Environment - Save the Tiger, save India

The tiger is under threat - everywhere. Recently, the International Tiger Coalition, comprising 35 organizations working to save wild tigers including the World Wildlife Fund, assembled the world's largest photo mosaic of a tiger in front of the World Forum Convention Center in The Hague with the message "End Tiger Trade”.

Currently, the chief threat to the tiger comes from China, where tiger parts and bones are used in ancient Chinese medicine. Tiger parts and bones allegedly cure everything from cancer to impotence, though there is no scientific evidence for these claims.
While the Chinese government has banned the sale of tiger parts for the last fourteen years, there is increasing pressure from Chinese “tiger farm” owners to lift the ban. “Tiger farm” owners in China have bred five thousand tigers in the hope that the Chinese government will lift the ban on the sale of tiger parts and re-establish this extremely lucrative trade.

Lifting this ban would be a disaster because it would again mean an increase in the poaching of wild tigers. A majority of wild tigers live in India. In addition, there are about three hundred Siberian tigers left in northeastern Russia - in a biosphere near Vladivostok. Siberian tigers are the largest cats in the world, and can grow to be ten feet long and weigh upto six hundred pounds. There also are a few hundred tigers left in Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia.

Estimates of the number of wild tigers in India vary – the actual number is probably in the region of two thousand. These tigers mostly live in forest sanctuaries such as Corbett National Park and Ranthambore National Park. These sanctuaries serve as “islands” and are the last refuge of this majestic animal. The low numbers of tigers and the “islanding” of their population has already meant that wild tigers in India are susceptible to many diseases, due to inbreeding. We can ill afford further reduction in their numbers.

The Rajasthan High Court has come down heavily on the state government and the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve authorities who are to blame for the dwindling number of tigers in the park. Tiger numbers are dwindling in India and across the world as a recent survey of the Sariska National Park shows. There are very few or no tigers left within Sariska.

The High Court has observed that governmental and park authorities are more focused on obtaining domestic and international funds (supposedly obtained to protect the tiger) instead of actually taking concrete steps on the ground.

The tiger is more than a majestic big cat. It is our national animal and the symbol of India, and represents everything that is wild, beautiful and free in our country. If we lose the tiger, it will be a quick, slippery descent into ecological hell for India. In the long run, protecting the tiger means protecting our rivers and forests and the future of our children. The extinction of the tiger will eventually hasten our demise as a species.

The whole approach to tiger conservation in India needs to be revamped - by taking it out of the hands of corrupt governmental officials (who often swallow the funds sent by local and international aid agencies for tiger conservation) and placing it squarely in the hands of local people who live in the forests. A comprehensive awareness campaign needs to be developed and implemented to educate those who live within or near our forests. The campaign needs to focus on how saving the tiger and its environment can be both economically and ecologically beneficial.

This has been done successfully at Corbett National Park in Uttaranchal. The locals have realized that protecting the tiger is good for the local economy and their bank balances. The tourists who visit Corbett bring money with them. Locals in the Ramnagar area get job opportunities as hotel staff, drivers, guides, etc. They have an economic imperative to protect the tiger and the national park. It makes eminent sense for them to do so.

In addition, forest officers need to be well-armed and well-compensated. Currently, there are many of them who work in our country’s forest reserves only because they are dedicated to preserving and protecting our nation’s natural heritage. They are poorly paid and armed with vintage, single-shot rifles that do not work most of the time. Those who do not succumb to the lure of big money offered by the organized and rich poacher mafia take their lives into their own hands every time they do their jobs. They are outnumbered and outgunned by the poachers.

In the face of such odds, an extreme measure that some countries have adopted is to hand over the protection of national forests and endangered species to their armed forces.

Time is slipping away for the tiger in India. The inept Central Government has no time for real action - they only mouth platitudes. Recent governmental attempts to save the tiger have become mired in politicking, finger-pointing and bureaucracy. There are a few dedicated individuals such as Valmik Thapar and Bittu Sehgal who are in the forefront of the “Save the Tiger” campaign.

Join them. Do what you can. Every little bit helps. Donate money or your time. Spread the message. Raise awareness. Ask your friends to read this blog.

Save the tiger - save India.