DALTONGANJ : In the Palamu Tiger
Reserve (PTR) , the number of
elephants has increased 10 times
since 1974 whereas the number of
tigers has gone down.
In 1974, when the PTR was set up
here , there were as many as 32
elephants and 22 tigers . With the
passage of time , the number of
elephants went up to as many as 225
while tiger count came down to six
only .
Wildlife experts opine that the tigers
are more exposed to poisoning and
poaching than elephants . Field
director (Project Tiger ) P Updahaya
recently said that there were still
many zones in the PTR where the
tigers have not been counted and
there could be a possibility of finding
more tigers in the reserve .
However , according to the steering
committee member of Project
Elephant , D S Srivastava, "PTR is now
more or less home to elephants
without tusks basically female though
some male elephants also do not
have tusks .
Elephants in PTR are also exposed to
life hazards like train tracks, over -
head high -tension electric wires .
However , contrary to popular belief ,
elephants of the reserve never move
out and go on rampage in Garhwa
and other neighbouring areas .
Srivastava said, "PTR' s elephants do
not move out but herds from
Chhatisgarh stray into parts of
Garhwa district. PTR's elephants do
only intra- migration that is within the
ambit of the reserve . "
Explaining the intra -migration of the
elephants , he said, "Elephants of
Betla National Park move out from
here to their summer resort Baresar
and Kujrum within the reserve where
there are perennial water bodies .
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The WWF announced today that the wild tiger population has now fallen as low as 3,200, down from an estimated 100,000 in 1900.
The big cat, which is native to southern and eastern Asia, could soon become extinct unless urgent action is taken to prevent hunting and loss of habitat, the charity’s experts warned.
The WWF is calling on governments in countries where tigers are still found – including China, India and Bangladesh – to fulfil their commitment to double tiger numbers by 2022.
It has also urged Britons to put pressure on “tiger nations” by signing a new online petition saying they do not want to live in a world without the animals.
Diane Walkington, head of species at WWF-UK, said: "Without joined-up, global action right now, we are in serious danger of losing the species forever in many parts of Asia.
She went on: "If we lose the tiger, not only do we lose one of the world's top predators, we will lose so much more.
"By safeguarding their habitats, we will protect hundreds of other species in the process."
The protection campaign has been launched to coincide with Year of the Tiger in Chinese calendar, which falls in both 2010 and 2022.
Representatives from 13 countries which are home to wild tigers – a list which also includes Nepa, Russia and Thailand - are to meet in Bali next week to discuss plans to boost numbers.
The world’s first global summit on tigers will be held in St Petersburg in September.
Mrs Walkington added: "There has never before been this level of momentum for action on tigers and governments must take advantage of it."
Experts said that the natural resilience and prodigious fertility of tigers gave hope that concerted conservation would see populations recover.
Dr Bivash Pandav, who works with tigers for the WWF in Nepal said: "As soon as you provide protection and enough undisturbed habitat, they breed immediately and within three or four years their numbers bounce back."
Tiger populations once stretched across swathes of Asia, with pockets as far west as Turkey and Iran.
But their thick fur and the supposed medical benefits of their bones have made them prime target for poachers, and the destruction of their habitats – particularly forests – has further suppressed numbers.
Earlier this year a study showed that there were fewer than 50 wild tigers left in China.
Forest in a rat trap
Trapped from all sides by expanding towns, heavy traffic highways and railway tracks, mining and poaching, can the precious little strip of Rajaji National Park save its tigers?
Akash Bisht Chilla/Rishikesh
Akash Bisht Chilla/Rishikesh
As the tussle between the Union ministries of environment and surface transport intensifies over environmental clearances for 17 highways across tiger reserves in the country, two choked highways - NH-58 and NH-72 - are piercing through the heart of the ecological hot spot, Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand. It is effectively killing the twin hopes of repopulating tigers in the entire Shivalik Forest Region, while maintaining a healthy core population at the Jim Corbett National Park.
NH-58 connects Haridwar to Delhi, while NH-72 (A) connects Haridwar to Dehradun. Both witness heavy traffic and vehicular movement every day. Increasing tourism and developmental activities in recent years have led to massive increase of vehicles plying on these highways. "They bifurcate the park and obstruct the passage of animals from one forest division to another. This traffic is like a cancer which is spreading and eating into the park's vital organs," says SS Rasaily, Project Director, Rajaji National Park.
In 2007, park authorities conducted a survey to calculate the number of vehicles that pass through the two highways everyday. The results were shocking: 29,000 vehicles ply on these highways on a daily basis and as many as 600 from 1:30am to 2:30am. According to the National Highways Authority of India, these two highways witness a vehicular traffic growth of nearly 7 per cent each year. Rasaily pegs the current numbers at close to 50,000.
This virtual wall of fast moving vehicles deters the animals from passing through their natural habitat or even going to the nearby rivers to quench their thirst. Additionally, 40 trains plying on the same route during early mornings and late evenings - peak time for animals to move around the forests - are inflicting daily and long-term damage on their free movement.
"Human expressions are rude and animals do not understand them. Their natural environment is shrinking by leaps and bounds while traffic and railways play havoc on their well-being in Rajaji. A train engine's sound or a loud horn can be very discomforting for animals, but do we care?" asks SK Chandola, former Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttarakhand.
Nestled in the foothills of the Shivalik Range of Himalayas, Rajaji is blessed with some of the most pristine and picturesque forests in India. This 820 sq km park is precious ecological heritage that is home to magnificent biodiversity, flora and fauna, water bodies and streams. Wild animals like the tiger, elephant, leopard, sloth bear, deer and king cobra, among other species, inhabit the forest. The pristine wilderness is unmatched. Covering three districts of Uttarakhand, the park has more than 400 species of birds, including rare ones.
The park shot to fame after reports confirmed that the park has the capacity to sustain a healthy breeding population of wild tigers and act as a catalyst for ensuring healthy tiger population across north India. A Wildlife Institute of India report, The Status of Tigers, Co-Predators and Prey in India, 2008, declared it as the most promising landscape for long-term tiger conservation that would help in repopulating the forests which were once ruled by this majestic predator. The report reads: "If such small breeding populations in mini core areas are fostered in Rajaji by good management practices and protection, there is a possibility of repopulating the Shivalik Forest Division (UP) by dispersing tigers from Rajaji."
The Corbett Park, with 160 tigers, is considered as the source population of the entire terai region. Known to be wanderers, tigers disperse from the Corbett Park through corridors and occupy forests in and around Rajaji. They have reportedly been sighted in the far flung forests of Tehri up to an elevation of 3000m. The source value of the Corbett Park can only be sustained if these stray tigers are allowed free passage to the west in Rajaji and adjoining forests via natural corridors and crucial linkages.
Much to the great predator's agony, owing to intense anthropogenic pressure, these passages bottleneck free animal movement. "Linkages like Lansdowne, Ganga Chilla-Motichur and Yamuna River Corridor block the tiger's movement and need better management," says Rasaily.
The Lansdowne forest division in close proximity to the Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary in Corbett Park facilitates tiger movement from Corbett Park to Lansdowne and then to Rajaji Park and adjoining forests divisions in the west. Though the area has sufficient forest cover, low prey base due to poaching and increasing human activity is a hindrance for the tiger's free movement. However, recent hidden camera shots have revealed tigers in the Kolluchaur region of the Lansdowne division, including a breeding tigress. But the chances of their survival look grim.
Lansdowne is under constant anthropogenic pressure from Gujjars and villages living in and around the forest. They are destroying crucial tiger habitat and with the division not part of a protected area, the forest officials express their inability to manage the area suitably. "Gujjars are more than willing to relocate and since the division is not part of the protected area, there is hardly anything that we can do for the Gujjars or the forest," says a senior forest officer.
The Yamuna River Corridor too suffers from increasing human interference, making it extremely difficult for tigers to survive. Crucial for dispersing tigers from the Rajaji Park to Kalesar Forest in Haryana, the corridor suffers from illegal encroachments from the boulder mining mafia. Experts are of the opinion that immediate government intervention to tackle the illegal mining mafia in the area is crucial for tiger introduction in these forests.
Park officials often express helplessness and a limited mandate owing to lack of funds and facilities that elude them despite decent tiger numbers. According to sources, the workforce in adjoining forest divisions of Lansdowne, Haridwar and Dehradun is demotivated and envies facilities that are provided to other protected areas. The Lansdowne forest division has a manpower of 35 while the nearby Kalagarh division under the Corbett Park employs 142 persons. "Why this bias? Other parks get huge funds and facilities, our tigers are tigers too, not dogs. We don't have jeeps or guns. If tigers have to increase, patrolling has to be intensified. For that we need more manpower and modern facilities. And if they cannot do this, the least they could do is to provide us with clean drinking water," says a disgruntled forest officer.
Mindless development activities in and around Rajaji Park is turning into a nightmare for conservationists who dream of turning the landscape into a tiger haven. Says Chandola, "Rajaji is a thin strip of forest that is surrounded by big towns like Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun. These expanding townships are confining the animals to small spaces which can spell doom for all the species, including tigers."
He mentions how villages have turned into towns, towns to cities while forests have only shrunk in recent years. He recalls, "Gone are the days when I would sit in a village courtyard and watch wild animals from close proximity. This 'islandisation' of the park will devastate its pristine ecology."
Also posing a threat to the ecology of Rajaji Park is a toxic foreign weed (lantana). This rapidly growing weed is ruining the habitat, spreading its tentacles through most of the park, eliminating the diversity of species and sub-species of grass, small plants and shrubs. "Due to its toxicity, the weed is usually avoided by the animals. Though it increases the green cover of the forest, it deprives herbivores of their diet of grass and other smaller plants," points GS Rajwar, an environment scientist.
"Lantana is turning Rajaji into an ecological desert. It adapts perfectly to any environment and allows nothing else to survive," informs Rasaily. According to the forest department, 5,000 hectares of land out of the total of 26,000 hectares was cleared of lantana, but to everyone's dismay, the weed had spread further to 36,000 hectares. "Such is the endurance of the weed that even its seeds have a life of 60 years," he says.
Poaching too is a dangerous threat. Though no cases of tiger poaching have been reported from the park, poaching of other animals is a routine. "We are not aware of any tiger poaching in the area, but cases of leopard and deer poaching have been brought to our notice," says Tito Joseph, Programme Manager, Wildlife Protection Society of India. CBI sources confirmed Tito's views. Timber poaching and illegal mining is shrinking crucial habitat too.
Officials in Dehradun confirmed the poaching of wild animals and cited poverty as the sole reason for the crime. "Part of the traditional hunting communities, people living around these forests, are very poor and do get involved in the crime for easy bucks. Rajaji is such an open park and people can easily enter from any corner without the forest department's knowledge," informs Chandola. Another peril to the tiger population in the park are seasonal forest fires that turn huge tracts of forests to ash in a matter of few hours. "Forest fires during summers are attributed to humans living in and around the park area," says Rasaily. Fires during the recently concluded Kumbh Mela continued unabated for days. Fortunately, torrential rains helped in dousing the fire that would have otherwise decimated acres of pristine forestland and turned them into empty graveyards.
However, despite several adversities, the park authorities are hopeful of turning Rajaji Park into a tiger retreat. Chandola is optimistic and claims that the 14 tiger mark could easily reach to 60 if the government shows the will to save the tiger and its habitat in Uttarakhand. Confirming Chandola's view, a forest official in Dehradun points to a study which claims that the park and its adjoining areas have the largest prey base for tigers in the world. "If managed and monitored strictly, we can achieve these numbers as these forests are a haven for the tigers to bloom," says Chandola.
The forest department has initiated several steps for tiger conservation by proposing to build three flyovers - two flyovers on NH-72 and one on NH-58 - to ensure peaceful animal passage. Rasaily has vowed to annihilate any sort of poaching from the forests under his jurisdiction and plans to add huge tracts of grassland for tiger survival. Locally extinct from 29 per cent of the districts of the Shivalik Gangetic flood plains, the great predator could make a grandiose return to these forests only if the breeding populations of tigers thrive inside the Rajaji Park. "If the tiger has to survive in India for generations to come, Rajaji needs fostering and care. Only then will the wild cats flourish in the forests that were their natural home before we forced them out," says Rasaily.
Tiger recovery plan to be drafted next week
In an effort to save the world’s remaining tiger population, thirteen “tiger-range countries” will meet at the Indonesian island of Bali to draft a global recovery plan starting Monday, July 12th and continuing until Wednesday, July 14th. Officials are optimistic that the draft plan will form the basis of a Global Tiger Recovery Program which will be discussed at the larger “tiger summit” being held in Russia on September 15th through the 18th.
There is no doubt that the world’s tiger population is in dire straights. Two of the three tiger species in Indonesia, the Javan and Balinese, are already extinct, while the Sumatran tiger is only believed to have 4000 left in the wild. On the global level, tiger populations have fallen from around 100,000 to only 3,200 in just the past century. If action is not taken soon, it will be too late to save the tiger from extinction and it appears that global leaders are understanding the tiger population’s plight.
