Context
Project Tiger is expected to displace at least 550,000 Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers.
About
- India has made significant strides in protecting its national animal, the Bengal tiger , through projects like Project Tiger which changed into released in 1973 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in 9 reserves of different States (Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal) .
- The project focuses on the selection and preservation of regions which are especially managed to conserve the tiger population and their associated ecosystems
- Project Tiger has positioned the endangered wild tigers of India on an assured course of recovery and has finished 50 years of a hit implementation.
- India’s Project Tiger has made incredible development in tiger conservation during the last 5 years.
Impact on tribes
- Displacement: the established order of tiger reserves frequently leads to the displacement of local communities.
- Since 2021, displacement has considerably accelerated, with an average of 48,333 people displaced from each reserve, a 967% rise in comparison to pre-2021 figures.
- Loss of Livelihood: When tribal communities are uprooted from their ancestral lands, they lose their livelihoods.
- Traditional practices like looking, fishing, and amassing meals emerge as not possible.
- Victims face extreme human rights abuses consisting of more-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and different forms of violence.
- Cultural Disruption: Displacement disrupts cultural practices, access to sacred sites, and burial grounds. Indigenous understanding about forests and wildlife is likewise lost.
- Lack of Consent: the lack of free, prior, and informed consent from affected communities earlier than designating areas as tiger reserves.
- Consent is only in demand displacement, not before.
Recent Recommendations
- Policies should prioritize coexistence rather than displacement. Involving local communities in conservation efforts can cause better effects.
- Seek consent from affected communities earlier than designating an area as a tiger reserve.
- Provide alternative livelihood options to displaced families.
- Striking a balance between tiger protection and human well-being is vital.
Conclusion and Way Forward
- India’s tiger conservation policy needs to evolve to defend both tigers and the folks that share their habitat.
- By addressing displacement, respecting indigenous rights, and fostering community participation, we are able to obtain a harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife.
- For instance ,In Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve (Karnataka),The Soliga tribal rights coexist with tigers, with the tiger population growing considerably from 35 to 68 between 2010 and 2014.
Source: The Hindu
UPSC Prelims Practice Question
Q. Consider the following areas:(2012)
- Bandipur
- Bhitarkanika
- Manas
- Sunderbans
Which of the above are Tiger Reserves?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 1, 3 and 4 only correct
c) 2, 3 and 4 only
d) l, 2, 3 and 4
Ans c)
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