A look at “Project Tiger” after 50 years

 

A look at “Project Tiger” after 50 years

GS-3: Ecology and Environment

(UPSC/State PSC)

Jan.11, 2024

Context:

The Indian government's violations of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and the Forest Rights Act have exacerbated conflicts in tiger reserves between the forest bureaucracy and forest-dwellers, ultimately endangering India's tigers and the people who coexist with them.

Project Tiger:

  • Origin: In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WLPA).
  • Under this, new places called 'National Parks' were introduced within the notified forests, where the rights of the forest dwellers were transferred to the state government.
  • It also created 'wildlife sanctuaries', where only certain permitted rights could be exercised.
  • Under this Act, Project Tiger was launched by the Central government on April 1, 1973, in a bid to promote conservation of the tiger.
  • There were nine tiger reserves in 1973 over 9,115 sq. km.
  • Currently there are 54 Tiger reserves in 18 states of India, covering an area of 78,135.956 sq.km. Are on.
  • Critical Tiger Habitats (CTH) cover 42,913.37 km, or 26% of the area under national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
  • The objective of CTHs to vouchsafe a part of India's forests for tiger centric agendas.
  • A buffer area was created adjacent to each CTH which is a mixed area of forest and non-forest land.
  • Buffer Area is to promote human animal coexistence while recognising the livelihood, developmental, social, and cultural rights of the local people.

Tiger census highlights:

  • As of 2022, the camera-trap method indicated there were 3,167-3,925 tigers in India.
  • The number of tigers in India has increased by 6.74 percent from 2,967 in 2018 to 3,167 in 2022, according to the figures of the 5th cycle of India’s Tiger Census.

Threats:

Tigers outside protected areas & possibility of conflict:

  • The current estimate also does not give numbers on the proportion of tigers outside protected areas, which are a growing number and a key marker of the environmental threats as well as man-animal conflicts.
  • According to the reports, Tigers are increasing outside Tiger Reserves in the landscape (Shivalik hills and Gangetic plains), Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
  • Cities in linear infrastructure projects in the congested corridor between western and eastern Rajaji (Haridwar & Dehradun) that have left the area ‘functionally extinct for large carnivores and elephant movement’.
  • The need is to invest in mitigating conflict with tigers and mega herbivores.

Threats to protected areas:

  • The authors of the census report warn that nearly all of the five major tiger-zones face challenges to the growth of the tiger population due to the increasing demands from infrastructure development.

Threats of Central Indian highlands and Eastern Ghats:`

  • The wildlife habitats (Protected Areas and corridors) within the region of Central Indian highlands and Eastern Ghats face a range of threats, including habitat encroachment, illegal hunting of both tigers and their prey, conflicts between humans and wildlife, unregulated and illicit cattle grazing, excessive harvesting of non-timber forest produce, human induced forest fires, mining, and ever-expanding linear infrastructure.
  • This region is also having several mines of important minerals, hence mitigation measures like lower mining impact techniques and rehabilitation of mining sites should be done on priority.

Cause of conflicts between forest bureaucracy and forest-dwellers

  • Originally, tiger reserves were to be created in a democratic process and "on the basis of scientific and objective criteria".
  • The tiger conservation plan was launched to "ensure the agricultural, livelihood, development and other interests of the people living in tiger-bearing forests or a tiger reserve."
  • The problem lies in the fact that India's tiger reserves have been notified without meeting these requirements. The government hasn't obtained informed consent from forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribe communities and other traditional communities.

Government's Initiatives to control conflict:

  • In 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed a five-member Tiger Task Force to crack the mystery of vanishing tigers.
  • To remove using guns, guards, and fences not effective in protecting tigers,
  • To control the increasing conflict between the forest/wildlife bureaucracy and those who coexist with the tigers.
  • In September 2006, Parliament amended the WLPA to create the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and a tiger conservation plan.
  • To ensure that CTHs remained inviolate, the Act only modified forest-dwellers' use of the forest mostly tribals and planned to relocate them if required.

FRA:

  • Government enacted the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, also known as the FRA.
  • The FRA recognised all customary and traditional forest rights on forest land, including in tiger reserves.
  • The government planned to notify the FRA Rules on January 1, 2009, and operationalise the Act.
  • objective: the habitation-level Gram Sabha was to democratically determine and demarcate the forest rights that the FRA recognised.

Significance of the FRA:

  • The Gram Sabhas had provided the authority to protect, conserve, and manage forests, wildlife, and biodiversity within their customary and traditional boundaries.
  • the FRA secured the livelihoods of at least 20 crore Indians in 1.79 lakh villages.

Relocation and rehabilitation

Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act 2013

  • Under the FRA, Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act 2013 recognises people's rights to Fair Compensation in Land.
  • No relocation can happen without the consent of the affected communities.
  • The resettlement plan also includes the provision of alternative fuels, fodder, and non-timber forest produce resources on non-forest land, electric connections, roads, drainage and sanitation, safe drinking water, water for cattle, grazing land, ration shops, panchayat buildings, post offices, a seed-cum-fertilizer storage facility, basic irrigation, burial or cremation ground, anganwadis, schools, health centres, veterinary service centres, community centre, places of worship, and separate land for tribal institutions.

Way forward:

  • The co-existence of forest dwellers and tigers should be ensured by the Government of India as specified in the CTH and FRA.
  • A CTH be established without affecting "the rights of the Scheduled Tribes and other forest dweliers".
  • The government should amend the WLPA to prevent tiger-forest conflict as WLPA only allows "voluntary relocation on mutually agreed terms and conditions satisfying requirements in the law.
  • The LARR also requires the rehabilitation package to provide financial compensation as well as secure livelihoods to those relocated.
  • Under the LARR, the government needs to compensate relocated people by paying them twice the market value of the land, the value of assets attached to the land including trees and plants, a subsistence allowance for a year, and a one-time financial assistance for relocation.

Source: The Hindu

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Mains Question:

The Indian government's violations of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and the Forest Rights Act have exacerbated conflicts in tiger reserves between the forest bureaucracy and forest-dwellers, ultimately endangering India's tigers and the people who coexist with them. Discuss.