The tiger
deserves better : Editorial in "The Hindu"
The announcement that a 13-member
National Tiger Conservation Authority with the Union Minister
for Environment and Forests as its head will be formed to protect
India's national animal is a step forward, but only a feeble one
given the nature and gravity of the crisis that threatens the
future of the big cat. It is disappointing that the Government
of India has scaled down its response after initially promising
a conservation effort led by the Prime Minister. In its report
submitted in August, the Tiger Task Force made a specific request
for such stewardship. The country's natural spaces enjoyed the
highest protection under Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv
Gandhi who took a special interest in the environment, and suffered
big setbacks when such commitment was missing. The Conservation
Authority (which will derive its powers from amendments to be
made to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972) has a mandate to guide
a range of conservation activities in tiger reserves, national
parks, and sanctuaries in coordination with the States, which
will have local steering committees headed by Chief Ministers.
The panel will also have representatives who will ensure the welfare
of the forest-dependent people, above all tribal folk. The effectiveness
of the Authority will depend to a significant extent on its ability
to resolve conflicts arising out of coalition politics and enlist
the cooperation of tiger range States.
The Authority will face a tough challenge
in lifting Project Tiger out of its failed bureaucratic framework.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests, which glossed over Project
Tiger's questionable performance, must be held responsible for
the extinction of tigers in Sariska, one of the earliest reserves,
and the rapid depletion in several others. The Ministry must be
mandated to pursue sound conservation measures by enabling the
appointment of tiger biologists with acknowledged credentials
in peer-reviewed science as members of the Authority. Hack bureaucratic
views must not be allowed to dominate the discourse in a situation
where, by credible independent accounts, tigers have disappeared
in thousands of square kilometres of forest, forming a third of
Project Tiger areas. Urgent attention is required to secure the
environmental hotspots where tigers are at high risk today from
poaching, habitat loss, and pressure from incompatible human activity.
These problems need strong responses such as armed anti-poaching
policing in national parks and sanctuaries, well-conceived resettlement
schemes for villages located in protected areas, and a more transparent
approach to scientific scrutiny of Project Tiger. A more active
role for State Governments in managing their natural spaces will
go a long way in winning their participation. Where States give
up access to natural resources within protected areas, a liberal
compensation scheme may be more effective than political persuasion
in winning support for the tiger.
