Project Tiger to displace 5.5 lakh Tribals

Context

Project Tiger is expected to displace at least 550,000 Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers.

Tiger Gallery- Celebrating 50 Years of Project Tiger – Tiger Tales of India

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)

  1. Bandipur
  2. Bhitarkanika
  3. Manas
  4. 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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