Sanctuary | Cover Story More at www.sanctuaryasia.com | Cover Story THAKKAR other livelihoods are sustainable. None As tigers once more struggle for N of these can possibly rescue the poor survival, a global ‘Leave Me Alone’ “leave from poverty. (LMA) campaign, looks to nudge India VARUN It is in this context that Sanctuary ‘back to the future’ to guarantee the me alone” Asia posits India’s save the tiger ambi- tiger space, isolation and protection tion. It is in this context that we ask that from its principle threats: poaching, The voice of the tiger… human rights’ and nature rights’ groups dams, mines, linear intrusions including vignettes of tigerland unite against the forces that have divid- canals, highways and railway lines, and ed and ruled us at the cost of both our encroachments at the hands of both biodiversity and welfare and dignity of rich and poor. our people. The strike strategy of the LMA cam- a sANCTUARY REPORT paign involves the creation and champi- Why ‘Leave Me Alone’? oning of right livelihoods for millions of Project Tiger’s success in the 1970s and ‘ecosystem people’ whose sustenance 1980s can be attributed to its ‘leave the must come from regeneration of biodi- tiger alone’ strategy, which resulted in versity, not from its depletion. such a dramatic tiger and biodiversity The return of the tiger in Com- ore than half the world’s M recovery that even critics grudgingly munity Nature Conservancies will be population now lives in urban landscapes acknowledged that Project Tiger was a collateral benefit of improving the that have been so altered in the image probably the ‘most successful conserva- human condition, not its central pur- of Homo sapiens that all but the most tion project in the world’. pose. Other collateral benefits of al- adaptable of wild plants and animals The strategy then was simple: lowing nature to regenerate naturally have been wiped out here. National and Choose representative ecosystems in would be improved flood and drought international nature conservation strate- which tigers and the plants and animals control, climate mitigation and adapta- gies for the future must therefore see us tion for hundreds of million Indians at collectively protecting the biodiversity of risk from climate gone wrong. As far- the handful of wilderness landscapes we sighted economists are at pains to have rescued from human impacts with The return of the tiger in point out to their archaic colleagues, all the fervor of an animal struggling for its Community Nature Conservancies this must result in a dramatically reju- very existence. will be a collateral benefit of venated economy, as the nature-capital Clearly, this is not a people ver- improving the human condition, of the Indian subcontinent begins to be sus wildlife obsession as some myopic not its central purpose. rebuilt by working in concert with na- people suggest. Our fate and that of ture’s imperatives. the natural world are trussed together The option, of continuing to wage inextricably. Protecting the gene plasm with which they co-evolved, remove war against nature, has foregone con- contained in the tiny biodiversity vaults permanent human dwellings, agricul- clusions that should terrify young In- we call national parks and sanctuaries is ture and industry from such spaces, and dians who stand no chance of leading probably the ultimate human rights issue. leave nature to regenerate by repairing normal, happy, safe and carefree lives Equally vital is the imperative of guaran- itself. Backed by the late Prime Minis- in an era of climate change. teeing the well-being and the right to life ter Indira Gandhi, nature did respond We should start with a reality check. and dignity of communities living closest well. Streams and rivers that used to We must discount the PR being put out to these natural treasuries, for they are dry soon after the monsoon began to by self-congratulatory Indian govern- destined to be the ultimate custodians of run full. Species of plants, insects, birds ment agencies. The news on the tiger the biodiversity that is the heartbeat of and animals that looked like they would front is not good. But all is not lost by our planet. vanish sprang back to life. Not by un- any measure either. We have more ar- In the past few decades, however, dertaking any massive greening pro- eas protected under the Project Tiger insatiable market forces have weaned grammes, but by leaving nature alone umbrella than ever before… we have communities that once lived in a tenuous so that wind, water and living species more tiger supporters than ever be- balance with nature away from natural were able to combine to renew dam- fore. But we have fewer tigers. And living. In fact, livelihoods of most such aged geographies, with little or no ef- we have lost over half of the roughly communities now