The chief reasons for declining tiger populations are poaching, hunting and loss of habitat. The conflict between tiger and man is a huge problem to tackle as the two fight over land. Timber is constantly cut down to either make way for human development or used for the production of palm oil. As a result, both tigers and elephants have been forced to live in close proximity to villages. Indonesian conservation official Harry Santoso made the following statement:
“If we do nothing, tigers around the world, including Indonesia, will be extinct by 2035...Our program will focus on mitigation of human-animal conflict and law enforcement to stop tiger poaching. We will impose stricter punishments for criminals.” Santoso also added that the tiger’s habitats will also be protected.
The countries invited to attend the September summit include Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The countries of the United States, Australia, Germany and the organizations of World Bank and Asian Development Bank are expected to provide funds for the Tiger Recovery Plan’s implementation.
There is no doubt that the world’s tiger population is in dire straights. Two of the three tiger species in Indonesia, the Javan and Balinese, are already extinct, while the Sumatran tiger is only believed to have 4000 left in the wild. On the global level, tiger populations have fallen from around 100,000 to only 3,200 in just the past century. If action is not taken soon, it will be too late to save the tiger from extinction and it appears that global leaders are understanding the tiger population’s plight.
The chief reasons for declining tiger populations are poaching, hunting and loss of habitat. The conflict between tiger and man is a huge problem to tackle as the two fight over land. Timber is constantly cut down to either make way for human development or used for the production of palm oil. As a result, both tigers and elephants have been forced to live in close proximity to villages. Indonesian conservation official Harry Santoso made the following statement:
“If we do nothing, tigers around the world, including Indonesia, will be extinct by 2035...Our program will focus on mitigation of human-animal conflict and law enforcement to stop tiger poaching. We will impose stricter punishments for criminals.” Santoso also added that the tiger’s habitats will also be protected.
The countries invited to attend the September summit include Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The countries of the United States, Australia, Germany and the organizations of World Bank and Asian Development Bank are expected to provide funds for the Tiger Recovery Plan’s implementation.
Bangladesh needs tougher law to save Royal Bengal tigers
| 010-07-04 12:20:00 | |||
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Saturday, July 3, 2010
A poem by A friend...
Earlier a king, now a creature bleeding,
it take an epic fall for this morphosis.
Yesterday's pride is todays pain,
But todays pride is nobody's gain.
Our eyes are drenched by an illusion,
coz bloody rains look transparent soothing burns.
Coz we feel proud about our own forest ,
that's built on someones shelter from the sun.
We live and they die by the sound of a gun.
The tigers who are black and yellow,
yet their population is small and blanche,
black is fading which colors their shadow.
If tiger's absent doe eyed deer is present,
If the deer's present green is gone.
Earth would be there without no lesions,
if we give some love and trade our swords.
By:- a friend of mine, who insisted his name not to be mentioned.
it take an epic fall for this morphosis.
Yesterday's pride is todays pain,
But todays pride is nobody's gain.
Our eyes are drenched by an illusion,
coz bloody rains look transparent soothing burns.
Coz we feel proud about our own forest ,
that's built on someones shelter from the sun.
We live and they die by the sound of a gun.
The tigers who are black and yellow,
yet their population is small and blanche,
black is fading which colors their shadow.
If tiger's absent doe eyed deer is present,
If the deer's present green is gone.
Earth would be there without no lesions,
if we give some love and trade our swords.
By:- a friend of mine, who insisted his name not to be mentioned.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Sariska to get two more tigers
Jaipur, May 10 (IANS) The Sariska tiger reserve in Rajasthan is all set to get a tiger and a tigress from the Ranthambore national park, to add to the three big cats it acquired earlier. Wildlife officials are hoping the move will help in their tiger breeding plans.
“A team of experts is in Ranthambore now trying to identify a tiger and a tigress to be shifted to Sariska,” a senior official of the Rajasthan forest department told IANS.
Of the three tigers relocated earlier in Sariska, the first was a male tiger. It was airlifted from Ranthambore in June 2008, followed by two tigresses from the same national park located in Sawai Madhopur district.
Sources in the forest department said the DNA test of the two big cats would be conducted before they are shifted to Sariska, located in Alwar district.
The tiger relocated earlier had failed to impregnate the two tigresses, an official said, adding, “We want everything to go right this time.”
“The tiger has already mated with the tigresses but there is not the slightest indication of pregnancy in Sariska,” said a wildlife official.
Experts fear that the male and two females relocated last year share the same father, which won’t exactly make for a diverse gene pool.
A DNA test before the relocation can help prevent this, experts said.
The Sariska tiger reserve, situated over 110 km from here, used to be one of India’s most famous tiger sanctuaries and was at the centre of the Project Tiger conservation programme.
Originally a hunting preserve of the erstwhile Alwar state, Sariska was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955. In 1978 it was declared a tiger reserve. The present area of the park is 866 sq km.
The state government a few years ago faced criticism from political and other quarters on the disappearance of tigers from Sariska.
A Wildlife Institute of India report in 2005 confirmed that there were indeed no tigers left in Sariska.
Poaching was found to be the main reason for the dwindling tiger population.
The state government had submitted a detailed project to the central government for the rehabilitation of tigers in the reserve. Finally the project was sanctioned in November 2005.
“A team of experts is in Ranthambore now trying to identify a tiger and a tigress to be shifted to Sariska,” a senior official of the Rajasthan forest department told IANS.
Of the three tigers relocated earlier in Sariska, the first was a male tiger. It was airlifted from Ranthambore in June 2008, followed by two tigresses from the same national park located in Sawai Madhopur district.
Sources in the forest department said the DNA test of the two big cats would be conducted before they are shifted to Sariska, located in Alwar district.
The tiger relocated earlier had failed to impregnate the two tigresses, an official said, adding, “We want everything to go right this time.”
“The tiger has already mated with the tigresses but there is not the slightest indication of pregnancy in Sariska,” said a wildlife official.
Experts fear that the male and two females relocated last year share the same father, which won’t exactly make for a diverse gene pool.
A DNA test before the relocation can help prevent this, experts said.
The Sariska tiger reserve, situated over 110 km from here, used to be one of India’s most famous tiger sanctuaries and was at the centre of the Project Tiger conservation programme.
Originally a hunting preserve of the erstwhile Alwar state, Sariska was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955. In 1978 it was declared a tiger reserve. The present area of the park is 866 sq km.
The state government a few years ago faced criticism from political and other quarters on the disappearance of tigers from Sariska.
A Wildlife Institute of India report in 2005 confirmed that there were indeed no tigers left in Sariska.
Poaching was found to be the main reason for the dwindling tiger population.
The state government had submitted a detailed project to the central government for the rehabilitation of tigers in the reserve. Finally the project was sanctioned in November 2005.
Jairam saga: Roaring in China, sleeping in India
While the tiger will most likely not go extinct in the next half-century, its current trajectory is catastrophic. A combination of poor governance, bureaucratic sloth and lack of leadership is leading us towards an ecological disaster, argues wildlife activist Shehla Masood.
Union Minster for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh [ Images ] roared in Beijing [ Images ] to support Chinese companies like Huawei. I wish he had shown even a hundredth of that zeal to save tigers back home. Ramesh should have addressed the issue; he is given the responsibility to do so by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [ Images ]. He loved to do everything else except this.
I got the shock of my life what I recently went to his ministry as a wildlife activist working for tiger conservation through public awareness and collecting information through the Right to Information Act.
I always thought India would be proud of this minister and the prime minister -- both above board, sincere and cool. And what else can be the test except the attitude leaders shows towards those who can't speak or send applications to South Block yet suffer immeasurably at the hands of humans.
The sense of fairness we find so dearest when it comes to humans should be extended to all living creatures. The prime minister showed interest to help animals and committed himself to help tiger conservation vigorously. We were happy. Till we got to the bottom of the truth. His men and office have done nothing and will hardly do anything except showing extraordinary interest in Huawei or the Indian Premier League
The story of our struggle and the prime minister's lethargic attitude coupled with a strange work culture in Ramesh's office has disillusioned hundreds of workers like us.
When I refer to the animals I mean those who are tortured and poached by humans. There is a national-level committee, a high-powered body, to take care of this aspect and it was considered so important and Constitutionally significant that the government thought it befitting to have it headed by the country's chief executive officer -- the prime minister.
It is called the National Board for Wildlife. The prime minister is the chairman. It has 45 members, including Ramesh. There are 15 non-official members. Four of the non-official members are also part of the NBWL's 12-member standing committee. It is an apex policy making and monitoring board which has statutory status.
Its mandate to ensure the safety and protection of India's wildlife and to effect changes. Since it is headed by the one who is responsible to lead the country's governance, it is but natural to expect that this kind of a government agency would be working brilliantly under the eyes and supervision of the paraphernalia the country's public provides to the prime minister making its decisions effective and precise. But that has not happened.
The paradigm of conservation has drastically changed from pre-Independence to date. The reasons for tiger deaths in the country are beginning to show. Their presence is something majestic and powerful, but who cares?
Concerned over the increasing incidents of unnatural deaths of tigers in various reserves in the country, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided to personally take up the matter with the concerned state governments. He chaired the NBWL's 5th meeting on March 18.
A proposal for a separate lion conservation project and the idea of a separate cadre for wildlife veterinary officers, among other topics, were discussed. Among others, Indian Council for Cultural Relations President Karan Singh and T K A Nair, the principal secretary to the prime minister, attended the meeting. The meeting discussed population control of spotted deer, delisting of corals from schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and the accidental deaths of wild elephants when they are hit by trains passing through national parks and sanctuaries.
The meeting was also due to consider convening of a park managers' congress, instituting awards for the best managed protected areas and restriction of central funding to protected areas directly under the wildlife wing and managed by trained officers.
It is shockingly sad to know, the information I received through RTI that in the last seven years the NBWL has met only five times. It is more shocking that till now no records -- minutes they call it -- of the deliberations held in all such meetings have been properly prepared and authenticated.
That means so far whatever was deliberated at the last five meetings has not been even put in the files as approved and done. The follow-up can begin only when the records of the last meetings have been approved. Nothing has been done so far. The board has 15 independent members who say that a sub-committee formed to look into the issue of tiger conservation has not actually been formed.
The NBWL is failing the nation as the minutes of meetings are being erroneously recorded awaiting official approval. This is confirmed by the principal information officer in his response to my letter. The prime minister has agreed to lend weight of his office for monitoring state governments, but to what avail and effectiveness?
What we are seeing is a species slipping through our fingers because of insensitiveness and carelessness of our bureaucrats. Their attitude is appalling and tragic.
India only has 1,000 tigers left, despite strenuous efforts to protect an animal that in the country is a symbol of national pride. More than 100,000 tigers prowled India's forests 100 years ago, but decades of hunting and habitat encroachment meant that by the 1970s the number had been drastically reduced.
India has failed miserably in protecting tigers in the wild. The animal that is a symbol for many cultures and religions is on the verge of extinction.
When I wanted to inspect the files pertaining the last meetings, the government officers refused and put me under great stress. It was after a lot of hurdles that I could come to see the officers at the ministry of environment in New Delhi [ Images ]. It is not as easy for the common citizen who lives at a distance from the national capital to come to the political centre of the nation and find his or her way to the great jungle of babudom. When I reached Paryavaran Bhawan, where the ministry is situated, many interesting experiences awaited me.
I found staff in the central ministry haywire, some gossiping, some sleeping on their tables, right in the middle of the office, with legs stretched. Some were smoking in the office.
I waited for 40 minutes as the principal information officer (deputy inspector general, wildlife) was not reachable. His phone kept ringing as the number dialed by the receptionist was not updated. The information on the public information officers was not mentioned/written as directed under the RTI Act.
When I finally traced and met the DIG, I requested him for more details. He was shocked at my disclosures about his staff, felt hesitant to share information, but at my unrelenting reference to the RTI Act he gave up and promised to allow me inspection of files containing NBWL deliberations meetings at a later appointment. But this too, which should have been a smooth procedure, could happen after I gave him a short lesson on the RTI and urged sincerity towards his job.
There are 37 project tiger reserves in the country and 663 protected areas. But what purpose are they serving?
Despite 20 years of international conservation efforts, the ground has been lost to save the tiger because of the government's inattentive attitude. All sub-species of tigers are declared critically endangered species by wildlife organisations and the United Nations.
Of the eight original sub-species of tigers, three have become extinct in the last 60 years, an average of one every 20 years. The Bali tiger became extinct in the 1930s. The Caspian tiger was forced into extinction in the 1970s. And the Javan tiger followed in the 1980s.
