Open Forum
New Delhi, 4 February 2015
Tiger Census
STRONG GOVERNANCE
CRITICAL
By Proloy Bagchi
A lot of cheer has been brought to tiger and environment
lovers by the latest Tiger Census conducted in late 2014. There seems to have
been a revival in its numbers after the dismal count of 2006, when it had
registered 1411 tigers. A marginal increase to 1706 was registered in 2011. In
2014, however, the growth was robust of around 30 per cent taking the tiger
tally up to 2226. Singing paeans for the conservation efforts undertaken
between the last two censuses, there is apparently an environment of
backslapping among the tiger bureaucracy, the tiger NGOs as well as
conservationists in general.
That 2,226 tigers in a country that used to boast of around
1,00,000 of them at the turn of the 20th Century and around 40,000 in 1947 is
nothing much to write home about does not appear to throw cold water on their
enthusiasm. We have been pretty profligate in the matter, particularly after we
started ruling ourselves. The tiger numbers rapidly declined because vast
tracts of forests were felled for increasing food grain production, for
industrial growth and to meet the needs of a rapidly rising population.
Within 20 years or so after independence the number of
tigers in the country was estimated to be around the same as what it is today –
about 2,500. Tiger numbers were in decline even during the time of Jim Corbett,
the famous hunter who used to hunt down man-eaters in Kumaon, and he had gone
on record about it. Our authorities, however, did not pay heed to what he had
said and the numbers came plummeting down from around 40,000 to 2,500 in mere
20-odd years.
I still remember the “grow more food” campaign initiated
during the 1940s and 1950s because of general shortage of food for reasons of
the after-effects of World War II and inclement weather in the then food bowl
of the country in its eastern parts. Vast tracts of jungles in the Himalayan
Terai region were felled to raise crops for the rising needs of an increasing
population and meeting the needs of the post-partition influx of millions of
refugees from Pakistan.
As was expected the country considerably lost not only its
rich wildlife – from elephants to tigers – as also plant life of the region.
Such clearances of forests had been carried out elsewhere in other regions as
well causing disappearance and/or degradation of wildlife habitat seriously
impacting their numbers. Apparently a desperate act to meet the human needs, no
consideration was shown towards the other living beings.
It was only in the 1960s when it was realised that there was
serious decline in the number of tigers that the process of tiger conservation
was initiated culminating in 1972 when the Government decided to
institutionalise tiger conservation through its Project Tiger. A census that
year had revealed existence of an abysmal number of only 1,827 tigers in the
country.
Launched in 1973, Project Tiger has become one of the most
successful conservation measures through creation of protected areas known as
Tiger Reserves, which seek to maintain a viable population of the species in
each in their natural environment. And yet, despite adding to the number of
Tiger Reserves, investment of enormous financial and human resources the number
of tigers has fluctuated above or below the 3,000 mark since 1972, having never
been able to get to even 4,000.
That the number is going to increase in the future
regardless of the efforts made is doubtful. The current Government has won the
last elections on the plank of “development” and, hence, that and economic
progress are its prime movers. Its Minister for Environment and Forests Prakash
Jawadekar had declared soon after his appointment that his ministry would not function
as a “roadblock” for development projects, indicating that projects for mining,
setting up of industries and creation of infrastructure would not be held up
for vital environmental clearances.
Recently, he gave away environmental clearances to 50 projects.
Before him, Minister Veerappa Moily of the Congress government had cleared as
many as 70 development projects within 20 days. He was brought in as his
predecessor Jayanti Natarajan was considered as a “roadblock” and had
accumulated a large pendency of developmental projects. As the previous and the
current governments are greatly persuaded by the concept of economic growth
reckoned in terms of rise in gross domestic product (GDP) and with Prime
Minister Modi keen on his “Make in India” slogan, damage to environment and
forests is on the cards.
Unfortunately, as in most cases, resources for power and
industry sit underneath dense forests – generally the habitat that is conducive
to wildlife. In this energy-hungry country more and more coal is going to be
mined for want of any other alternative source of energy and for industrial
growth more and more minerals are going to be mined resulting in denudation of
more and more forests. In such a scenario does the tiger have a chance?
Politicians in power are seldom environment-friendly. They
have always at the back of their minds the votes that can be harvested. In
Madhya Pradesh Panna Tiger Reserve might not have lost all its tigers in 2008
had the political executive intervened on the advice of experts. The Chief
Minister also delayed demarcation of the buffer zone of the Reserve to
facilitate mining for his crony. While doing so, he said that he wouldn’t put
people’s livelihood on the line only to save the tigers in the reserve! And, for preventing relocation of resident
tribal people he has refused to convert Ratapani Sanctuary near Bhopal into a tiger
reserve despite approval from the Centre.
In the Management Effectiveness Evaluation report on Tiger
Reserves 2014 the reserves have been rated in four categories. Only 15 out of
39 reserves have been rated very good and just 12 as good. The rest are all
satisfactory (8) or poor (4). Efforts need to be made to ensure a rating of
very good for at least 24 (60%) reserves raising their economic value by the
next census. It has to be brought home to the State governments concerned that
there is money in tiger reserves as has been shown by the first ever economic
valuation of six reserves in 2014. Their economic value has been pegged at
Rs.1.50 lakh crore – a very substantial amount.
Somebody has very aptly said that man is solely responsible
for the current precarious numbers of the tigers – its sole predator – and,
therefore, it is only man who can save the tiger in the wild. An “umbrella”
species, tigers provide space for several species to flourish in the vast areas
they cover. A tiger website says: “In India, more than 350 rivers
originate from tiger reserves. These reserves also sequester carbon, provide
oxygen and slowly release ground water to regulate floods. Protecting the tiger
will in turn protect these vital habitats.”
Vital as these roles are for us humans, what is needed is
strong governance in the reserves for their all-round development, if
necessary, with external expertise. Clearly, the country has to treasure and
value whatever it has. --- INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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