India's Recent Conservation History
Central India retains its status as a tiger state with more big cats in its reserves than any other. This is a matter of pride and a sign of huge success in the conservation of the beleaguered cat. The problems faced by the endangered animal are literary insurmountable, but yet their populations grow in our country. Whereas we retain fifty percent of the population in India, it is losing ground elsewhere on Earth.
Once we had contiguous tracts of forests and grasslands which formed fragile yet tenable ecosystems that supported myriads of life forms to conserve sustainable biodiversity in a robust environment. The lifelines of these precious natural places were the major rivers and their tributaries. This is not the case anymore as they have been either dammed or altered by engineering and this continues. This has prevented or altered the movement of keystone species and has resulted in subsequent damage to their environment and the ecosystems as a whole.
Nature is a highly sensitive element of Earth and even slight alteration may threaten the survival of species, and the environmental equilibrium that is crucial for the sustenance of life on Earth including that of humans. There are in fact no pliable solutions to engineer earthly elements for infrastructure developments some strategies may only mitigate but not prevent a hole in the protective shield. Even the current methods of agriculture and livestock rearing are damaging the globe the former in an irreversible manner. Wood extraction, mining for minerals, and fossil fuels need an immediate reversal by developing renewable alternate energy sources which are merciful on carbon emissions.
The perfect state did not last long after the arrival of invaders with ideologies that were not nature-centric, unlike the Vedic ethos. The growth of the human population though in a nascent stage at that time was slowly burgeoning. The advent of firearms, the use of wood for economic urgencies, the widespread prevalence of hunting among the privileged, and the later clearing of large tracts of forests to settle humans and support agriculture to make the rapidly rising population sustainable spelled disaster for our ecosystems. Today good crown cover survives in isolation and that too is under constant threat. The protected areas or PAs are in disconnect and a large number of them exist in complete isolation surrounded by a sea of humans all over.
Conservation & Tourism
The efforts to save the big cats continue, and in conservation, leitmotif tourism plays a major role. To be specific it is tiger tourism that is at the front of saving the species from extinction. This is done by according equity to the majestic animal and by providing crucial revenue for conservation activity. Another balance that tourism augurs are awareness of the complex web of life and its importance.
The survival of tigers does not depend only on numbers; it is dependent upon a number of factors including political resolve, reduction in man-animal conflict, and unchecked linear infrastructure developments that go through the heart of our reserves. Saddled between popular expectations and the need to leave our ecosystems untouched the dispensation is in a quandary badly trying to find a middle ground that practically does not exists anymore after severe depredation.
The crucial role played by the protected areas cannot be denied. It is this creation that has accorded space to the predator and protected its home from destruction by humans in the surroundings and those at the helm of economic game plays that the country has experienced right from the day of independence.
The successful tiger reserves act as a breather for the species to overcome the challenges it faces in an effort to secure its existence on Earth. Unfortunately, the existential threats accrue from various quarters thanks to callous human nature and greed which tramples over all that the Earth stands for.
Though there are fifty reserves in India not all are bustling with the endangered animal. Some exhibit a pathetic record of conservation due to negligence and prevailing conditions in the surroundings which are not conducive to the survival of the cat in the confines.
But there are many reserves that are doing well and the species is regaining ground. The present beleaguered status of the tiger in India is due to the wanton destruction of its habitats, hunting, poaching, and man-animal conflict which is strangulating the species slowly but surely. These stressful factors needed immediate emancipation and Project Tiger conceived in the seventies has been active in saving the species. All PAs with tiger populations are under the aegis of this program in India that includes popular National Parks, WLS, and the reserves we so often visit to spot the majestic hunter. Wildlife Protection Act 1972 has been crucial in protecting all life forms in the country and continues to do so in present times.
Tiger tourism generates revenue for the parks and thus reduces the onus of funding on the State. Funds flow from other sources as well keeping the conservation initiatives alive. The industry as a whole contributes to revenue generation and provides employment to the locals and this results in empowerment as well.
They are employed in the forest department, by the hotel industry as well as the small enterprise which supports local economies. Not all reserves receive a large number of visitors. The factors responsible for the surge of tourism in some reserves are good tiger sightings, sound infrastructure, and easy accessibility. This holds true for overseas visitors as well. In the present circumstance, Covid 19 Management will play a crucial role.
Some of the best places for tiger spotting in India are few known ones. They are as follows:
- Kanha National Park
- Bandhavgarh National Park
- Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
- Corbett Tiger Reserve
- Tadoba Andhari Reserve
- Pench Tiger Reserve
- Panna Tiger Reserve
- Periyar Tiger Reserve
- Nagarhole
Though sightings may vary in these parks due to local factors generally the presence of big cats is robust thus increasing chances of sighting on tour. Make your plan according to the tour design and try to include at least two parks to enhance success. Remember to book excursion permits well in advance as entry into the reserves is limited.
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