The number of tigers in the 1900s -- over 100,000 -- dropped to 4,000 in the 1970s. Today, they are a critically endangered species with the total of all the wild populations of the five remaining subspecies (Bengal tigers, Indo-Chinese tigers, Siberian tigers, South China tigers, and Sumatran tigers) to be roughly estimated anything between 4,600 and 7,700.
The statistics are fudged, the information is falsely recorded, inquiries are withheld and culprit officers are promoted (the Panna reservation case -- out of 40 tigers six years before, we have none today).
Just a lot of rhetoric and no action. With this kind of governance, which extends to all parties and shades, can we hope to conserve even the last of the tigers?
According to the Wildlife Protection Act, the maximum sentence for poaching is seven years imprisonment along with a fine. I have not come across any case where the accused has been given the maximum sentence. We have a miserable system. There is no governance to speak of. Bureaucratic indifference is the norm.
Poachers have emptied two of India's 37 protected tiger reserves. In India, isolated populations now occupy just seven per cent of the territory they enjoyed a century ago as a result of inadequately implementing conservation policies and mismanaging funds. While the tiger as a wild species will most likely not go extinct within the next half-century, its current trajectory is catastrophic.
If this trend continues, the current range will shrink even further, and wild populations will disappear from many more places, or dwindle to the point of ecological extinction. None other than due to a combination of increased poaching, habitat destruction, the attitude of the babus and poor conservation efforts by governments.
I will make sure Madhya Pradesh remains a tiger state.
I got the shock of my life what I recently went to his ministry as a wildlife activist working for tiger conservation through public awareness and collecting information through the Right to Information Act.
I always thought India would be proud of this minister and the prime minister -- both above board, sincere and cool. And what else can be the test except the attitude leaders shows towards those who can't speak or send applications to South Block yet suffer immeasurably at the hands of humans.
The sense of fairness we find so dearest when it comes to humans should be extended to all living creatures. The prime minister showed interest to help animals and committed himself to help tiger conservation vigorously. We were happy. Till we got to the bottom of the truth. His men and office have done nothing and will hardly do anything except showing extraordinary interest in Huawei or the Indian Premier League
The story of our struggle and the prime minister's lethargic attitude coupled with a strange work culture in Ramesh's office has disillusioned hundreds of workers like us.
When I refer to the animals I mean those who are tortured and poached by humans. There is a national-level committee, a high-powered body, to take care of this aspect and it was considered so important and Constitutionally significant that the government thought it befitting to have it headed by the country's chief executive officer -- the prime minister.
It is called the National Board for Wildlife. The prime minister is the chairman. It has 45 members, including Ramesh. There are 15 non-official members. Four of the non-official members are also part of the NBWL's 12-member standing committee. It is an apex policy making and monitoring board which has statutory status.
Its mandate to ensure the safety and protection of India's wildlife and to effect changes. Since it is headed by the one who is responsible to lead the country's governance, it is but natural to expect that this kind of a government agency would be working brilliantly under the eyes and supervision of the paraphernalia the country's public provides to the prime minister making its decisions effective and precise. But that has not happened.
The paradigm of conservation has drastically changed from pre-Independence to date. The reasons for tiger deaths in the country are beginning to show. Their presence is something majestic and powerful, but who cares?
Concerned over the increasing incidents of unnatural deaths of tigers in various reserves in the country, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided to personally take up the matter with the concerned state governments. He chaired the NBWL's 5th meeting on March 18.
A proposal for a separate lion conservation project and the idea of a separate cadre for wildlife veterinary officers, among other topics, were discussed. Among others, Indian Council for Cultural Relations President Karan Singh and T K A Nair, the principal secretary to the prime minister, attended the meeting. The meeting discussed population control of spotted deer, delisting of corals from schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and the accidental deaths of wild elephants when they are hit by trains passing through national parks and sanctuaries.
The meeting was also due to consider convening of a park managers' congress, instituting awards for the best managed protected areas and restriction of central funding to protected areas directly under the wildlife wing and managed by trained officers.
It is shockingly sad to know, the information I received through RTI that in the last seven years the NBWL has met only five times. It is more shocking that till now no records -- minutes they call it -- of the deliberations held in all such meetings have been properly prepared and authenticated.
That means so far whatever was deliberated at the last five meetings has not been even put in the files as approved and done. The follow-up can begin only when the records of the last meetings have been approved. Nothing has been done so far. The board has 15 independent members who say that a sub-committee formed to look into the issue of tiger conservation has not actually been formed.
The NBWL is failing the nation as the minutes of meetings are being erroneously recorded awaiting official approval. This is confirmed by the principal information officer in his response to my letter. The prime minister has agreed to lend weight of his office for monitoring state governments, but to what avail and effectiveness?
What we are seeing is a species slipping through our fingers because of insensitiveness and carelessness of our bureaucrats. Their attitude is appalling and tragic.
India only has 1,000 tigers left, despite strenuous efforts to protect an animal that in the country is a symbol of national pride. More than 100,000 tigers prowled India's forests 100 years ago, but decades of hunting and habitat encroachment meant that by the 1970s the number had been drastically reduced.
India has failed miserably in protecting tigers in the wild. The animal that is a symbol for many cultures and religions is on the verge of extinction.
When I wanted to inspect the files pertaining the last meetings, the government officers refused and put me under great stress. It was after a lot of hurdles that I could come to see the officers at the ministry of environment in New Delhi [ Images ]. It is not as easy for the common citizen who lives at a distance from the national capital to come to the political centre of the nation and find his or her way to the great jungle of babudom. When I reached Paryavaran Bhawan, where the ministry is situated, many interesting experiences awaited me.
I found staff in the central ministry haywire, some gossiping, some sleeping on their tables, right in the middle of the office, with legs stretched. Some were smoking in the office.
I waited for 40 minutes as the principal information officer (deputy inspector general, wildlife) was not reachable. His phone kept ringing as the number dialed by the receptionist was not updated. The information on the public information officers was not mentioned/written as directed under the RTI Act.
When I finally traced and met the DIG, I requested him for more details. He was shocked at my disclosures about his staff, felt hesitant to share information, but at my unrelenting reference to the RTI Act he gave up and promised to allow me inspection of files containing NBWL deliberations meetings at a later appointment. But this too, which should have been a smooth procedure, could happen after I gave him a short lesson on the RTI and urged sincerity towards his job.
There are 37 project tiger reserves in the country and 663 protected areas. But what purpose are they serving?
Despite 20 years of international conservation efforts, the ground has been lost to save the tiger because of the government's inattentive attitude. All sub-species of tigers are declared critically endangered species by wildlife organisations and the United Nations.
Of the eight original sub-species of tigers, three have become extinct in the last 60 years, an average of one every 20 years. The Bali tiger became extinct in the 1930s. The Caspian tiger was forced into extinction in the 1970s. And the Javan tiger followed in the 1980s.
The number of tigers in the 1900s -- over 100,000 -- dropped to 4,000 in the 1970s. Today, they are a critically endangered species with the total of all the wild populations of the five remaining subspecies (Bengal tigers, Indo-Chinese tigers, Siberian tigers, South China tigers, and Sumatran tigers) to be roughly estimated anything between 4,600 and 7,700.
The statistics are fudged, the information is falsely recorded, inquiries are withheld and culprit officers are promoted (the Panna reservation case -- out of 40 tigers six years before, we have none today).
Just a lot of rhetoric and no action. With this kind of governance, which extends to all parties and shades, can we hope to conserve even the last of the tigers?
According to the Wildlife Protection Act, the maximum sentence for poaching is seven years imprisonment along with a fine. I have not come across any case where the accused has been given the maximum sentence. We have a miserable system. There is no governance to speak of. Bureaucratic indifference is the norm.
Poachers have emptied two of India's 37 protected tiger reserves. In India, isolated populations now occupy just seven per cent of the territory they enjoyed a century ago as a result of inadequately implementing conservation policies and mismanaging funds. While the tiger as a wild species will most likely not go extinct within the next half-century, its current trajectory is catastrophic.
If this trend continues, the current range will shrink even further, and wild populations will disappear from many more places, or dwindle to the point of ecological extinction. None other than due to a combination of increased poaching, habitat destruction, the attitude of the babus and poor conservation efforts by governments.
I will make sure Madhya Pradesh remains a tiger state.
Are tigers safe in Kaziranga?
Kaziranga World Heritage site may be one of the successful rhino conservation stories and has the highest density of tigers in the country today but there seems to be enough reason to raise an alarm with poachers residing just outside the Park and unabated mining activity blocking animal corridors.
Recently Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh spoke about tiger conservation.
"Kaziranga was never associated with tigers till December 2007 when it was declared it as a Project Tiger Area. The numbers that seem to come from camera trap seems to suggest tiger population of anywhere between 75-100 in a total area of about 860 sq kms which is probably the highest density per sq kms in the country," said Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh.
Ramesh added: "Kaziranga now claims to have the highest density of tigers in the country which is good as well bad news. It makes the Park very vulnerable with an already existing poaching network."
Fourteen rhinos have been killed in this Park in the last one year.
"It's too simplistic to say that they will go for one particular animal and not touch tigers. Last year we lost 10 tigers and this year we have lost 2," said Dr Rajesh Gopal Member Secretary, NTCA.
Animals particularly the rhino often stray from the Kaziranga National Park cross these channels of the Brahmaputra and come on the embankment but what's worrying is the significant number of poachers and country made weapons that are present in these villages.
"In many areas there is a determined effort to finish off the tiger population. It is not coincidental, it's not an accident, there is a deliberate conspiracy, there is a conjoining of real estate mafia, mining mafia," said Jairam.
Such is the state of affairs, at the Panbari reserve forest adjoining the Kaziranga and an important animal corridor, there are 123 stone quarries on this fringe and some of them have been given license by the Kaziranga Park authorities.
Kaziranga has a unique eco system and the tiger may be much safer here but with the park situated right on the international smuggling route, the pressure on wildlife will always be there.
Recently Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh spoke about tiger conservation.
"Kaziranga was never associated with tigers till December 2007 when it was declared it as a Project Tiger Area. The numbers that seem to come from camera trap seems to suggest tiger population of anywhere between 75-100 in a total area of about 860 sq kms which is probably the highest density per sq kms in the country," said Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh.
Ramesh added: "Kaziranga now claims to have the highest density of tigers in the country which is good as well bad news. It makes the Park very vulnerable with an already existing poaching network."
Fourteen rhinos have been killed in this Park in the last one year.
"It's too simplistic to say that they will go for one particular animal and not touch tigers. Last year we lost 10 tigers and this year we have lost 2," said Dr Rajesh Gopal Member Secretary, NTCA.
Animals particularly the rhino often stray from the Kaziranga National Park cross these channels of the Brahmaputra and come on the embankment but what's worrying is the significant number of poachers and country made weapons that are present in these villages.
"In many areas there is a determined effort to finish off the tiger population. It is not coincidental, it's not an accident, there is a deliberate conspiracy, there is a conjoining of real estate mafia, mining mafia," said Jairam.
Such is the state of affairs, at the Panbari reserve forest adjoining the Kaziranga and an important animal corridor, there are 123 stone quarries on this fringe and some of them have been given license by the Kaziranga Park authorities.
Kaziranga has a unique eco system and the tiger may be much safer here but with the park situated right on the international smuggling route, the pressure on wildlife will always be there.
Tiger deaths: Under-staffing, poor intelligence main reasons
New Delhi: Lack of funds and quality staff, sloppy intelligence, poorly-armed protection force and delay in relocating villagers from tiger habitats were among the key reasons for big cat deaths, a Parliamentary panel has said.
The committee on 'conservation and protection of tigers' flayed the National Tiger Conservation Authority for its failure to ensure sufficient funds and staff to check the declining big cat population.
Asking it to plug the gaps, the panel, which tabled its report in Parliament today, has also suggested that the NTCA -- entrusted with the task of implementing Project Tiger in the country -- should speed up village relocation on priority basis to save the animals.
"The implementation of the Project Tiger under NTCA was severely hampered by under-staffing at the level of sanctuaries and the personnel actually employed were also found to be over-aged, under-trained and under-equipped in many cases," said the panel headed by BJP MP Gopinath Munde.
Inadequate arms and ammunition, lack of strike force, poor intelligence gathering and inadequate patrolling camps were some of the other reasons for tiger deaths, it said. "As a result, poaching of tigers continued and touched an annual level of 22 over a period of six years," it said.
Initiated in 1972, Project Tiger has been taking several steps to ensure tiger conservation and protection. The NTCA is an autonomous body under the Environment Ministry.
The panel also took serious exception to fact that the relocation of families in tiger reserves was going on at a snail's pace and "at this rate it will take more than a decade to relocate all the families from the core/buffer area."
Attributing the delay to funds shortage, it noted that "Against the requirement of Rs 11,000 crore to relocate 64,951 families living within the tiger reserves, the allocation in the Tenth Five Year Plan was a meagre Rs 10.50 crore."
