Q. Tigers are better protected in PAs under the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Should WPA be invoked outside PAs too?

A. All wildlife is protected under WPA. Tiger is a Schedule I species with the highest protection wherever it is — inside or outside PAs. The main goal of a PA management is to protect and conserve wildlife and its habitat within its boundaries. Beyond the PA boundary, forests are managed for a range of purposes but wildlife in these forests are protected under the WPA. Wild animals use these forests but management priorities lie elsewhere and wildlife welfare is generally given less attention. In non-PAs wildlife has to compete for food, water and cover with livestock and other human activities and it suffers as result of this competition and due to poor quality habitat created as a result of multiple use of the habitat. By including wildlife conservation as an integral part of this multiple use area management, it will help create better environment for wild animals to survive in these areas.

Q. How do we ensure protection of tigers in non-PA areas where there are plethora of problems?

A. Most of the PAs in India are small and many of them isolated, and tiger population in these PAs cannot survive on its own. The past 100 years clearly show this trend and this is happening at much faster rate in dry forest habitat than any other forest habitat. Loss of tigers from Panna and Sariska reserves were not unique event but part of a pan India trend that we are observing for the past several decades. In such situation, tiger populations which are small and not viable on their own can only survive if they are able to receive inputs from neighbouring populations. Therefore, a connected network is essential for all surviving small populations. In the absence of inputs from dispersing individual, future of even a protected tiger population is bleak. Successful dispersal is the key and this can only be ensured as long as India is able to keep its forest cover outside PAs intact. Currently, linear projects like highways, canal, railway lines that cut across corridors are major threat for the future of tigers. These threats can easily be mitigated by adequately addressing the tiger and other conservation issues at the planning stage itself. These issues are discussed in confrontational environment in courts by objecting to these development project and conservationists are looked at as anti-development. Better forest cover, wildlife populations, more perennial rivers are unfortunately not looked as development and debate is generally seen as development vs conservation whereas it is development vs environmentally conscious development (the only kind of development with meaning for the long-term). If we succeed in creating environmentally conscious development, the tiger’s future will be bright.

Q. Electrocution is turning out to be a big threat to tigers? What needs to be done?

A. Poaching of tigers I can divide into two kinds. One is conducted by criminals who are involved in illegal trade, and are professionals. They could be trappers, traders and smugglers. This kind of poaching is market-driven and individuals involved are very smart and efficient and when market demand soars this kind of poaching can be very damaging. If we go looking for them we will not find them because these poachers will come only when needed. We have seen impact of such poaching in case of Panna and Sariska. Whereas, poaching by electrocution (farmers may be protecting their crop) and poisoning of carcass in retaliation to loss of precious livestock is chronic in nature. It is perennial, always there but because individuals involved are innocent locals and are not criminals, they get caught easily. Most of them will not be aware of the consequence of killing a deer or tiger. Since most people involved in such kind of activities are ill-informed, simply treating them as criminals will not solve the problem. There will always be someone else who would be caught doing the same thing next time. Management has to work with these communities and more patrolling in such vulnerable areas is necessary.

Q. There is an outcry among wildlife lovers against radio collaring of tigers, especially after Jai went missing a year ago and now its offspring Srinivas dying?

A. I cannot understand why there will be an outcry unless it is believed that radio-collaring or people involved in monitoring were responsible for the death of Jai or other tigers. If true, this will be a serious accusation. When the purpose of radio-collaring is research than research team monitors the radio-collared animals according to research objectives. I don’t know what was the protocol in these cases, but when I was monitoring radio-collared tigers, I used to take locations twice or thrice a week only. Between the days of monitoring anything can happen, animal can die but to blame it on radio-collar and its monitoring team is unfair. In case of natural death, we usually can find carcass with the help of radio signals. If poacher had killed a tiger, he will destroy the collar most probably. The third scenario would be malfunctioning and finding that particular tiger will be like finding needle in a haystack. Radio-collars are safe and are used extensively all over the world, even on birds. It is a well-established way of gathering scientific data but somehow in India it gets confused with protection measures. Occasionally, it is used for providing protection measures, for example all the reintroduced tigers in Panna are being monitored round the clock. So, here information is gathered on hourly basis but in research projects, as I had said, animal may be approached once or twice a week only and mortality of animal is part of the information that is being gathered.

Q. Can radio-collaring help to save tigers?

A. Monitoring of radio-collared tigers generates information that can guide the conservation effort towards the right direction. Information gathered from this technology has been used very successfully in saving many species. It is one of the most reliable ways of gathering scientific information and there is no better way so far. Conservation can only succeed if we are armed with reliable information and radio-telemetry achieves this goal effectively and reliably.

Q. You have been studying corridors at a time when most didn’t even talk about it? How can these corridors be protected?

A. I have discussed in brief the importance of corridors in ensuring long-term viability of small population. As long as corridors are intact and provide sufficient space for a successful passage between breeding tiger populations in the landscape, tigers will survive better and longer. All effort should be to maintain the characteristics of corridors so that successful dispersal is possible. Linear development project are major threats and all development projects should be planned as environmentally conscious development project where all environmental issues are mitigated at the planning stage. It is essential for all long ranging animals like tiger and elephant that connectivity is not broken as result of these development project.

Q. Will action against erring farmers help solve problem of electrocution?

A. If it is punishment or imprisonment only, I have doubts it will succeed because when one farmer is put in jail, someone else would be committing the same mistake the next time. We need to work with them and make them aware of the consequences of such acts. Better patrolling is must not only for forests but also agricultural fields which are prone to such threats. Law alone will not work in this situation, management has to take help from outside and work in partnership to bring awareness so that innocent people do not indulge in such kind of activities. Refrain from looking at it merely as a criminal activity as it will not help in the long run.

Q. There are so many schemes being implemented for communities, yet why forest departments have failed to win over the people to save wildlife, especially tigers?

A. I am not aware of the “many schemes” you refer to for ‘communities’. In my experience, forest departments generally do not reach out enough to work with communities, scientists, tourists and others who could be their staunch allies for tiger conservation. Unfortunately, most communities merely feel the oppression of the forest department and fear them — they can feel helpless against this might and so take out their anger on the wildlife instead. The relationship needs to change, a more human face is required so the local communities see the forest department as somebody who champions their cause.

(Dr Raghu Chundawat is a conservation biologist who started pioneering research on snow leopards and tigers in 1985. For 10 years, he was a faculty at WII. Since 1995, he was closely involved in tiger research on tigers in Panna. Currently, Chundawat’s interest lies in wildlife that exists in agricultural landscapes and tiger conservation outside PAs)

