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Editorial, The Indian Express, February 15, 2005 The silenced roarNo tiger has been spotted at Sariska this year. This crisis is about us. |
UpdateFor a country said to be afflicted by anniversaryitis, India should have been readying for Sariska's special year. Twenty-five years ago this majestic patch of the Aravallis was declared a tiger reserve and enrolled in a grand venture to rescue the big cat from what for a moment appeared certain extinction. With its comparative advantages of proximity to Delhi and Jaipur and its palatial architecture, it has over the years maximised the hunt for a glimpse of the striped mammal. Today that hunt has acquired a chilling urgency. This year not one tiger has been sighted. The Rajasthan government has in response constituted a task force. But for India, Sariska must ring the alarm bells on a project that could be going swiftly wrong. For a variety of possible reasons, in reserves across India, the tiger count is suddenly on the decline. Ranthambore is reporting up to 18 missing tigers this year. In Dudhwa in UP, in Indravati in Chhattisgarh, in Corbett in Uttaranchal, in so many other parks, the pug marks are fading. Problems of poaching, shrinking habitats, recurrent droughts, depleting prey bases, and maladministered inbreeding threaten to reverse the successes of Project Tiger. There is a tendency to separate issues related to endangered species as problems of animal rights. This is wrong and dangerous. Ecological reversals are intimations of holistic imbalances. Depleting flora or fauna can be warnings of severe crises awaiting entire societies. As Jared Diamond so provocatively declared in his new book Collapse, societies can choose whether they fail or survive. They make this choice based on how they react to ecological crises. Inhabitants of the Pacific's Easter Island must have thought they were making place for growing population as they kept levelling forests, little realising that in the process deforestation would wipe out all of them. Similarly, the tiger's retreat must alert us to underlying environmental dangers. In rehabilitating the tiger - from poachers and from faulty administration - we would protect its habitat as well as the food chain that sustains ecological balance. It is not only about the tiger. It is about all of us.
News Update:
No Evidence of Tigers in Sariska: WWF New Delhi, February 14: A World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-India expert team has found ''not a single sign of evidence-direct or indirect-to indicate the presence of tiger'' in Rajasthan's Sariska reserve. The team, which was invited by the Vasundhara Raje government to conduct a field survey, will soon submit its preliminary report to the state and the Centre, said P K Sen, Director, Tiger Programme, WWF-India. The survey followed an investigation by The Sunday Express that exposed the story of the missing tigers. The preliminary report-a copy is with The Indian Express-has pointed out the following:
Meanwhile, an intensive search operation in Sariska, recommended by the Centre, is scheduled to end tomorrow. While officials are reluctant to confirm details, sources in the ministry say no concrete evidence of tiger presence has been found by the government search team, either. Project Tiger director, Rajesh Gopal, refused to comment on the WWF-India report, but claimed: ''I am waiting for the state government's report which will reach us in a few days. But I can tell you there are still tigers in the area. Maybe, they have moved away due to tourist disturbance.'' The Rajasthan government has also set up a six-member task force on the tigers missing from Sariska, Chief Minister Raje announced today. Said Valmik Thapar, member of Project Tiger steering committee, and one of the members of Raje's task force: ''The terms of reference will be as broad as possible. The task at hand is to ensure the safety of the forests. Besides, Sariska's future has to be discussed. We must look into how the early warning system failed. But that is not surprising when the Project Tiger Directorate didn't find time to convene its steering committee for last two years.''
