A VISION FOR THE TIGER
From the Director's desk
Thirty years ago George Schaller wrote that there are more tiger experts in India than there are tigers. That was largely true. Giving armchair advise continues to be a national pastime, but a heartening trend is emerging in recent years. I am repeatedly asked what an individual can do to preserve the tiger. The irony is that he can do little "hands on" conservation unless he joins the government, for the government owns almost all the tiger habitats and rarely welcomes outside advice or intervention. He can join forces to unearth the clandestine trade in tiger derivatives, the control of which is unfortunately still a not-quite occupied "niche" and which the Tiger Conservation Programme (TCP) would wish to help fill.
But in the conservation of the carnivore, its habitat and prey, the government has to play the major, if not the sole role. Here the government will only seek infrastructural support, as it does not accept cash directly. This has been so since the inception of Project Tiger in 1972, when WWF promised and gave a million dollars. The question is what infrastructural and other inputs to provide and where.
Two aspects need to be kept in view in making these decisions. Firstly, the field officers are usually the best judges of what they want and what they cannot readily get from their governments. Sometimes, of course, their demands could be over-reaching, but with persuasion and a detailed discussion, I have always found them to be amenable. Secondly, the tiger has the propensity to multiply and the Indian forest ecosystems have an inherent capacity to improve, if given the chance. It is worth noting that the increase of the tiger population from 1972 to the mid-1980s was in the protected areas, and not in the larger habitats outside. Thus, if the future of the tiger is to be secure, we need to increase the chain of effectively conserved protected areas. Most of the Tiger Reserves, with some exceptions, do have the basic wherewithal to protect the area and tiger and if they have not been able to use them effectively, it is usually due to poor management. Some of these Tiger Reserves concentrate on their tourist visited core areas, ignoring the adjacent larger habitats which have great potential.
The strategy, therefore, should be to support these "penumbras" and peripheral areas of the better managed Tiger Reserves, as well as areas which still have viable tiger populations and also have the potential to improve quite rapidly, if given adequate protection and proper management. The effort would be to complement government efforts rather than substitute or duplicate them. There is just not sufficient money for such luxury. I realize that all such "second line of defence" protected areas may not fully succeed. No matter. It would be still worth a try. Two jeeps to
Katerniaghat Sanctuary will make a much greater difference to the sanctuary and the tiger, than two jeeps to Kanha.
Another field in which an individual can help is to assist in the prevention of the poisoning of carnivores, most of which takes place outside protected areas. Here the TCP has taken a special initiative and the early reports auger well. Its success or failure will depend upon the speed and alacrity with which the responsible NGO and the park authority is able to reach the kill, pay compensation and prevent poisoning.
In all these endeavours two factors must be kept in mind. Firstly, the WWF cannot save the tiger. Only the people of India and its government can. The TCP can only contribute to this effort. Secondly, the WWF and even less its personnel are not the donors. Those who have contributed to the cause are. We are only the custodians of their trust and it is our privilege to serve the cause.
We must not fail the donor, as we must not fail the tiger.