Tiger Crisis

Lalit Shastri

Madhya Pradesh has been called The Tiger State as this Central Indian State had the largest tiger population in the world. Today the state is confronted with the biggest tiger crisis.

The tiger habitat is getting destroyed by massive biotic pressure caused by rapidly increasing population, encroachment, poaching, reckless grazing, illegal mining, unhindered minor forest produce and firewood collection, poor enforcement and lack of accountability.

Tiger continues to remain CREW's main concern when we are confronted with the question of the protection and conservation of wildlife and ecological balance in the country in general and Madhya Pradesh in particular. Unfortunately the circumstances on the ground indicate that the powers that be only pay lip service and exhibit superficial concern for the basic issues involved; whereas they remain mainly interested in deriving benefits, both financial as well as political by ensuring populist activities to continue even in the core forest areas. Unless ecological balance is ensured on a long-range basis, no living species, including the human beings, may be able to survive. One is vitally concerned about the survival of Tiger as the most important of the wildlife species in its natural ecologically balanced surroundings. The tiger will be safe in the wild only when there is prey-base. This would in turn depend on the survival of the flora, i.e., grasses, fruit bearing trees, herbs, shrubs, and the water bodies along with other factors linked with the habitat. All this would form a perfect ecological system, leading to better climate and rainfall by protecting the green cover, reducing soil erosion, recharging the ground water, ensuring perennial flow in rivers and nullifying other factors that pollute the environment. Consequently the phenomenon of Global warming would get arrested, the ozone layer would he protected, there would he less harmful radiation and the Earth would become a better place for the coming generations.

Our forests have been shrinking at an alarming pace.The human pressure on forests is immense due to rapidly increasing population and the situation gets further aggravated by the unhindered destruction of green cover by the timber mafia, encroachers as well as large-scale mining activity, grazing and the minor forest produce and firewood collection exercise.

The basic issue confronting us today is to halt the rate of destruction and disintegration of habitat, green cover, and ecological systems. The biggest problem is linked with firewood and timber requirements of the ever-increasing human population from an ever-dwindling forest. Today the magnificent tiger occupies a precarious and vulnerable position in the biotic pyramid. It is a symbol of the delicate symbiotic relationship between different parts of the ecosystem. The tiger population and its well being can be seen as the most important indicator of the health of the ecosystem and a measure of our success as stewards of earth and nature. National Parks and Sanctuaries play a crucial role in preserving the biotic pyramid.

The Protected Areas are threatened from all sides as the buffer zones have almost disappeared. The situation inside the National Parks and Tiger Reserves is also grim. We all know how all the Tigers in the Panna National Park have died within a short span of time. In the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, where a tigress that had just given birth to three cubs was killed by a recklessly driven vehicle said to be carrying a Minister's son and few foreign tourists.

What should not be lost track of by any one is the importance of each and every link in the vital ecological chain because once the chain gets broken, it is bound to trigger grave after effects.

It would take us towards our goal if this debate could help in igniting the right action on the part of those who have been engaged and given the responsibility of saving the Tiger. Much of the fudging that went on during the course of the Tiger census over the years was exposed when cameras were used against the pug mark method. Arriving at an estimated tiger population in 2005, the wildlife authorities had gone overboard in suggesting that there were over 35 tigers in the Panna Tiger Reserve.

Moreover, if we refuse to address the issue of population, the provisions of the Forest Rights Act would have to be implemented perpetually. More and more encroachments would be legalised and this would further destroy whatever little has been left of our forests.