In its reply, the Environment Ministry told the panel that since inception of Project Tiger till June 2005, a total of 80 villages (2904 families) have been relocated.
"During the Tenth Plan, under the enhanced package (Rs 10 lakh to each family) Rs 236.79 crore was provided to states for 7782 families' relocation." Pointing out that mitigation of human interference was important for tiger survival, the panel suggested that the Environment Ministry should undertake a special donor-driven project and "link this to the benefits which will accrue to the community by not cutting trees."
The committee also expressed its reservation over the authorities' failure to conduct annual census in most of the tiger reserves. It said the figures were not up-to-date and hoped that the adoption of new methodology for the ongoing survey would make it reliable and accurate.
Taking a cue from tiger farming in countries like China and the UK, the panel has asked the NTCA to explore similar options by launching a national tiger breeding programme and reintroducing the tigers in designated habitats.
The committee on 'conservation and protection of tigers' flayed the National Tiger Conservation Authority for its failure to ensure sufficient funds and staff to check the declining big cat population.
Asking it to plug the gaps, the panel, which tabled its report in Parliament today, has also suggested that the NTCA -- entrusted with the task of implementing Project Tiger in the country -- should speed up village relocation on priority basis to save the animals.
"The implementation of the Project Tiger under NTCA was severely hampered by under-staffing at the level of sanctuaries and the personnel actually employed were also found to be over-aged, under-trained and under-equipped in many cases," said the panel headed by BJP MP Gopinath Munde.
Inadequate arms and ammunition, lack of strike force, poor intelligence gathering and inadequate patrolling camps were some of the other reasons for tiger deaths, it said. "As a result, poaching of tigers continued and touched an annual level of 22 over a period of six years," it said.
Initiated in 1972, Project Tiger has been taking several steps to ensure tiger conservation and protection. The NTCA is an autonomous body under the Environment Ministry.
The panel also took serious exception to fact that the relocation of families in tiger reserves was going on at a snail's pace and "at this rate it will take more than a decade to relocate all the families from the core/buffer area."
Attributing the delay to funds shortage, it noted that "Against the requirement of Rs 11,000 crore to relocate 64,951 families living within the tiger reserves, the allocation in the Tenth Five Year Plan was a meagre Rs 10.50 crore."
In its reply, the Environment Ministry told the panel that since inception of Project Tiger till June 2005, a total of 80 villages (2904 families) have been relocated.
"During the Tenth Plan, under the enhanced package (Rs 10 lakh to each family) Rs 236.79 crore was provided to states for 7782 families' relocation." Pointing out that mitigation of human interference was important for tiger survival, the panel suggested that the Environment Ministry should undertake a special donor-driven project and "link this to the benefits which will accrue to the community by not cutting trees."
The committee also expressed its reservation over the authorities' failure to conduct annual census in most of the tiger reserves. It said the figures were not up-to-date and hoped that the adoption of new methodology for the ongoing survey would make it reliable and accurate.
Taking a cue from tiger farming in countries like China and the UK, the panel has asked the NTCA to explore similar options by launching a national tiger breeding programme and reintroducing the tigers in designated habitats.
Project tiger gets Rs 150 crore grant
Here's some good news for Vidarbha's two tiger reserves -Melghat and Tadoba! The Union government has decided to release Rs 150-crore grant to relocate villages in the tiger reserves. The state government had sought the assistance to free animals from human interference.
The grant would enable the state's wildlife wing to relocate 16 villages of Melghat and five villages of Tadoba.
Maharashtra Forest Minister, Patangrao Kadam told Hindustantimes Times that the issue was placed before the union minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh during his recent Vidarbha visit and finally the ministry nodded in approval.
The Centre's compensatory financial package is being doled out as a part of its strategy to encourage villagers to move out from the villages located in the tiger reserves, thus making them safe for predators besides other species. As per the financial package, the villagers are either provided Rs 10 lakh per family or a piece of land for their rehabilitation, a process being overseen by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) heading the Tiger Project.
The wildlife wing could relocate Botezhari village from Tadoba recently. However, it could not relocate Kolsa village because of paucity of funds. "If the department succeeds to relocate these villages from the tiger reserves, both the famous tiger projects would be free from human inhabitation," says Dr Nand Kishore, the chief conservator of forests (Wildlife)-Vidarbha region.
The efforts would also boost the wildlife protection and conservation in both the famous tiger reserves in the region. The human habitation within in the parks often causes poaching and poisoning of waterholes, leading to killing of tigers and other animals. One tiger was killed in core area of Tadoba in May last year with the help of villagers within the park.
According to Kadam, the Centre has decided to release Rs 100-crore immediately and the process for releasing the balance is in progress. The state had also made a provision of Rs 25.79-crore in this annual budget for the rehabilitation of villages within the Sahyadri Tiger project in western Maharashtra. Sahyadri was declared as tiger project last year.
Project tiger reserves in the state
* There are four tiger projects in the state--- Melghat, Tadoba, Pench (all in Vidarbha) and Sahyadri (Western Maharashtra).
* The Melghat, the oldest tiger project in the state, is located on southern offshoot of Satpura Hill Range in Amravati district with an area of 1676.49 sq kms. It is the home of around 45 tigers.
* Tadoba (Chandrapur district) is spread over 623 sq kms of high hills and lush valleys and under dense teak and bamboo forests. The reserve is also a home for rare wildlife, like wild dogs, leopards, and sloth bear, and baison, hyena and jungle cats, along with a population of around 46 tigers.
* In Pench tiger reserves, bordering Madhya Pradesh, is located at a distance of 70 kms from Nagpur and home for around 20 tigers.
* Sahyadri, the new tiger project of the state was set up by including Chandoli Natonal Park and Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary of western Maharashtra. The reserves spread over an area of 741.22 sq kms. It houses an appreciable variety of bird and animal life, including nine tigers and 66 leopards.
The grant would enable the state's wildlife wing to relocate 16 villages of Melghat and five villages of Tadoba.
Maharashtra Forest Minister, Patangrao Kadam told Hindustantimes Times that the issue was placed before the union minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh during his recent Vidarbha visit and finally the ministry nodded in approval.
The Centre's compensatory financial package is being doled out as a part of its strategy to encourage villagers to move out from the villages located in the tiger reserves, thus making them safe for predators besides other species. As per the financial package, the villagers are either provided Rs 10 lakh per family or a piece of land for their rehabilitation, a process being overseen by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) heading the Tiger Project.
The wildlife wing could relocate Botezhari village from Tadoba recently. However, it could not relocate Kolsa village because of paucity of funds. "If the department succeeds to relocate these villages from the tiger reserves, both the famous tiger projects would be free from human inhabitation," says Dr Nand Kishore, the chief conservator of forests (Wildlife)-Vidarbha region.
The efforts would also boost the wildlife protection and conservation in both the famous tiger reserves in the region. The human habitation within in the parks often causes poaching and poisoning of waterholes, leading to killing of tigers and other animals. One tiger was killed in core area of Tadoba in May last year with the help of villagers within the park.
According to Kadam, the Centre has decided to release Rs 100-crore immediately and the process for releasing the balance is in progress. The state had also made a provision of Rs 25.79-crore in this annual budget for the rehabilitation of villages within the Sahyadri Tiger project in western Maharashtra. Sahyadri was declared as tiger project last year.
Project tiger reserves in the state
* There are four tiger projects in the state--- Melghat, Tadoba, Pench (all in Vidarbha) and Sahyadri (Western Maharashtra).
* The Melghat, the oldest tiger project in the state, is located on southern offshoot of Satpura Hill Range in Amravati district with an area of 1676.49 sq kms. It is the home of around 45 tigers.
* Tadoba (Chandrapur district) is spread over 623 sq kms of high hills and lush valleys and under dense teak and bamboo forests. The reserve is also a home for rare wildlife, like wild dogs, leopards, and sloth bear, and baison, hyena and jungle cats, along with a population of around 46 tigers.
* In Pench tiger reserves, bordering Madhya Pradesh, is located at a distance of 70 kms from Nagpur and home for around 20 tigers.
* Sahyadri, the new tiger project of the state was set up by including Chandoli Natonal Park and Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary of western Maharashtra. The reserves spread over an area of 741.22 sq kms. It houses an appreciable variety of bird and animal life, including nine tigers and 66 leopards.
No plan to ban tourism in tiger reserves: Ramesh
NEW DELHI: Countering claims from the tourism lobby, the environment ministry clarified that there was no proposal to ban tourism in tiger reserves but warned that tourism would be strictly regulated in the tiger parks.
Environment minister Jairam Ramesh said, "The ministry of environment and forests believes that tourism is essential and that revenue from tourism must flow back directly into the management of each of the tiger reserves so that local communities can benefit."
But reiterating the long-standing criticism of the way tourism has operated in the tiger havens of India, Ramesh added, "The advantages of tourism should be felt by these local communities who should be encouraged to develop a stake in the protection of these tiger reserves. This policy of ploughing back is already in place in most reserves and it will be in place in all `Project Tiger' reserves very soon."
The tourism lobby has been opposing any move to charge or tax hotels and operations in vicinity of tiger parks to help provide local livelihoods and opportunities to the poor impacted by creation of the reserves besides being used for the upkeep of the tiger habitat. A recommendation to the effect by the Tiger Task Force has been long pending with the tourism and environment ministries locked in a turf battle.
The environment ministry and the National Tiger Conservation Authority are also hard pressed to tackle the political fallout of allowing high revenue tourism in the core of tiger reserves while tribals and forest dwellers have been asked to relocate.
The PM had written to several chief ministers recently asking for regulation of unfettered tourism on the periphery of tiger reserves such as the high profile Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand.
Environment minister Jairam Ramesh said, "The ministry of environment and forests believes that tourism is essential and that revenue from tourism must flow back directly into the management of each of the tiger reserves so that local communities can benefit."
But reiterating the long-standing criticism of the way tourism has operated in the tiger havens of India, Ramesh added, "The advantages of tourism should be felt by these local communities who should be encouraged to develop a stake in the protection of these tiger reserves. This policy of ploughing back is already in place in most reserves and it will be in place in all `Project Tiger' reserves very soon."
The tourism lobby has been opposing any move to charge or tax hotels and operations in vicinity of tiger parks to help provide local livelihoods and opportunities to the poor impacted by creation of the reserves besides being used for the upkeep of the tiger habitat. A recommendation to the effect by the Tiger Task Force has been long pending with the tourism and environment ministries locked in a turf battle.
The environment ministry and the National Tiger Conservation Authority are also hard pressed to tackle the political fallout of allowing high revenue tourism in the core of tiger reserves while tribals and forest dwellers have been asked to relocate.
The PM had written to several chief ministers recently asking for regulation of unfettered tourism on the periphery of tiger reserves such as the high profile Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Meet to review save-tiger plan
PATNA: As many as 13 tiger deaths have been reported in India so far in 2010. If one adds the two cases in which tiger body parts were seized this year, the number of big cat deaths stands at 15 this year.
It is more or less a continuation of the previous year's trend when as many as 66 tiger deaths and 29 cases of seizure of tiger body parts were reported from different parts of the country.
An alarmed National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has planned a review of the tiger protection strategy. It may issue fresh guidelines to protect the big cats in a better way. NTCA has convened a meeting of directors of the 39 tiger reserves of the country to discuss the issue. Experts from Wildlife Institute of India (WII)- Dehradun and chief wildlife wardens of 17 states, where these reserves are situated, have been invited to the meeting which would be held at Jim Corbett National Park from April 10 to 12.
On April 10, NTCA member secretary Rajesh Gopal along with other senior NTCA officials would discuss the issue with forest officials of northern and north-eastern states. Forest officials of central states would share their views with the NTCA on April 11 and on the last day it would be the turn of those coming from the southern states.
"Existing measures taken by different tiger reserves for protecting the big cats, their intelligence-gathering mechanism, problems facing them at ground in implementing the safety guidelines and reasons for tiger deaths would come up for discussions," NTCA deputy inspector general (DIG) Satya Prakash Yadav told TOI over phone from Delhi on Monday.
He said, suggestions would also be sought from field officials and WII experts regarding steps needed to improve the safety measures for tigers.
It is more or less a continuation of the previous year's trend when as many as 66 tiger deaths and 29 cases of seizure of tiger body parts were reported from different parts of the country.
An alarmed National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has planned a review of the tiger protection strategy. It may issue fresh guidelines to protect the big cats in a better way. NTCA has convened a meeting of directors of the 39 tiger reserves of the country to discuss the issue. Experts from Wildlife Institute of India (WII)- Dehradun and chief wildlife wardens of 17 states, where these reserves are situated, have been invited to the meeting which would be held at Jim Corbett National Park from April 10 to 12.
On April 10, NTCA member secretary Rajesh Gopal along with other senior NTCA officials would discuss the issue with forest officials of northern and north-eastern states. Forest officials of central states would share their views with the NTCA on April 11 and on the last day it would be the turn of those coming from the southern states.
