India Seeks To Sustain A Healthy Tiger Population

According to Project Tiger head, which celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 1, India seeks to sustain a healthy tiger population based on a scientifically determined carrying capacity of habitats while preserving a balance between development and wildlife conservation. 

Although tiger poaching has significantly decreased thanks to better technology and protection procedures, according to Additional Director General of Forests S P Yadav, it is still the biggest threat to big cats, second only to habitat fragmentation and degradation.

On April 1, 1973, India started Project Tiger to encourage tiger conservation. It once covered nine tiger reserves covering 18,278 square kilometres. There are currently 53 tiger reserves covering more than 75,000 sq km, or roughly 2.4 per cent of the country's total land area.

Almost 70 per cent of the world's wild tiger population, or over 3,000 animals, live in India, and that number is growing at a pace of 6% annually. On April 9, the newest tiger census information will be made public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a large celebration in Mysuru, Karnataka, to commemorate Project Tiger's 50-year anniversary. On "Amrit Kaal," he will also reveal the government's plan for tiger conservation.

"There has been very significant progress... There is hardly any parallel in the world of a scheme of this scale and magnitude that has been so successful," Yadav said in an interview with PTI.

The minister expressed that the objective would be to maintain a healthy and sustainable tiger population in tiger habitats based on a carrying capacity determined by science. I won't put a number on it because we can't grow the number of tigers in the nation at the same rate without increasing human-tiger conflict. 

 According to Yadav, the government is putting a lot of effort into incorporating potential tiger habitats into the conservation programme and actively maintaining tiger reserves in accordance with their carrying capacity.

"Tiger numbers of many reserves are very low. These include Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal, Satkosia and Similipal in Odisha, and Satpura in Madhya Pradesh. We need active management where tiger numbers are below or above the carrying capacity.

"We need to translocate these tigers to areas that have a good prey base and better chances of survival. So, that will be the future strategy for tiger conservation in our country," he said.

Yadav emphasised the importance of striking a balance between development and conservation efforts. Yadav is also the member secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory agency charged with monitoring tiger habitats in India.

"We are a developing country; we cannot rule out development, we need employment. At the same time, we also need to conserve our tigers and other wildlife. This is where we have to strike a balance.

"The government, with the help of the Wildlife Institute of India, has come up with guidelines for linear infrastructure and mitigation measures. So, all proposals of projects in tiger corridors or tiger habitats, or buffer areas are put up before the standing committee of the NBWL (National Board for Wildlife) and implemented only after the recommendation of the panel which looks into all factors, including appropriate mitigation measures," he said.

According to NTCA data, India lost 857 tigers between 2012 and 2020, 193 of which perished as a result of poaching. The number of these accidents significantly decreased from 34 in 2018 to just 7 in 2020. In addition to habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching remains the biggest threat to tigers, according to Yadav.

"Poaching takes place in India not because there is a demand in our country, it is driven by the demand in consumer countries. Thanks to technology, better surveillance, patrolling and protection mechanisms, poaching has substantially reduced in India. But it still is the number one threat.

"We can always try (aim) for a zero-poaching situation but it's very difficult. We are the largest tiger range country in the world. We have more than 70 per cent of the global tiger population. With so many tigers, it's difficult to say that all our areas are 100 per cent protected. So, it cannot be ruled out," he said.

When asked if India's efforts to conserve wildlife have been fair to those who depend on forests, the head of Project Tiger responded that it was the cooperation and tolerance of the populace that made it possible to successfully preserve tigers, Asiatic elephants, single-horned rhinos, and Asiatic lions.

"Now the time has come that we have an aggressive people's agenda, which means the direct and substantial benefit of conservation should go to the people," he said.

The senior forest officer continued by saying that Project Tiger yearly creates over 45 lakh man-days of employment for locals. Also, the government offers assistance to self-help organisations and eco-development committees. To reduce tiger-human conflict, he emphasised the need for better monitoring and early warning systems for dispersing tigers. After they reach adulthood, tigers must create their own area. They engage in combat with the local tigers in pursuit of territory. If they lose, they leave. That is known as dispersion.

"And while dispersing, they pass through tiger corridors. If there is some disturbance or there is some diversion due to roads or canals or any linear infrastructure, they move into the (human) habitat but it's not their nature. Tigers do not identify human beings as their prey.

"The NTCA has issued a standard operating procedure on what could be done in such a situation but we need better monitoring and a better early warning system, especially on the dispersing tigers to make people aware of the tiger movement in the region to prevent any loss," Yadav said.

(With PTI inputs)