The enforcement need to be strengthened by operationalising the Wildlife Crime Bureau on a priority basis.
• State governments need to be supported to strengthen their enforcement machinery, with a special grant on the lines of the Police Modernization Programmes for insurgency & other civil unrest affected areas.
• The efforts should be concentrated towards enhancing source tiger population, especially in areas outside the protected ones (National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries) - the WII tiger estimation study is indicative that the major decline of tigers are from areas which lie outside these protected areas.
• There is an urgent need to connect habitats to allow dispersal of tigers and other wildlife, which can be particularly helpful in repopulating habitats where the population has gone down. The existing habitats of tigers should be protected at a much higher scale than what exists today.
• A study by the WII has revealed that during the past 80 to 150 years, 26% of the tiger area has been lost in 80 districts within the country. During this period, the human population has increased from 2384 million to 10274 million. (National Tiger Conservation Authority). These figures should be taken to be the wake up call if the tigers are to be conserved in the wild.
• There needs to be a dialogue with China on a continuous basis on the issue of tiger trade, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to oppose any rethink on their domestic ban on tiger derivatives and their parts.
• Like in the initial days of Project Tiger, officers and personnel with both, a vision and passion, who can look beyond the routine, and take on the challenge of conserving India's wild tigers as a mission, should be handpicked to lead the conservation efforts on the ground.
• A strong and visible leadership on the tiger issue is the need of the hour, so that a clear message is sent within and outside the country: that the conservation of our National Animal is not negotiable, and will not be allowed to languish for lack of will or support.
• There is a need for awareness generation among the masses, not just why tigers should be conserved, but also how individual citizens can make a difference.
• Non government organizations need to focus their approach on communities that reside in or around tiger habitats, and on communities that engage in poaching/trapping/hunting of wild animals. Communities understand the value that is associated with the area, due to the presence of tigers, and therefore they should be further involved in conservation measures.
• AND FINALLY, a clear time frame for all of this is needed, so that the nation is aware of the progress on these counts.
For further information:
Anshuman Atroley, Communications Manager, WWF-India
T: +91 11 4150 4797, 98101 69262, e-mail: aatroley@wwfindia.net
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