"Existing measures taken by different tiger reserves for protecting the big cats, their intelligence-gathering mechanism, problems facing them at ground in implementing the safety guidelines and reasons for tiger deaths would come up for discussions," NTCA deputy inspector general (DIG) Satya Prakash Yadav told TOI over phone from Delhi on Monday.
He said, suggestions would also be sought from field officials and WII experts regarding steps needed to improve the safety measures for tigers.
Save tigers: PM to states
Not its roar but the dying tiger has woken up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
So worried is Singh with increasing reports of unnatural deaths of tigers in various national parks of the country that he has decided to personally take up the matter with some of the concerned states.
The Prime Minister’s concern comes slightly over a week after the Lok Sabha was informed that there were only 1,411 of the big cat left in a handful of India’s tiger reserves.
A day later, it was reported that 11 of the animals were found dead in one tiger reserve. The following day another was found dead, bringing the official tiger count to 1,399.
Faulty method
Last year was the worst since 2002 for tiger deaths. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has conceded that its method of counting tigers is so vague and faulty that there may be only 1,165 left.
Against normal mortality of 30 tigers a year, 66 were killed in 2009. Of these, 46 were killed inside tiger reserves while 20 were killed in the forests.
Needless to say the Prime Minister’s personal intervention was, to some extent, a reaction to the states’ inability to protect tigers.
So, at a meeting of the National Board for Wildlife on Thursday, Singh asked the states to more to save the few remaining tigers.
Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also talk to state governments on the delay in notifying buffer zones in protected areas which was having a negative impact on wildlife.
There are 37 Project Tiger reserves in the country and 663 protected areas.
A majority of the states are yet to bring the identified buffer areas in sanctuaries, tiger reserves and protected areas under the legal ambit which would ban construction and any infrastructural projects.
“But the states are reluctant to do so. Hence the delay in the notification,” Ramesh said.
“The poaching mafia, with clandestine help from local politicians, are involved in the killings that would empty the forests of wildlife and make it easier for them to use the land for mining or construction,” he added.
Relocation of people
Thursday’s meeting also discussed the relocation of people living on the periphery of tiger reserves.
“Of the 80,000 families to be relocated from tiger reserves, only 3,000 have moved out so far. And 77,000 families have to be relocated over the next seven years, for which a total financial package of Rs 8,000 crore would be required,” Jairam said.
He promised that the Centre would support voluntary relocation from any protected area and pay compensation of Rs 10 lakh to each of the families.
So worried is Singh with increasing reports of unnatural deaths of tigers in various national parks of the country that he has decided to personally take up the matter with some of the concerned states.
The Prime Minister’s concern comes slightly over a week after the Lok Sabha was informed that there were only 1,411 of the big cat left in a handful of India’s tiger reserves.
A day later, it was reported that 11 of the animals were found dead in one tiger reserve. The following day another was found dead, bringing the official tiger count to 1,399.
Faulty method
Last year was the worst since 2002 for tiger deaths. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has conceded that its method of counting tigers is so vague and faulty that there may be only 1,165 left.
Against normal mortality of 30 tigers a year, 66 were killed in 2009. Of these, 46 were killed inside tiger reserves while 20 were killed in the forests.
Needless to say the Prime Minister’s personal intervention was, to some extent, a reaction to the states’ inability to protect tigers.
So, at a meeting of the National Board for Wildlife on Thursday, Singh asked the states to more to save the few remaining tigers.
Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also talk to state governments on the delay in notifying buffer zones in protected areas which was having a negative impact on wildlife.
There are 37 Project Tiger reserves in the country and 663 protected areas.
A majority of the states are yet to bring the identified buffer areas in sanctuaries, tiger reserves and protected areas under the legal ambit which would ban construction and any infrastructural projects.
“But the states are reluctant to do so. Hence the delay in the notification,” Ramesh said.
“The poaching mafia, with clandestine help from local politicians, are involved in the killings that would empty the forests of wildlife and make it easier for them to use the land for mining or construction,” he added.
Relocation of people
Thursday’s meeting also discussed the relocation of people living on the periphery of tiger reserves.
“Of the 80,000 families to be relocated from tiger reserves, only 3,000 have moved out so far. And 77,000 families have to be relocated over the next seven years, for which a total financial package of Rs 8,000 crore would be required,” Jairam said.
He promised that the Centre would support voluntary relocation from any protected area and pay compensation of Rs 10 lakh to each of the families.
Big B joins Save the Tiger campaign
Concerned over the dwindling number of tigers in India, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan Thursday joined a campaign to save the big cat, which he described as "symbolic" of the country's wildlife wealth.
The awareness and tiger conservation initiative is a joint venture of cellphone service provider Aircel and national news channel NDTV.
"The tiger is symbolic of India's wildlife wealth. It is in danger because of rampant poaching and the ineffectiveness of our system to stop its killing. Collective action is the need of the hour," Bachchan told reporters at a function here.
"It is our responsibility to not only initiate a public movement but also ensure that it gains momentum," he added. The campaign intends to provide a common platform to tiger conservationists and concerned citizens to raise issues and voice their opinions, according to organisers.
The function was organised to announce NDTV joining Aircel in the campaign, which the cellular service had initiated last year.
The awareness and tiger conservation initiative is a joint venture of cellphone service provider Aircel and national news channel NDTV.
"The tiger is symbolic of India's wildlife wealth. It is in danger because of rampant poaching and the ineffectiveness of our system to stop its killing. Collective action is the need of the hour," Bachchan told reporters at a function here.
"It is our responsibility to not only initiate a public movement but also ensure that it gains momentum," he added. The campaign intends to provide a common platform to tiger conservationists and concerned citizens to raise issues and voice their opinions, according to organisers.
The function was organised to announce NDTV joining Aircel in the campaign, which the cellular service had initiated last year.
Bangladesh patrols to protect Bengal tiger
Bangladesh will form patrols in the world's largest mangrove forest in a bid to stop locals beating the critically endangered Bengal tiger to death, an official said Monday.
The move follows an increase in tiger deaths in the 10,000-square-kilometre (3,860 square miles) Sunderbans forest, with dozens beaten to death over the last decade after wandering into local villages.
"It's impossible to conserve these rare tigers unless we involve villagers to help protect the animal," said Abdul Motaleb, the government's forest conservation chief.
There are around 450 Bengal tigers in the Bangladeshi section of the Sunderbans, the world's largest remaining population in the wild, according to a 2004 government census.
The new government-approved plan, the first of its kind in the area, will lead to the formation of a 10-person patrol team in each of the hundreds of villages on the edge of the forest, which straddles the Bangladesh-India border.
"The patrol teams will inform forest officials as soon as a tiger enters their village. They'll also persuade the villagers not to harm the animals," the official said.
Last year, nearly 30 people were killed after they were attacked by tigers while fishing or collecting honey inside the forest, according to media reports, and villagers are traditionally hostile to the tigers.
Expert Monirul Khan said tiger numbers were likely only half the government's estimate, with fatal beatings being a key factor in the slow demise of the animal.
SEARCH
The move follows an increase in tiger deaths in the 10,000-square-kilometre (3,860 square miles) Sunderbans forest, with dozens beaten to death over the last decade after wandering into local villages.
"It's impossible to conserve these rare tigers unless we involve villagers to help protect the animal," said Abdul Motaleb, the government's forest conservation chief.
There are around 450 Bengal tigers in the Bangladeshi section of the Sunderbans, the world's largest remaining population in the wild, according to a 2004 government census.
The new government-approved plan, the first of its kind in the area, will lead to the formation of a 10-person patrol team in each of the hundreds of villages on the edge of the forest, which straddles the Bangladesh-India border.
"The patrol teams will inform forest officials as soon as a tiger enters their village. They'll also persuade the villagers not to harm the animals," the official said.
Last year, nearly 30 people were killed after they were attacked by tigers while fishing or collecting honey inside the forest, according to media reports, and villagers are traditionally hostile to the tigers.
Expert Monirul Khan said tiger numbers were likely only half the government's estimate, with fatal beatings being a key factor in the slow demise of the animal.
SEARCH
Nature lovers participate in 'Save Tiger Campaign' in Alwar
Alwar (Rajasthan), Mar 29 (ANI): Nature lovers from different professional backgrounds participated in a run organized for the 'Save Tiger Campaign' in Rajasthan's Alwar District.
Buzz up!Many senior administrative officials and politicians including local lawmaker Bhaway Jitendra Singh also took part in the event.
"We received a warm support from every resident of Alwar district. People of all age groups have participated in the event. We are planning to go to the villages adjoining Sariska region and spread awareness about our campaign. We will tell them that the future generations must witness the tigers which we are witnessing today and we don't want that the tigers will be extinct from our planet like dinosaurs," said Poonam Bedi, one of the organisers.
India is a key player in efforts to boost the global tiger population, which numbers just a few thousand.
Poaching and a loss of habitat have caused the tiger population to plunge from around 40,000 at the turn of the 20th century in India to a little over 1400 in 2010.
The trade in tiger skin and bones is booming in countries such as China, which has banned the use of tiger parts in medicine. But everything, from fur to whiskers to eyeballs and bones, are still sed for health purposes.
Buzz up!Many senior administrative officials and politicians including local lawmaker Bhaway Jitendra Singh also took part in the event.
"We received a warm support from every resident of Alwar district. People of all age groups have participated in the event. We are planning to go to the villages adjoining Sariska region and spread awareness about our campaign. We will tell them that the future generations must witness the tigers which we are witnessing today and we don't want that the tigers will be extinct from our planet like dinosaurs," said Poonam Bedi, one of the organisers.
India is a key player in efforts to boost the global tiger population, which numbers just a few thousand.
Poaching and a loss of habitat have caused the tiger population to plunge from around 40,000 at the turn of the 20th century in India to a little over 1400 in 2010.
The trade in tiger skin and bones is booming in countries such as China, which has banned the use of tiger parts in medicine. But everything, from fur to whiskers to eyeballs and bones, are still sed for health purposes.
Forest dept plans making tiger safari a zoological park
LUDHIANA: The forest department has decided to give the status of zoological park to Tiger Safari, which is the only zoo in the city. Authorities have forwarded a proposal to senior officials in Delhi. The proposal of extension and upgrade of the zoo has also been sent under Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) project where the mini zoo will get a new look with improved facilities for visitors and animals.
According to information provided by an official, this year, the zoo would get tigers, leopards, crocodiles and few species of the birds. Along with that, for visitors, an interaction centre would be constructed where the models of animals would be displayed. He added that a control room would be established where animal behaviour would be monitored through closed circuit television cameras.
The zoo has a dispensary for the animals, however, if their condition gets too bad, they are taken to Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. From this financial year, it has been planned that the dispensary would be conducted into a full-fledged veterinary hospital, so there is no need to take the animals outside the zoo.
"The only facility in the city where residents can take children to inform them about birds and animals is the Tiger Safari. An upgrade of facilities in the safari is bound to help it in attracting more visitors," said Preeti Sabharwal, a resident of the city.
While talking to TOI, divisional forest officer Vishal Chauhan said a detailed plan for the upgrade had been prepared. He mentioned that the proposals sent for the purpose included one for the financial year and another for the master plan, which would work in the long term. He stated that introduction of new species in the zoo was to be one of the major developments and veterinary hospital would ensure that they stay healthy for many years to come.
According to information provided by an official, this year, the zoo would get tigers, leopards, crocodiles and few species of the birds. Along with that, for visitors, an interaction centre would be constructed where the models of animals would be displayed. He added that a control room would be established where animal behaviour would be monitored through closed circuit television cameras.
The zoo has a dispensary for the animals, however, if their condition gets too bad, they are taken to Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. From this financial year, it has been planned that the dispensary would be conducted into a full-fledged veterinary hospital, so there is no need to take the animals outside the zoo.
"The only facility in the city where residents can take children to inform them about birds and animals is the Tiger Safari. An upgrade of facilities in the safari is bound to help it in attracting more visitors," said Preeti Sabharwal, a resident of the city.
While talking to TOI, divisional forest officer Vishal Chauhan said a detailed plan for the upgrade had been prepared. He mentioned that the proposals sent for the purpose included one for the financial year and another for the master plan, which would work in the long term. He stated that introduction of new species in the zoo was to be one of the major developments and veterinary hospital would ensure that they stay healthy for many years to come.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
for the tigers sake!!
If you have seen a tiger in the wild, you are very fortunate indeed. There are not many left in India's forests. Those that remain lead a precarious existence. Poaching is the most obvious threat the tiger faces, but it is not the only one. Human settlements inside a tiger reserve also spell trouble. These villages — or a highway or railway line cutting across a forest — fragment wildlife areas, and pose a great danger to the flora and fauna within. Wildlife experts believe that core tiger areas should be completely inviolate in order to allow tigers to multiply.
