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Experts suggest steps for protection of tiger habitats

BHUBANESWAR: The experts, who participated in a national symposium on ‘Conservation of Wild Tigers in Orissa’ have said that there was a need for better co-ordination among various government agencies for protection and development of tiger habitats as well as communities in and around Simlipal Tiger Reserve.

The symposium that was organised by Wild Orissa, a voluntary organisation working for conservation of nature and wildlife, suggested that relocation of remaining villages in the core area of the Tiger Reserve should be completed within a time frame along with livelihood programmes for relocated families.

The forces of Central Reserve Police Force/Central Industrial Security Force with concurrence of Central government should be immediately deployed for effective conservation measures and results, the symposium recommended.

Voluntary relocation of villages, with financial support from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, should be undertaken with involvement of the communities, non-governmental organisations, anthropologists, sociologists and related government departments with a nodal monitoring agency for this in place.

Stating that a number of rich forest areas were waiting declaration as reserve forests in the three former undivided districts of Ganjam, Phulbani and Koraput, the symposium recommended expeditious completion of the process to make them reserved forest as they were rich and potential tiger habitats.

The contiguous forests of Baliguda, Kotgarh-Subarnagiri, Ghumsar, Boudh having a presence of 20 tigers, should be taken into consideration while formulating plans for any developmental activity in the region affecting forestland.

Referring to the large number of vacancies among the field staff in the Forest Department, the symposium suggested that these vacancies should not be frozen but immediately filled up.

Well-conceived eco-development programmes should be taken up in villages around protected areas for economic growth of the people hitherto dependent on the forests and enlist their support for conservation efforts. The present and potent tiger habitats should be clearly delineated in every division and there should be no diversion of forestland from the said forest areas under the Forest Conservation Act 1980.

The symposium underlined the need for establishment of a forensic laboratory in the State for wildlife crimes.

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