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Going all out to save tigers

An official census of tigers in central India presents disconcerting evidence that the big cat may have suffered a serious population decline in reserves where it was thought to be abundant. Project Tiger says the animal has disappeared from 80 districts over the past century and a half. Fragmentation of habitat and poaching are cited as the leading causes. These reports underline the fact that the conservation framework for this charismatic species has failed to produce e ffective outcomes, although India still remains the world’s best chance to preserve the animal in the wild in good numbers. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s call for time-bound action yields a measure of hope. He has emphasised the value of science in conservation and the need to strengthen the integrity of tiger reserves by making them truly inviolate. One of the first actions necessary to ease pressure on tiger habitats is a plan to reduce human-animal conflict. The Prime Minister has designated this as a high priority task and has specifically called for time-bound relocation of 270 villages situated in the critical core areas of sanctuaries. Many research studies show that the coexistence of tigers and humans in a narrow spatial sense is a recipe for conflict: it tends to result in attacks on people, the loss of livestock, and the tit-for-tat elimination of tigers. The only sustainable answer is a humane resettlement scheme.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority has a long list of tasks but the protection of forests is paramount. Given the poor state of the forest protection machinery, the Authority has the vital responsibility of ensuring that the weak anti-poaching measures are replaced by a robust system. It is well recognised that the killing of prey animals such as deer and wild pig for meat deprives tigers of sustenance. This is compounded by direct poaching of the cat. Where prey populations flourish thanks to protection, as in Nagarahole, the tiger numbers have gone up. What the State Forest departments need is a strong field force equipped and mobile, as in Kaziranga, to deter armed-poachers. The Prime Minister’s suggestion to deploy physically fit local residents supervised by ex-servicemen must be acted on. Yet such a system can only supplement the work of professional forest guards. At another level, the future of conservation will depend on greater scientific understanding of natural processes. Project Tiger has just begun to recognise the peer-reviewed work of wildlife biologists outside the government system and promised to involve them in future efforts. India must spare no resource or effort to safeguard the future of this magnificent species without which the world will be a much poorer place.

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