Boon in disguise
The construction of the Bhadra reservoir in Karnataka in the 1960s, near what is now the Bhadra Tiger Reserve, was a boon in disguise to tiger conservation. The reservoir served as a buffer against further development. But the number of villages in other areas of the Reserve continued to increase. People have lived in the forests of Bhadra for generations. According to a 1917 report, Bhadra had “a village of 88 people and 186 cattle occupying 4.19 sq km.” Villagers in the 16 hamlets of Bhadra were mainly agriculturists, cultivating paddy and coffee on cleared forest land. They also reared cattle, which shared grazing space with the tiger's natural prey like deer. But the cattle could also spread disease among wildlife. Clearly man and nature were on opposing sides, with wildlife on the losing side.
For the tiger's sake, the humans needed to leave. But it was not easy for the villagers living in the reserve area, sometimes for over three generations, to leave the place they considered home. Apart from the emotional angle, the other main issue was the suspicion that, if they did re-locate, the Government would leave them in the lurch. This was because relocations from other wildlife sanctuaries had been handled badly. But rehabilitation from Bhadra seems to have worked.
In what has come as a shot in the arm for wildlife conservationists, and a glimmer of hope for the tiger, 432 families from 16 villages from within the Bhadra Tiger Reserve in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka have been successfully rehabilitated. The villagers were rehabilitated in two areas: M.C.Halli, about 100 km from the Reserve and Kelagur, about 15 km from Chikmagalur. But all this did not happen overnight. The process began in 1987, when a preliminary survey of families eligible for resettlement was conducted. But the project picked up momentum only in the late 1990s with the active involvement of the forest and revenue departments and, more importantly, the participation of village representatives and NGOs.
Working together
Government agencies in India do not always work well together. Inter-departmental files are delayed in transit, and bureaucratic procedures add to the problem. And NGOs are often considered ‘outsiders', interfering with government procedure. So, what went right in Bhadra? A rehabilitated villager called it “the aligning of good planets resulting in excellent people coming together”. Less dramatically, much of the credit goes to Yatish, then Deputy Conservator of Forests, and Gopala Krishne Gowda, then Deputy Commissioner. Committed wildlife NGOs, who had been holding earnest dialogues with villagers inside the Reserve, also played an important role. Perhaps the most active was a local activist, D.V. Girish, who works with the NGO Wildlife First.
And, of course, credit goes to the villagers themselves. Many sensed the time had come to move. As S.R.Nagaraj, a resettled villager now residing at M.C.Halli, put it, “To say we moved out so that the tiger could live would be a lie. We moved out because there were no facilities for a normal existence inside the Tiger Reserve. But we ensured that the Government acquired land for resettling and personally visited the places before agreeing to shift. I must admit that the Government has provided all that it had promised.” What was vital here was that village representatives worked closely with other Government agencies and NGOs.
The Deputy Commissioner helped by cutting through bureaucratic hurdles, often dealing directly with the forest department, the village representatives and NGOs. Politically motivated hurdles were overcome with daily strategy meetings between all the agencies and the village representatives.
The villagers in M.C. Halli speak well of the facilities they have been provided. Those at Kelagur are taking longer to settle, as they depend on the rains for water. Some of the land distributed is rocky, and bore wells are yet to be dug. If this is taken care of, and authorities have said that these villagers are also eligible for aid under other Government schemes, then the Bhadra project will be a benchmark in resettlement. It will also be a model of successful partnership between Government agencies and NGOs.
This move gives the country's wildlife a chance, a slim one, but definitely a chance. Perhaps then the tiger would still roar in India's jungles in the years to come.
Voices
* Conservationist Dr. Ullas Karanth: "As a person from the Western Ghats, I know that the people want to relocate in favour of a better life. Why should they live frozen in time when the rest of society is developing* And if they move out, it is good for the tiger; it is a win-win situation." * Sushilamma, re-settled in M.CHalli: It had been my home for 32 years. Who can leave the place that had become one's home* But the Government has given us five acres here, and we have started cultivating crops." * H.D. Sudhakar, re-settled villager at Kelagur: "The rocky land prevents anything from growing. It is as if giving up our homes has landed us in hardship. I hope the Government gives us alternative land, and digs bore wells quickly."
Boon in disguise
The construction of the Bhadra reservoir in Karnataka in the 1960s, near what is now the Bhadra Tiger Reserve, was a boon in disguise to tiger conservation. The reservoir served as a buffer against further development. But the number of villages in other areas of the Reserve continued to increase. People have lived in the forests of Bhadra for generations. According to a 1917 report, Bhadra had “a village of 88 people and 186 cattle occupying 4.19 sq km.” Villagers in the 16 hamlets of Bhadra were mainly agriculturists, cultivating paddy and coffee on cleared forest land. They also reared cattle, which shared grazing space with the tiger's natural prey like deer. But the cattle could also spread disease among wildlife. Clearly man and nature were on opposing sides, with wildlife on the losing side.
For the tiger's sake, the humans needed to leave. But it was not easy for the villagers living in the reserve area, sometimes for over three generations, to leave the place they considered home. Apart from the emotional angle, the other main issue was the suspicion that, if they did re-locate, the Government would leave them in the lurch. This was because relocations from other wildlife sanctuaries had been handled badly. But rehabilitation from Bhadra seems to have worked.
In what has come as a shot in the arm for wildlife conservationists, and a glimmer of hope for the tiger, 432 families from 16 villages from within the Bhadra Tiger Reserve in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka have been successfully rehabilitated. The villagers were rehabilitated in two areas: M.C.Halli, about 100 km from the Reserve and Kelagur, about 15 km from Chikmagalur. But all this did not happen overnight. The process began in 1987, when a preliminary survey of families eligible for resettlement was conducted. But the project picked up momentum only in the late 1990s with the active involvement of the forest and revenue departments and, more importantly, the participation of village representatives and NGOs.
Working together
Government agencies in India do not always work well together. Inter-departmental files are delayed in transit, and bureaucratic procedures add to the problem. And NGOs are often considered ‘outsiders', interfering with government procedure. So, what went right in Bhadra? A rehabilitated villager called it “the aligning of good planets resulting in excellent people coming together”. Less dramatically, much of the credit goes to Yatish, then Deputy Conservator of Forests, and Gopala Krishne Gowda, then Deputy Commissioner. Committed wildlife NGOs, who had been holding earnest dialogues with villagers inside the Reserve, also played an important role. Perhaps the most active was a local activist, D.V. Girish, who works with the NGO Wildlife First.
And, of course, credit goes to the villagers themselves. Many sensed the time had come to move. As S.R.Nagaraj, a resettled villager now residing at M.C.Halli, put it, “To say we moved out so that the tiger could live would be a lie. We moved out because there were no facilities for a normal existence inside the Tiger Reserve. But we ensured that the Government acquired land for resettling and personally visited the places before agreeing to shift. I must admit that the Government has provided all that it had promised.” What was vital here was that village representatives worked closely with other Government agencies and NGOs.
The Deputy Commissioner helped by cutting through bureaucratic hurdles, often dealing directly with the forest department, the village representatives and NGOs. Politically motivated hurdles were overcome with daily strategy meetings between all the agencies and the village representatives.
The villagers in M.C. Halli speak well of the facilities they have been provided. Those at Kelagur are taking longer to settle, as they depend on the rains for water. Some of the land distributed is rocky, and bore wells are yet to be dug. If this is taken care of, and authorities have said that these villagers are also eligible for aid under other Government schemes, then the Bhadra project will be a benchmark in resettlement. It will also be a model of successful partnership between Government agencies and NGOs.
This move gives the country's wildlife a chance, a slim one, but definitely a chance. Perhaps then the tiger would still roar in India's jungles in the years to come.
Voices
* Conservationist Dr. Ullas Karanth: "As a person from the Western Ghats, I know that the people want to relocate in favour of a better life. Why should they live frozen in time when the rest of society is developing* And if they move out, it is good for the tiger; it is a win-win situation." * Sushilamma, re-settled in M.CHalli: It had been my home for 32 years. Who can leave the place that had become one's home* But the Government has given us five acres here, and we have started cultivating crops." * H.D. Sudhakar, re-settled villager at Kelagur: "The rocky land prevents anything from growing. It is as if giving up our homes has landed us in hardship. I hope the Government gives us alternative land, and digs bore wells quickly."
Animal consensus to begin next month
An extensive animal census planned by Goa forest department is expected to put to rest the uncertainty about existence of tigers in state’s forest, the environmentalists feel.
“If the census is done scientifically than it will surely prove existence of tigers here,” environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar told PTI.
Kerkar, who exposed killing of a tiger near Mhadei wildlife sanctuary last year, opined that the shadows of mining magnets should be kept at bay while conducting the census.
A senior forest department officer said that census will begin from next month, which would be an extensive exercise, to be held with the help of forest department officers, experts and volunteers.
The counting which will happen banking on the methodology adopted by Dehradun based Wildlife institute of India (WII), is expected to prove the claims by green activists that the Goa forests needs to be declared as Tiger Reserves.
Kerkar stated that the environmentalists are always pressing for declaration of these sanctuaries as tiger reserves so that the mining companies cannot even think of peeping into it.
The environmentalists feel that protection of sanctuaries like Mhadei, Netravali and Bhagwan Mahaveer will provide continuous corridor to wild animals.
“This corridor will cover Bhimgad wildlife sanctuary of Maharasthra, Dandeli sanctuary, Anshi national park, certain areas of forest adjoining Tillari in Maharashtra and Radhanagari forests,” he added.
Another environmentalists’ group, Mission Green, had recently petitioned Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention to declare Goa’s wildlife sanctuaries as tiger reserves.
The e-petition signed by various individuals was also sent to union environment and forest minister Ramesh Jayram.
Goa, which has almost around 50 per cent of its area as forest, had recently witnessed killing of a tiger and subsequent hints of existence of a tigress with her cub in Mhadei wildlife sanctuary basin.
The census held in 2002 had counted presence of four tigers in Goa based on pugmarks and other related signs of the wild beast. Next census conducted in 2006 could not come to any results as it was conducted with new methodology and WII is yet to compile the results.
With such situation prevailing, all hopes are now on the ensuing census to put to rest all the vagueness on existence of tigers in Goa’s forest.
“The census will be actually assessment of animals and their habitat. We will be able to map exactly whats the trend within the sanctuaries and whether there is enough food available for them,” an officer attached to wildlife sanctuary, told PTI.
“If the census is done scientifically than it will surely prove existence of tigers here,” environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar told PTI.
Kerkar, who exposed killing of a tiger near Mhadei wildlife sanctuary last year, opined that the shadows of mining magnets should be kept at bay while conducting the census.
A senior forest department officer said that census will begin from next month, which would be an extensive exercise, to be held with the help of forest department officers, experts and volunteers.
The counting which will happen banking on the methodology adopted by Dehradun based Wildlife institute of India (WII), is expected to prove the claims by green activists that the Goa forests needs to be declared as Tiger Reserves.
Kerkar stated that the environmentalists are always pressing for declaration of these sanctuaries as tiger reserves so that the mining companies cannot even think of peeping into it.
The environmentalists feel that protection of sanctuaries like Mhadei, Netravali and Bhagwan Mahaveer will provide continuous corridor to wild animals.
“This corridor will cover Bhimgad wildlife sanctuary of Maharasthra, Dandeli sanctuary, Anshi national park, certain areas of forest adjoining Tillari in Maharashtra and Radhanagari forests,” he added.
Another environmentalists’ group, Mission Green, had recently petitioned Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention to declare Goa’s wildlife sanctuaries as tiger reserves.
The e-petition signed by various individuals was also sent to union environment and forest minister Ramesh Jayram.
Goa, which has almost around 50 per cent of its area as forest, had recently witnessed killing of a tiger and subsequent hints of existence of a tigress with her cub in Mhadei wildlife sanctuary basin.
The census held in 2002 had counted presence of four tigers in Goa based on pugmarks and other related signs of the wild beast. Next census conducted in 2006 could not come to any results as it was conducted with new methodology and WII is yet to compile the results.
With such situation prevailing, all hopes are now on the ensuing census to put to rest all the vagueness on existence of tigers in Goa’s forest.
“The census will be actually assessment of animals and their habitat. We will be able to map exactly whats the trend within the sanctuaries and whether there is enough food available for them,” an officer attached to wildlife sanctuary, told PTI.
Two villagers have been arrested for allegedly killing two tiger cubs at the Ranthambhore national park in the north-west Indian state of Rajasthan.
Wildlife officials said the men poisoned the cubs in revenge for poaching their cattle.
The carcasses of the cubs were found in the park on Sunday.
Poaching and loss of habitat in India have decimated tiger numbers which are estimated to have fallen from 40,000 to about 1,400 in the past 100 years.
A major awareness campaign has been launched to halt the steep decline in tiger numbers in India.
'Poisoned goat'
"These villagers poisoned the cubs to take revenge as the animals had poached their cattle," said Mr RS Shekhawat, deputy field director of Ranthambore tiger reserve.
