Tiger Vs Govt of India - 1

Project Tiger - 1973

Project Tiger Scheme has been under implementation since 1973 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Government of India. Project Tiger is a wildlife Conservation movement initiated in India in 1972 to protect the Bengal Tiger's. The project aims at tiger conservation in specially constituted tiger reserves representative of various bio geographical regions throughout India. It strives to maintain a viable population of this conservation reliant species in their natural environment.

Objective
The main objective of Project Tiger is to ensure a viable population of tiger in India for scientific, economic, aesthetic , cultural and ecological values and to preserve for all time, areas of biological importance as a natural heritage for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people. Main objectives under the scheme include wildlife management, protection measures and site specific eco-development to reduce the dependency of local communities on tiger reserve resources.

Initially, the Project started with 9 tiger reserves, covering an area of 16,339 sq.km., with a population of 268 tigers. At present there are 27 tiger reserves covering an area of 37761 sq.km., with a population of 1498 tigers. This amounts to almost 1.14% of the total geographical area of the country. The selection of reserves was guided by representation of eco-typical wilderness areas across the bio-geographic range of tiger distribution in the country. Project Tiger is undisputedly a custodian of major gene pool. It is also a repository of some of the most valuable ecosystem and habitats for wildlife.

Tiger Reserves are constituted on a 'core-buffer' strategy. The core area is kept free of biotic disturbances and forestry operations, where collection of minor forest produce, grazing, human disturbances are not allowed within. However, the buffer zone is managed as a ‘multiple use area’ with twin objectives of providing habitat supplement to the spill over population of wild animals from the core conservation unit, and to provide site specific eco-developmental inputs to surrounding villages for relieving their impact on the core. Except for the National Parks portion if contained within, normally no relocation of villages is visualized in the buffer area, and forestry operations, NTFP collection and other rights and concessions to the local people are permitted in a regulated manner to complement the initiatives in the core unit.

Project Tiger has put the tiger on an assured course of recovery from the brink of extinction, and has resurrected the floral and faunal genetic diversity in some of our unique and endangered wilderness ecosystem. The population of tigers in the country has increased significantly to about 4000 from less than 2000 at the time of launch of the project.

My Views

The graph above shows the total area allocated and increased over a span of 25 years in India. The increase has been up to 101% from the time Project Tigers was implemented.More core-buffer zones and conservation areas have been added up, but what really shocks me the again is in 1970’s with 1500sqkms area we had 1200 tigers and by the start of this millennium with 37761sqkm area we are only left with 1400 odd tigers.

Again where are we going wrong?

As told earlier the problem lies in the root level of conservation management. We still follow orthodox conservation management which lacks technology, equipments, knowledge and research. Our country might be the first in the world to introduce or implement any new ventures but I find it very difficult to say that it equally exhibits a very laid back approach when it comes to basic operations and continuity management.

*** I Thank the Project Tiger and NIC for the above mentioned statistics.