Tyger tyger fading fast

The report published by Wildlife Institute of India revealed that the tiger population in Central India has come down by 60 per cent

The nation received a major blow last week after the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehra Dun released the report of All India Major Carnivorous and its Prey Assessment and Evaluation of Habitat Programme, the task taken up to assess tiger population in Central India.

The WII began camera trapping of tigers in Project Tiger reserves in Central India in July 2005 to assess tiger population in the region. The report published last week claimed that the tiger population has come down by 60 per cent. The report shot up heated debates about failure of the only successful and high profile conservation programme of the country.

There were around 40,000 tigers in the jungles in last century; the number was reduced to 4,000 at the turn of century. Whatever rectifying measures were taken up — like formation of Project Tiger and passing of Wildlife Protection Act 1972 — were a result of dynamic leadership of the then Prime Minster Indira Gandhi. What is more significant that tiger had political support then, but now only economic issues seem to attract political attention than ecological.

It is not that the whistle was not blown throughout last two decades. The Tiger Crisis Cell and the Steering Committee of Project Tiger have alerted the government to the impending disaster. Noted conservationists Bittu Sahgal and Valmik Thapar had predicted the crisis through an article in Sanctuary Asia magazine in 1997. Unfortunately for the big cat, nothing was done to rectify the problem.

Sahgal feels, “There has been much hue and cry about number of tigers since the report came out and no one seems to be addressing the real problem, which is the tiger has lost both political support and leadership.” The PMO is conspiring to remove protection from wilderness and appoint inexperienced people to key positions, Sahgal adds. The tiger has been able to survive poaching because its forests were extensive. But in fragmented forests, like Sariska, even a small surge in poaching can cause local extinction, Sahgal said.

The tiger population had shown a significant rise after Project Tiger was launched in 1973. But today, the big cat is in trouble. Reacting to the problem, Sahgal said, “There is a difference between Project Tiger led by Kailash Sankhala in 1973 and Project Tiger led by Dr Rajesh Gopal in 2007. Sankhala had the courage to stand up against vested interests. Today, Gopal has capitulated before politicians. He has left the tiger unprotected.”

According to Sahgal, “It is not merely the tiger’s extinction that is the issue. With the tiger we had save countless other species of plants and animals. And painstakingly we had allowed natural regeneration to take root across the tiger forests.” This helped in restoring year-round fresh water supply from rivers that used to run dry soon after monsoons.

“Get a competent person to head Project Tiger. We must get competent people to take charge of tiger reserves.” The national parks must be managed by a separate service. These forests are key to the water security, as over 300 pure rivers originate here. They are also carbon traps that help us to counter climate change. The tiger is a prolific breeder and given security from poachers and the space in which to live, the species can be protected very easily, Sahgal adds.