'Project Tiger' is a
wildlife conservation project initiated in
India in
1972 to protect the
Bengal Tigers. It was launched on
April 1 1973 and has become one of the most successful wildlife conservation ventures. 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 tiger population in their natural environment.
In 2007, there were 28 Project Tiger
wildlife reserves covering an area of 37,761 km². Project Tiger helped increased the population of these tigers from 1,200 in the
1970s to 3,500 in
1990s.
History
At the turn of the
20th century, one estimate of the tiger
population in India placed the figure at 40,000. The first ever all-India tiger census was conducted in 1972 which revealed the existence of only 1827 tigers. Various pressures in the second half of the 20th century led to the progressive decline of wilderness resulting in the disturbance of viable tiger
habitats. At the
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) General Assembly meeting in
Delhi in 1969, serious concern was voiced about the threat to several
species of
wildlife and the shrinkage of wilderness in India. In 1970, a national ban on
tiger hunting was imposed and in 1972 the
Wildlife Protection Act came into force. A task force was then set up to formulate a project for tiger conservation with an
ecological approach. One member of this task force was Anne Wright whose daughter
Belinda Wright continues to be an outspoken tiger conservationist.
The project was launched in 1973, and various
tiger reserves were created in the country based on a 'core-buffer' strategy. The core areas were freed from all sorts of
human activities and the buffer areas were subjected to 'conservation oriented land use'. Management plans were drawn up for each tiger reserve based on the principles outlined below:
★ Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and biotic disturbance from the core area and rationalization of activities in the buffer zone.
★ Restricting the habitat management only to repair the damages done to the eco-system by human and other interferences so as to facilitate recovery of the eco-system to its natural state.
★ Monitoring the faunal and floral changes over time and carrying out research about wildlife.
Initially, 9 tiger reserves were established in different States during the period 1973-74, by pooling the resources available with the Central and State Governments. These nine reserves covered an area of about 13,017km² -- viz Manas (Assam), Palamau (Bihar), Similipal (Orissa), Corbett (U.P.), Kanha (M.P.), Melghat (Maharashtra), Bandipur (Karnataka), Ranthambhore (Rajasthan) and Sunderbans (West Bengal).
The project started as a ''Central Sector Scheme'' with the full assistance of Central
Government until 1979-80: later, it become a 'centrally Sponsored Scheme' from 1980-81, with equal sharing of
expenditures between the center and the states.
The
World Wildlife Fund For Nature has given Project Tiger assistance in the form of equipments, expertise and literature worth US $ 1 million . The various States have given up forestry operations in the reserves leading to a loss of revenue.
Project Tiger was a pet project of
Indira Gandhi, the then
Prime Minister of India. Because of this, it is suspected that the number of tigers might have been exaggerated until her death in 1984. The funding and political support for Project Tiger has also declined since her death. Reports of widespread poaching of tigers in two of the premier Tiger Reserves of North India -
Sariska and
Ranthambore have prompted a high level inquiry by
CBI and also the constitution of a National level supervisory committee to supervise the implementation of the project. Senior wildlife
scientists and
conservationists have been chosen for this
committee to be headed by the Prime Minister himself.
The main achievements of this project are excellent recovery of the habitat and consequent increase in the tiger population in the reserve areas, from a mere 268 in 9 reserves in 1972 to above one thousand in 28 reserves in 2006. Tigers, being at the apex of the
food chain, can be considered as the indicator of the stability of the ecosystem. For a viable tiger population, a habitat should possess a good prey base which in turn will depend on an undisturbed forest vegetation. Thus, 'Project Tiger' is basically the conservation of the entire ecosystem and apart from tigers, all other wild animals population have also increased in the project areas. In the subsequent
Five Year Plans, the main thrust was to enlarge the core and buffer zones in certain reserves, intensification of
protection and
eco-development in the buffer zones of existing tiger reserves, creation of additional tiger reserves and strengthening of the research activities.
Tiger Reserves
In 2006 there were eight proposed new Tiger Reserves.
#
Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary -
Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu & Kerala
#
Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary and
Sita Nadi Wildlife Sanctuary, Chattisgarh
#
Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary, Orissa
#
Kaziranga National Park, Assam
#
Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary, Chattisgarh
#
Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and
Anshi National Park, Karnataka
#
Sanjay Gandhi National Park and
Sanjay Dubri Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh
#
Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
[2]
Present Organization and aims
The Project Tiger was to identify the limiting factors and to mitigate them by suitable management. The
damages done to the habitat were to be rectified so as to facilitate the recovery of eco-system to the maximum possible extent. Management practices which tend to push the wildlife populations beyond the carrying capacity of the habitat were carefully avoided. A minimum core of 300 km² with a sizeable buffer was recommended for each project area. The overall administration of the project is monitored by a ''Steering Committee''. The execution of the project is done by the respective State Governments. A ''Field Director'' is appointed for each reserve, who is assisted by the field and technical personnel. The Chief Wildlife warden in various States are responsible for the field execution. At the Centre, a full-fledged ''Director'' of the project coordinates the work for the country.