Forest officials said the villagers fed pesticide to a goat. The cubs killed the goat and were poisoned when they ate its meat.
Ranthambore covers several hundred square kilometres of dry deciduous forests sprawling over undulating terrain.
According to a 2009 census, there were about 40 tigers in and around the park, which is in Sawaimadhopur district of Rajasthan.
Nearly 100 villages surround the park, and the more the tiger population grows the more they are likely to come into conflict with humans, observers say.
Ranthambhore is a major tourist attraction, drawing about 200,000 people from India and abroad every year.
Wildlife officials said the men poisoned the cubs in revenge for poaching their cattle.
The carcasses of the cubs were found in the park on Sunday.
Poaching and loss of habitat in India have decimated tiger numbers which are estimated to have fallen from 40,000 to about 1,400 in the past 100 years.
A major awareness campaign has been launched to halt the steep decline in tiger numbers in India.
'Poisoned goat'
"These villagers poisoned the cubs to take revenge as the animals had poached their cattle," said Mr RS Shekhawat, deputy field director of Ranthambore tiger reserve.
Forest officials said the villagers fed pesticide to a goat. The cubs killed the goat and were poisoned when they ate its meat.
Ranthambore covers several hundred square kilometres of dry deciduous forests sprawling over undulating terrain.
According to a 2009 census, there were about 40 tigers in and around the park, which is in Sawaimadhopur district of Rajasthan.
Nearly 100 villages surround the park, and the more the tiger population grows the more they are likely to come into conflict with humans, observers say.
Ranthambhore is a major tourist attraction, drawing about 200,000 people from India and abroad every year.
Camera-trapping of tiger starts, partial census results by December
The number of tigers in three major landscapes - Terrai, Central India and the Western Ghats - home to 80 percent of India's tigers,
will be known by December, but a countrywide total would be available only by March next year, an official involved in the ongoing census of big cats said.
About 500,000 sq km of forests, including 39 tiger reserves in 17 states, are being surveyed.
"We would know the tiger numbers in three major landscapes by December - Terrai, Central India and the Western Ghats. Although the estimation process for the entire country would be over only by March next year," professor Y V Jhala of Wildlife Institute of India (WII), said.
He said: "not only tiger reserves, but all forest areas in the country will be covered."
The last census in 2005-06 showed a sharp fall in tiger numbers. The census then conducted with an improved method revealed India had just 1,411 tigers left in the wild, raising serious concern about their survival.
Jhala said a new phase involving camera-trapping of tigers has begun. "Researchers have started this exercise, as the ground work involving the forest staff is almost completed."
Each camera costs about Rs. 10,000 and is especially designed for deployment in forests. It has censors that trigger the camera to take pictures automatically whenever animals come within range in front of its lens. They are usually attached to a tree. Batteries and the film of the camera are replaced manually when they run out.
Since they are produced in small numbers in India, demand for large quantities is met through imports.
"The Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore produces them but only in limited number for research purpose," says Rahul Kaul, director of Wild Species Programme of the NGO Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), which will lay the camera-traps in Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for tiger monitoring.
"We will need at least 100 cameras in each site. We are hoping to get some from WII, but the rest we have to purchase," Kaul said, adding these cameras are commercially produced in the US.
WII had been assigned by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to procure these cameras for use in the current census.
"The whole exercise (census) focuses on the habitat available for tiger and tiger occupancy in those areas. Even last time, the surveyed areas were graded good, not so good and poor," said Diwakar Sharma, associate director, Species Conservation Programme of the NGO Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) India.
"So when we get the estimation this time, it will show the status of the habitat, number of tigers in those areas, and thus helping to arrive at the overall figure. That is why you get the minimum to maximum (population) range," he explained.
The survey also aims to study prey base of tigers, crucial for its survival.
Before the estimation began in January, WII and the NTCA gave extensive training to forest staff tasked with the census. NGOs and individual experts were also trained. They also brought out a field guide to help the staff in the census.
Poaching, shrinkage of habitat and man-animal conflict continue to haunt tigers in the country, resulting in their fewer numbers.
will be known by December, but a countrywide total would be available only by March next year, an official involved in the ongoing census of big cats said.
About 500,000 sq km of forests, including 39 tiger reserves in 17 states, are being surveyed.
"We would know the tiger numbers in three major landscapes by December - Terrai, Central India and the Western Ghats. Although the estimation process for the entire country would be over only by March next year," professor Y V Jhala of Wildlife Institute of India (WII), said.
He said: "not only tiger reserves, but all forest areas in the country will be covered."
The last census in 2005-06 showed a sharp fall in tiger numbers. The census then conducted with an improved method revealed India had just 1,411 tigers left in the wild, raising serious concern about their survival.
Jhala said a new phase involving camera-trapping of tigers has begun. "Researchers have started this exercise, as the ground work involving the forest staff is almost completed."
Each camera costs about Rs. 10,000 and is especially designed for deployment in forests. It has censors that trigger the camera to take pictures automatically whenever animals come within range in front of its lens. They are usually attached to a tree. Batteries and the film of the camera are replaced manually when they run out.
Since they are produced in small numbers in India, demand for large quantities is met through imports.
"The Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore produces them but only in limited number for research purpose," says Rahul Kaul, director of Wild Species Programme of the NGO Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), which will lay the camera-traps in Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for tiger monitoring.
"We will need at least 100 cameras in each site. We are hoping to get some from WII, but the rest we have to purchase," Kaul said, adding these cameras are commercially produced in the US.
WII had been assigned by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to procure these cameras for use in the current census.
"The whole exercise (census) focuses on the habitat available for tiger and tiger occupancy in those areas. Even last time, the surveyed areas were graded good, not so good and poor," said Diwakar Sharma, associate director, Species Conservation Programme of the NGO Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) India.
"So when we get the estimation this time, it will show the status of the habitat, number of tigers in those areas, and thus helping to arrive at the overall figure. That is why you get the minimum to maximum (population) range," he explained.
The survey also aims to study prey base of tigers, crucial for its survival.
Before the estimation began in January, WII and the NTCA gave extensive training to forest staff tasked with the census. NGOs and individual experts were also trained. They also brought out a field guide to help the staff in the census.
Poaching, shrinkage of habitat and man-animal conflict continue to haunt tigers in the country, resulting in their fewer numbers.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Buck up states!!
She saw her first tiger in Palamu when she was three months old. She photographed a tiger in Sariska when she was 16. Since then Belinda Wright, 57, one of India's leading conservationists, has pushed the limits to save the Great Indian tiger. Her mother, Anne Wright, was a part of the Tiger Task Force mandated to select nine reserves to launch Project Tiger. She won two Emmy awards and 14 international awards for her film "Land of the Tiger'. She spoke to Hardnews in New Delhi
Akash Bisht Delhi
What impact would the 'year of the tiger' in China have on Indian tigers?
I met traders in China and they mentioned that the demand for tiger parts is increasing in China. The Year of the Tiger will definitely fuel demand for tiger parts which is a flourishing business in China. This demand would have a detrimental effect on tiger conservation in India and could lead to more tigers being poached. It is also a wonderful opportunity to create awareness in China about the few tigers that are left in the world. The international community should build pressure on China to stop trading in tiger parts.
Despite so much funding why is Project Tiger unsuccessful in curbing poaching in India?
Money doesn't buy motivation, commitment or political will. The central government has shown concern about dwindling numbers, but states don't give much importance to tigers. The tiger is an inconvenience because it involves people who live in tiger habitats, and politicians are only bothered about vote bank politics. State governments are in a state of denial whenever the issue of tiger deaths are raised. These governments are stuck in old ways and there is complete lack of transparency. The entire system is rotten. There are numerous vacancies in the forest department but they are not being filled; there is lack of training of forest officials. While poachers have modern weaponry, forest officials still carry primitive weapons.
What about organisations that oppose rehabilitation from crucial tiger habitats?
I have spoken to numerous people who live in these forests and they have expressed the willingness to move out. These areas have no amenities and they want schools, hospitals and clean water. I want to ask the people, who oppose rehabilitation, to try and live in these forests without any basic amenities.
Who are the poaching gangs operating in India and why is it difficult to nab them?
Five years ago, the main players were Sansar Chand, Shabbir Hasan and Prabhakaran in south India. After their arrests, their family members are carrying on the business. Poaching is like a drug trail which keeps going in the safe hands of an organised system: if one man is arrested, he is soon replaced by someone else. It is like any other organised crime and needs to be dealt with in a similar fashion. But, in our country, when people can get away with murder, how do you expect stringent actions against wildlife crimes, which are not even taken seriously by the government and its agencies?
Recently, I read about 'tiger wines' that are available all over the world.
Most tiger wines use tiger bones that are bred in captivity in China, while the Indian tiger is used exclusively for medicine. Bulk of manufacturing happens in China and then these products are exported. You can find products with tiger bones on the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco, among other cities.
What is the future of tigers in India?
India has to make serious decisions. Do Indians want these magnificent species or not? None of these animals would survive if we don't give them space. We will have tigers in the future but they would be confined to small patches across India and then we will have glorified safaris to see the true wild tiger of India. In 2006, Animal Planet did a global survey and tiger was voted as the most popular animal in the world. India has the largest population of wild tigers. The world envies us and this makes us deeply responsible to ensure that this species roams Indian forests forever.
Your views on commercial activities inside reserves.
Our reserves can't sustain this kind of mindless pressure. Instead of developing tiger habitats we are destroying it. Resorts in reserves cater to parties, weddings and rain dances which are beyond my understanding. Why should people go there for such events? These reserves should be strictly for wildlife tourism and authorities should not encourage this senseless mess. The vision of the authorities is blurred.
Akash Bisht Delhi
What impact would the 'year of the tiger' in China have on Indian tigers?
I met traders in China and they mentioned that the demand for tiger parts is increasing in China. The Year of the Tiger will definitely fuel demand for tiger parts which is a flourishing business in China. This demand would have a detrimental effect on tiger conservation in India and could lead to more tigers being poached. It is also a wonderful opportunity to create awareness in China about the few tigers that are left in the world. The international community should build pressure on China to stop trading in tiger parts.
Despite so much funding why is Project Tiger unsuccessful in curbing poaching in India?
Money doesn't buy motivation, commitment or political will. The central government has shown concern about dwindling numbers, but states don't give much importance to tigers. The tiger is an inconvenience because it involves people who live in tiger habitats, and politicians are only bothered about vote bank politics. State governments are in a state of denial whenever the issue of tiger deaths are raised. These governments are stuck in old ways and there is complete lack of transparency. The entire system is rotten. There are numerous vacancies in the forest department but they are not being filled; there is lack of training of forest officials. While poachers have modern weaponry, forest officials still carry primitive weapons.
What about organisations that oppose rehabilitation from crucial tiger habitats?
I have spoken to numerous people who live in these forests and they have expressed the willingness to move out. These areas have no amenities and they want schools, hospitals and clean water. I want to ask the people, who oppose rehabilitation, to try and live in these forests without any basic amenities.
Who are the poaching gangs operating in India and why is it difficult to nab them?
Five years ago, the main players were Sansar Chand, Shabbir Hasan and Prabhakaran in south India. After their arrests, their family members are carrying on the business. Poaching is like a drug trail which keeps going in the safe hands of an organised system: if one man is arrested, he is soon replaced by someone else. It is like any other organised crime and needs to be dealt with in a similar fashion. But, in our country, when people can get away with murder, how do you expect stringent actions against wildlife crimes, which are not even taken seriously by the government and its agencies?
Recently, I read about 'tiger wines' that are available all over the world.
Most tiger wines use tiger bones that are bred in captivity in China, while the Indian tiger is used exclusively for medicine. Bulk of manufacturing happens in China and then these products are exported. You can find products with tiger bones on the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco, among other cities.
What is the future of tigers in India?
India has to make serious decisions. Do Indians want these magnificent species or not? None of these animals would survive if we don't give them space. We will have tigers in the future but they would be confined to small patches across India and then we will have glorified safaris to see the true wild tiger of India. In 2006, Animal Planet did a global survey and tiger was voted as the most popular animal in the world. India has the largest population of wild tigers. The world envies us and this makes us deeply responsible to ensure that this species roams Indian forests forever.
Your views on commercial activities inside reserves.
Our reserves can't sustain this kind of mindless pressure. Instead of developing tiger habitats we are destroying it. Resorts in reserves cater to parties, weddings and rain dances which are beyond my understanding. Why should people go there for such events? These reserves should be strictly for wildlife tourism and authorities should not encourage this senseless mess. The vision of the authorities is blurred.
Friday, March 5, 2010
The Year of the Tiger - and Organized Crime
The "Year of the Tiger," the lunar Chinese New Year, was celebrated on February 14. Once every twelve years, tigers are honored for their transcendent beauty and for the physical and psychic prowess their parts are believed to offer humans.