Deathtraps in place, Ranthambhore gets that Sariska feelingNGO says 18 tigers missing since 1999; officials can't agree on number: 'nothing foolproof, only Almighty perfect' by Jay Mazoomdaar in the Indian Express (front page) Ranthambhore is not Sariska. You cannot escape pugmarks inside the park, you can sense the tigers lurking from frequent alarm calls and you can actually see them on a lucky day. Ranthambhore is not Sariska-yet. But then, you could find signs of tigers around in Sariska, too, till last year. Then, one monsoon, they vanished altogether. It's difficult to miss the uncomfortable signs of a Sariska in the making in Ranthambhore. Consider the warning signs:
''Nothing is foolproof, only the Almighty is perfect,'' says Shafat Hussein, Ranthambhore's Chief Conservator. Says his deputy Govind Sagar Bhardwaj, DFO: ''Animals keep moving to the adjoining forests which are death zones with very few guards. But here, you can see our staff is on the go all the time.'' But it seems too many people are on the go. Valmik Thapar, a member of the Central Empowered Committee constituted by the Supreme Court, visited Ranthambhore last week to prepare a report. He wasn't amused: ''With wood and grass-cutters come local poachers. And with them come outsiders who target big animals.'' It is scary how little check is in place. In fact, it was only after The Sunday Express reported the Sariska tragedy on January 23 that forest authorities here invited local NGOs and volunteers-they were earlier told to stay away from the park-to launch Operation Cooperation on January 26 and conducted four raids in a week. The catch? A poacher on his mobike with gun and a sambar, more poachers, sloth bear's nails, wild cat's hair, stock of bush meat... Wildlife expert Fateh Singh Rathore says his NGO, Tiger Watch, has been blacklisted here. ''We have photographed 25 tigers here. Dr Ullas Karanth photo-trapped 16 tigers in 1999 and 10 of those have gone missing. Another eight have vanished last year. We wanted the department to find out what happened to these 18 tigers and keep a record. And they were after us,'' alleges Rathore. DFO Bhardwaj has also photographed what he claims are 34 different tigers. Nine of these, officials claimed, are in Kela Devi, the ''death trap''. But the bosses can't agree on the current number. While Shafat puts it around 40 and promises to be more ''transparent'' during the next census coming up in May, Bhardwaj pegs it between 32 and 36. But they are non-committal about comparing their data with independent experts and settle the dispute about the ''missing'' ones. ''We are not allowed inside the park so that the officials can get away with false claims. Khandar, Kundera, Sanwata, and Rajbag chowki are open bush meat markets. You burst a cracker near any chowki, see if a forest guard comes checking,'' claims Rathore. ''Just four raids and we have proved how porous the park is. Some guards and rangers often mislead the officers as no independent monitoring or research is permitted inside the park,'' says Aditya Singh, a member of the volunteer team. But the Ranthambhore DFO dismisses such claims. ''NGOs come up with false studies and figures which don't match our reports,'' he says. And the catches which his guards couldn't pull off without volunteers? Bhardwaj grudgingly accepts some of his men have links with intruders. ''But now I don't tell many people about raid targets." The control, however, everyone seeks in Sawai Madhopur is that of tourism. Jungle safari was controlled by the Forest Department till last year after which it was handed over to the Tourism Department. Then the DFO had dealt a blow, warning there would be no big cats left to see in five years unless the number of tourists to Ranthambhore is controlled. That sounds hypocritical, given the free run government vehicles and guests have inside the park. Even as we talk, Bhardwaj gets three such calls in two hours: more sarkari guests are on their way. "I am trying, sir. Things are under control,'' he tells one of his bosses in Jaipur over phone. Ironically, the problems of grazing or grasscutting are not visible in the tourism zone. The rest of the national park is quite unlike what the tourists see along their designated tracks. But the forest officials stick to their claims and reasons: ''Grazing is zero'' but ''women from villages are a problem as we don't have women staff to handle them''. Bhardwaj also lists the logistics problems: ''My staff is aging. Our arms are obsolete. Since last June, we need to take permission from Jaipur even to move staff...Without rotation, the staff inside the jungle feels demotivated. But we are fighting to save the park. I'm open to everyone who wants to help.'' SUGGESTED LETTER: To:
Ms. Vasundhara Raje, Subject: Rajasthan's tiger crisis Dear Chief Minister, I am appalled to hear the news that the world famous Keoladeo Ghana National Park at Bharatpur is dying. To make matters worse the tigers of Sariska are virtually wiped out. Ranthambhore is in deep trouble. Reports suggests that it is a lack of political support from your office that is responsible for this reversal of fortunes for Rajasthan's fabled wildlife. Rajasthan was once renowned across the world for being one of the finest birding and tiger destinations. The protected forests of Rajasthan represent the most economical way in which to recharge depleted aquifers and thus ensure water and food security for millions. Tourism to each of these three wildlife reserves earns millions of Dollars for local people. I urge you to:
Defending our natural heritage is not negotiable. History will judge the politicians of Rajasthan very poorly if they fail to protect the few remaining wilderness areas of the state. Sincerely, Send a copy to:
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