involves daily wages fort from humans apart from securing 300,000 sq. km. of tiger habitat that to cart biodiversity out of natural eco- the inside of the chosen Protected Ar- existed on the day that Project Tiger systems to feed bottomless markets. eas from outside damage. was launched in 1973. Much of this The most obvious examples of such self- Four decades later, however, politi- to dams, mines, roads and commercial defeating livelihoods includes the sale of cal support for Project Tiger has virtu- monoculture plantations. And possibly tendu leaves to the bidi (local cigarette) ally vanished and consequently many an equal amount to encroachments industry, bamboo stripped for papermills, past gains, which had come primarily and agriculture. firewood lifted for urban kitchens, and at the cost of communities who were minerals of all descriptions in scales large summarily torn from ancestral homes, The Telia ‘Girl Gang’ in theTadoba-Andhari or small. None of these and scores of have been severely eroded. Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. 01 22 Sanctuary Asia, August 2013 Sanctuary Asia, August 2013 23 Sanctuary | Cover Story More at www.sanctuaryasia.com | Cover Story H G N I SARKAR I YA S YA R D FACING PAGE ADIT LA A West Bengal Focus NI 01 A tiger on patrol at Sundarbans, West Bengal. The elephant, tiger and gaur are likely 02 The Ramganga river flowing to suffer most as a result of habitat through the Corbett Tiger fragmentation in North Bengal. Reserve, Uttarakhand. Though populations may show rising THIS SPREAD trends, we worry about human-animal 03 Corbett elephants and young conflicts. On the rhino front, however, have greatly benefitted from we have good news, from Jaldapara, the protection afforded to where field protection and consistent the forest in the name of the tiger. management efforts have given rhinos 04 In the Dudwa Tiger Reserve, an extra lease on life. Another area of Uttar Pradesh, which Billy satisfaction is the addition of science Arjan Singh fought for all his to our management endeavours. DNA life, a tiger watchfully allows analysis by the Centre for Cellular a sloth bear to pass by unchallenged. and Molecular Biology confirms the presence of at least 20 tigers in Buxa and we expect this number to rise. Our priority is to manage elephant conflict, protect habitats to ensure a viable 01 03 I A tiger population can be sustained and R N N I H revive rhino habitats. We also need C SA HA MARWAH HA to micro-manage niches within the D megafauna landscapes so that lesser NURA known creatures including amphibians A and migratory birds are able to flourish. What worries me is the rising tide of anger of human communities that are forced to confront huge animals such as elephants and gaur. The only real solution is to consolidate corridors and prevent intrusions into areas set aside for wildlife. Such anger is exploited by poaching syndicates and though we are getting cooperation and help from the police, the fact is that recently in Buxa an elephant’s entire head was sliced to remove the tusks. N.C. Bahuguna, IFS, PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden, West Bengal 02 04 Nevertheless, in the name of the ti- Over the years, Sanctuary’s writers tiger saved – nature can repair the dam- also happens to be one of the most stun- This park feeds the Ramganga river that No. 5, October 1990). This reserve is also ger we have managed to save species have been consistently underscoring the age inflicted on wild India if we leave it ning landscapes in the world. Neverthe- pours into the Ganges. It is in India’s na- home to the barasingha and the highly- as diverse as the hard-ground baras- threats to India’s tiger reserves and Pro- alone to heal in Intensive Conservation less, both elephant and tiger poaching tional interest to protect it. The Supreme endangered Bengal Florican. Sugarcane ingha of Kanha, saltwater crocodile of tected Areas in the public domain. While Units, or ICUs. incidents have taken place and the park Court needs to crack the whip to rein in fields along the boundary have caused the Sundarbans, golden langur in Ma- these efforts have raised the level of is also severely afflicted with the wrong all manner of offenders harming Corbett. massive tiger-human conflicts with both nas and the Forest Spotted Owlet in public support, particularly from young UTTARAKHAND kind of tourism with lodges having come In the words of Brijendra Singh, Honor- losing out. Encroachments and the shar- Melghat. And, despite the litany of bad India, we have regrettably been unable Corbett Tiger Reserve up in all the wrong places, seriously im- ary Wildlife Warden: “The lodges are ‘ring- ing of a porous border with Nepal have news on the wildlife front, some sci- to win the support of India’s public ser- pacting elephant and tiger movement.