There are perhaps 17,000 tigers on this earth. Between 5,000 and 7,000 are "farmed in China," five thousand in the United States, three thousand of which are kept in private hands, about two thousand in zoos. These are not solid numbers, but what we do know is that there are probably no more than 3,200 tigers in the wild. And we do know that wild tigers are being snared and poached and killed at a rate that will once and for all time bring silence and death to the wild. Thus, this Year of the Tiger has brought an orchestra of well-wishers to the fore: to hold conferences, to issue papers, to pledge to double wild tiger numbers by the next Year of the Tiger. But conferences will not suffice to shut down the vicious criminal organizations, serious killers, who run an operation that is as lucrative as the trade in illegal drugs. A 55 pound sack of tiger bones from a single tiger, a tiger once wild and now caged in a tenement zoo enclosure, can be worth up to $250,000. Consider the selling price of all the parts of a failing, ill-treated, once-wild tiger, now near death with other once-wild, dying tigers.
T.J. a Siberian tiger who Liz and I met in 1992, in of all places, Zoo Montana in Billings, courtesy of Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick, Director of the Science and Conservation Center, was not among those who ever knew wildness. To that extent he was not a tiger at all. I will write more about the splendid creature, Timothy J., named after a keeper in Denver, a tiny cub whose mother died shortly after his birth. He was three years old at the time we met him, a supreme failure as a wild tiger, but a masterpiece of creature beauty.
Tiger numbers are difficult to state with precision. What is not difficult to state is that there is a well-organized criminal trade in tigers, tiger parts and tiger prey, mainly headed for China. And as China enjoys greater affluence, the internal market place for wild tiger products, grows stronger and more demanding. Tiger bone wine, ground tiger bone powder mixed with 38% proof rice wine is sold for prices as high as $750 per bottle depending on the vintage.
TRAFFIC, a group financed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) serves as the ubiquitous watchdog and reporter of the illegal trade in tigers and tiger parts, as well as tiger prey.
Here is a recent wake-up report from TRAFFIC.
"The tiger is in crisis. Its value has exponentially increased as a result of the growing affluence of a significant population of Asians, particularly the Chinese. The removal of a top predator from any ecosystem is the equivalent of removing an essential structural component from an airplane. The system will crash.
"The reason for the continuing demise of the wild tiger is overwhelmingly the demand for bones, skin, meat and virtually every part that comprises a tiger. Claws and teeth are used for jewelry and good luck charms. Eyeballs are used to treat epilepsy, bile to stop convulsions, whiskers to soothe toothache and penises as a potent sexual tonic. It is this exploding demand in China that has led to the diversification of organized crime gangs running tiger trafficking operations. The most readily available and cheapest part of the killing gang: willing poachers in all parts of the tiger's range. When the takings get too slim, operations move to wherever enforcement is weakest and corruption highest.
"These are tough people, not hesitating to kill when pushed hard.
"India, Nepal, Sumatra, Malaysia, Vietnam are all poaching centers of the trade. There is a new trend for cutting tigers into portable sized pieces, skin first removed. More saleable components can be shipped via truck using this method. Even some zoos have had break-ins (China and Indonesia) where the tigers in the cage are killed and butchered on the spot and the body parts carried out overnight in backpacks.
"Poaching is not about poor farmers scratching out a living, or retaliating against a tiger that has invaded a village garden - this is big business. It is arrogant business; in the face of multi-party workshops and multi-player pledges to work to save the wild tiger, we have received a recent film made in Malaysia, portraying a number of poachers who snared a tiger. We watch as they spear it, shoot it, and grin back at the camera. Here is the first link that connects by cell phone or satellite phone to the syndicated group that swiftly moves the dead tiger from the source to the consumer.
"We conclude that the tiger does not have a chance unless we can catalyze high level government will, build in governance and transparency systems and raise the capacity for enforcement. That combined with demand reduction programs and working to close the tiger farms is what the workshops that have been and are to be is pledged, not necessarily to do, but to talk about. We also emphasize that the encouragement of young local NGO's such Asean Wen (Asean Wildlife Network) of Thailand is crucial to the long-term viability of wild tigers."
So, what is the planned strategy of the world's key policy-makers now that the saving of wild tigers is fast becoming a global responsibility? In April of 2009 an international technical workshop was convened in Thailand: the Pattaya Manifesto on Combating Wildlife Crime in Asia. It issued fifteen recommendations focusing on initiatives for the prevention of poaching, reduction in demand for illegal wildlife, as well as increasing public awareness.
Next followed the much ballyhooed workshop in Kathmandu (Nepal) convened October 30 of last year. More than 250 "experts," scientists and government delegates from thirteen tiger- range countries attended and called for "immediate action to save tigers before the species disappears from the wild." They cited the urgent need to for increased protection against tiger poaching and trafficking in tiger parts. The usual luminaries co-organized and co-sponsored the event: the most prestigious, the World Bank.
One workshop seems to always beget another, in this case a conference held in Thailand, October 27 through October 30. This was Asia's first ministerial meeting on tiger conservation. In attendance were ministers and vice ministers representing the thirteen tiger-range countries.
This workshop added the element of site specific work, already in progress, to save tiger habitat and effect outreach work with the local population. Wildlife Conservation Society, financed to some extent by our foundation, is working in western Thailand to beef up local patrols, keep development at arm's length from tiger habitat, and do the monitoring necessary to evaluate the program's activities. All in all, the results are positive. But the work, valuable as it is, will not do the long-term job that is required. Unless the criminal trade is shut down, the attendees agreed, the wild tiger will be gone by the next Year of the Tiger.
The Prime Minister delivered a video address to the group. "This may be our last chance to save the tiger," he said as he urged the group to set a clear and forceful agenda.
An important statement emerged. The attendees affirmed that they had appeared together with a common purpose: to make clear commitments to saving the endangered tiger. They agreed, in a joint declaration to protect "critical tiger habitats and existing tiger source populations as true sanctuaries for tigers and be inviolate from economic development." They laid out an agenda for the September Summit meeting in Vladivostok that covered all bases, including the enforcement of laws that would eventually put an end to the criminal poaching of tigers and tiger prey, and the shutting down of all tiger farms, an issue of major importance to the World Bank.
So, next to Vladivostok in September: a Heads of State Summit, hosted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and co-chaired by the World Bank's Robert Zoellick.
"Summits" as we know, come and go, and then the players go back to the rhythms of their daily lives. Once again, it will not be heads of state that will save the wild tiger. It will be us, you and me and people who care enough to engage.
There are perhaps 17,000 tigers on this earth. Between 5,000 and 7,000 are "farmed in China," five thousand in the United States, three thousand of which are kept in private hands, about two thousand in zoos. These are not solid numbers, but what we do know is that there are probably no more than 3,200 tigers in the wild. And we do know that wild tigers are being snared and poached and killed at a rate that will once and for all time bring silence and death to the wild. Thus, this Year of the Tiger has brought an orchestra of well-wishers to the fore: to hold conferences, to issue papers, to pledge to double wild tiger numbers by the next Year of the Tiger. But conferences will not suffice to shut down the vicious criminal organizations, serious killers, who run an operation that is as lucrative as the trade in illegal drugs. A 55 pound sack of tiger bones from a single tiger, a tiger once wild and now caged in a tenement zoo enclosure, can be worth up to $250,000. Consider the selling price of all the parts of a failing, ill-treated, once-wild tiger, now near death with other once-wild, dying tigers.
T.J. a Siberian tiger who Liz and I met in 1992, in of all places, Zoo Montana in Billings, courtesy of Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick, Director of the Science and Conservation Center, was not among those who ever knew wildness. To that extent he was not a tiger at all. I will write more about the splendid creature, Timothy J., named after a keeper in Denver, a tiny cub whose mother died shortly after his birth. He was three years old at the time we met him, a supreme failure as a wild tiger, but a masterpiece of creature beauty.
Tiger numbers are difficult to state with precision. What is not difficult to state is that there is a well-organized criminal trade in tigers, tiger parts and tiger prey, mainly headed for China. And as China enjoys greater affluence, the internal market place for wild tiger products, grows stronger and more demanding. Tiger bone wine, ground tiger bone powder mixed with 38% proof rice wine is sold for prices as high as $750 per bottle depending on the vintage.
TRAFFIC, a group financed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) serves as the ubiquitous watchdog and reporter of the illegal trade in tigers and tiger parts, as well as tiger prey.
Here is a recent wake-up report from TRAFFIC.
"The tiger is in crisis. Its value has exponentially increased as a result of the growing affluence of a significant population of Asians, particularly the Chinese. The removal of a top predator from any ecosystem is the equivalent of removing an essential structural component from an airplane. The system will crash.
"The reason for the continuing demise of the wild tiger is overwhelmingly the demand for bones, skin, meat and virtually every part that comprises a tiger. Claws and teeth are used for jewelry and good luck charms. Eyeballs are used to treat epilepsy, bile to stop convulsions, whiskers to soothe toothache and penises as a potent sexual tonic. It is this exploding demand in China that has led to the diversification of organized crime gangs running tiger trafficking operations. The most readily available and cheapest part of the killing gang: willing poachers in all parts of the tiger's range. When the takings get too slim, operations move to wherever enforcement is weakest and corruption highest.
"These are tough people, not hesitating to kill when pushed hard.
"India, Nepal, Sumatra, Malaysia, Vietnam are all poaching centers of the trade. There is a new trend for cutting tigers into portable sized pieces, skin first removed. More saleable components can be shipped via truck using this method. Even some zoos have had break-ins (China and Indonesia) where the tigers in the cage are killed and butchered on the spot and the body parts carried out overnight in backpacks.
"Poaching is not about poor farmers scratching out a living, or retaliating against a tiger that has invaded a village garden - this is big business. It is arrogant business; in the face of multi-party workshops and multi-player pledges to work to save the wild tiger, we have received a recent film made in Malaysia, portraying a number of poachers who snared a tiger. We watch as they spear it, shoot it, and grin back at the camera. Here is the first link that connects by cell phone or satellite phone to the syndicated group that swiftly moves the dead tiger from the source to the consumer.
"We conclude that the tiger does not have a chance unless we can catalyze high level government will, build in governance and transparency systems and raise the capacity for enforcement. That combined with demand reduction programs and working to close the tiger farms is what the workshops that have been and are to be is pledged, not necessarily to do, but to talk about. We also emphasize that the encouragement of young local NGO's such Asean Wen (Asean Wildlife Network) of Thailand is crucial to the long-term viability of wild tigers."
So, what is the planned strategy of the world's key policy-makers now that the saving of wild tigers is fast becoming a global responsibility? In April of 2009 an international technical workshop was convened in Thailand: the Pattaya Manifesto on Combating Wildlife Crime in Asia. It issued fifteen recommendations focusing on initiatives for the prevention of poaching, reduction in demand for illegal wildlife, as well as increasing public awareness.
Next followed the much ballyhooed workshop in Kathmandu (Nepal) convened October 30 of last year. More than 250 "experts," scientists and government delegates from thirteen tiger- range countries attended and called for "immediate action to save tigers before the species disappears from the wild." They cited the urgent need to for increased protection against tiger poaching and trafficking in tiger parts. The usual luminaries co-organized and co-sponsored the event: the most prestigious, the World Bank.
One workshop seems to always beget another, in this case a conference held in Thailand, October 27 through October 30. This was Asia's first ministerial meeting on tiger conservation. In attendance were ministers and vice ministers representing the thirteen tiger-range countries.
This workshop added the element of site specific work, already in progress, to save tiger habitat and effect outreach work with the local population. Wildlife Conservation Society, financed to some extent by our foundation, is working in western Thailand to beef up local patrols, keep development at arm's length from tiger habitat, and do the monitoring necessary to evaluate the program's activities. All in all, the results are positive. But the work, valuable as it is, will not do the long-term job that is required. Unless the criminal trade is shut down, the attendees agreed, the wild tiger will be gone by the next Year of the Tiger.
The Prime Minister delivered a video address to the group. "This may be our last chance to save the tiger," he said as he urged the group to set a clear and forceful agenda.
An important statement emerged. The attendees affirmed that they had appeared together with a common purpose: to make clear commitments to saving the endangered tiger. They agreed, in a joint declaration to protect "critical tiger habitats and existing tiger source populations as true sanctuaries for tigers and be inviolate from economic development." They laid out an agenda for the September Summit meeting in Vladivostok that covered all bases, including the enforcement of laws that would eventually put an end to the criminal poaching of tigers and tiger prey, and the shutting down of all tiger farms, an issue of major importance to the World Bank.
So, next to Vladivostok in September: a Heads of State Summit, hosted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and co-chaired by the World Bank's Robert Zoellick.
"Summits" as we know, come and go, and then the players go back to the rhythms of their daily lives. Once again, it will not be heads of state that will save the wild tiger. It will be us, you and me and people who care enough to engage.
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