'
Wireless communication system' and 'outstation patrol camps' have been developed within the tiger reserves, due to which
poaching has declined considerably. '
Fire protection' is effectively done by suitable preventive and control measure Voluntory Village relocation has been done in many reserves, especially from the core area. In
Kanha,
Bandipur and
Ranthambhore, all the ''villages have been shifted from the core'', and after relocation, the villagers have been provided with ''alternate
agricultural lands'' and other ''community benefits''. This has resulted in the improvement of the carrying capacity of the habitat. Live stock grazing has been controlled to a great extent in the tiger reserves. Various compensatory developmental works have improved the 'water regime' and the ground and field level
vegetations, thereby increasing the ''animal
density''. Research data pertaining to vegetational changes are also available from many reserves. In general, the 'restorative management' and 'intense protection' under 'Project Tiger' have saved many of our eco-typical areas from destruction. The area around the buffer is now contemplated as a zone of multiple use, to bring compatibility between the reserves and the neighbouring communities.
Future plans
'
Technology and crime risk management'
Wildlife protection and
crime risk management in the present scenario requires a widely distributed ''Information Network'', using state-of-the-art
information and
communication technology. This becomes all the more important to ensure the desired level of protection in field formations to
safeguard the impressive gains of a focused project like 'Project Tiger'. The important elements in Wildlife protection and control are:
Mapping/
plotting the relative spatial abundance of
wild animals, identification of
risk factors, proximity to risk factors, ''sensitivity categorization'', ''crime mapping'' and immediate action for apprehending the offenders based on effective networking and communication. Space technology has shown the interconnectivity of natural and
anthropogenic phenomena occurring anywhere on earth. Several Tiger Reserves are being linked with the Project Tiger Directorate in the GIS domain for ''Wildlife Crime Risk Management''.
'
Information Technology in Tiger Reserve Management'
With the advanced IT tools, a wide array of software solutions are available to improve wildlife related information capture process, its analysis and informed decision making. Geographic Information System (GIS) is the most relevant of these technologies for natural resource management projects, including wildlife management. The
mandate of project tiger is to conserve tigers in a holistic manner. The GIS based database at PTHQ is being linked with the microcomputers in the Tiger Reserves, so that a dynamic linkage for rapid information flow is established using Arc IMS (Information Management System) facility.
'
Tiger Habitat and Population Evaluation System'
A ''Tiger Atlas of India'' and a ''Tiger Habitat & Population Evaluation System'' for the country is being developed using state-of-the-art technology. This involves:
★ Mapping , data acquisition and GIS modeling
★ Field data collection and validation
★ Data Maintenance , Dissemination and Use
The following potential tiger habitats in the country are being covered:
★ Shivalik-Terai Conservation Unit (Uttaranchal, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Nepal)
★ North east Conservation Unit
★ Sunderbans Conservation Unit
★ Central Indian Conservation Unit
★ Eastern Ghat Conservation Unit
★ Western Ghat Conservation Unit
Satellite data is being used and classified into
vegetation and land use maps on a 1:50,000 scale, with digitized data relating to contour, villages, roads, drainage, administrative boundaries and soil. The spatial layers would be attached with attribute data, viz. human population, livestock population, meteorological data, agricultural information and field data pertaining to wildlife, habitat for evolving regional protocols to monitor tiger and its habitat.
Future activities
The dynamics of
forest management and
wildlife conservation have been distorted due to need for income, lack of awareness, lack of landuse policy approach in landscapes having Tiger Reserves is of utmost importance in the country. It should be viewed as a
mosaic of different landuse patterns, viz, tiger conservation and preservation, forestry, sustainable use and development, besides socio-economic growth.
Tiger habitats exist in environments of thousands of
indigenous communities which depend on them. Therefore we cannot view these protected areas in isolation from the surrounding socio-economic realities and developmental priorities of the Govt. This calls for a cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary approach.
Tigers now need a '"preservationist" approach'. Regional planning is important around Tiger Reserves to foster ecological connectivity between protected areas through restorative inputs with integrated landuse planning. The management plan of a Tiger Reserve, therefore, needs to be integrated in larger regional management plans.
Criticism
In an
Animal Planet special named
Tiger Zero, Indian naturalist
Valmik Thapar has said that for several years, Project Tiger officials have inflated India's wild tiger census so as to save their jobs. Valmik's team of Ranthambhore reserve claims to have been backfired by them on the pretext that the census counting method is totally imperfect, when strict action was expected by Project Tiger, to curb poachers especially
Sansaar Chand. Project Tiger is now itself being threatened by government activities like the newly passed Tribal Bill. Furthermore, all the tigers in Sariska Tiger Reserve have been poached, showing the ineffectiveness of Project Tiger now.
Also throughout the country it was not only Sansaar Chand who was the only one to slaughter the tigers of India but other petty criminals also and it were they who posed the most danger to the tigers of India and they continue to do so. It was also, and still is the illegitimate buying and selling of tiger hides which posed danger. It is not only the government and the conservationists but also the duty of the common man to preserve the tiger or else it will be extinct one day and with it the man on earth too and it's not too long until this will happen but for our vigilance.
See also
★ ''For the documentary series aired on
Doordarshan, see
Sanctuary Films''
★
Bengal Tiger
★
White tiger
★
Black tiger (animal)
★
Tiger Population in India
External links
★
Gov. India - Project Tiger
★
Tiger Conservation Securing a future for Tigers in the wild
★
Why India's tigers may yet survive Scientist Ullas Karanth on the road ahead
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