India promises better protection for dwindling tigers

India is to amend its wildlife crime laws to protect the country’s tigers, a government minister said today.

Environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh said that speeding up justice as well as hefty fines were needed to strengthen the Wildlife Protection Act.

He added that the forest ministry, state governments and a separate authority on the management of tiger reserves had agreed to work together to ensure conservation of the endangered animal.

Nearly 80,000 to 100,000 families inhabiting core areas of tiger reserves will be relocated as part of the measures.

The minister said that nearly six million hectares of land will be brought under green cover within the next six years, since funds to create more forests had recently been released. This will increase the habitat area for tigers, who prefer to live and hunt in thick vegetation.

Earlier Mr Ramesh sounded the alarm for seven tiger reserves in the country which are threatened by decreasing population.

“The tiger population in these reserves is going down and the protection measures are poor,” Mr Ramesh said.

“Unless we take immediate steps, we will lose the tigers in these reserves.”

He was speaking to field directors of 37 Indian sanctuaries at the Sariska Tiger Reserve to address the declining population.

Earlier this month, a state minister admitted that no tigers were left at Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Reserve which had 40 tigers six years ago.

Poaching is suspected to be rampant in at least three of the seven reserves which are losing tigers. In Simplipal in eastern India, poachers have reportedly been caught killing animals on camera.

Two other reserves blame Maoist rebels for poaching, fearing that they could be raising funds by selling tiger skins and other parts. These two reserves have not conducted a census for at least three years.

The population of tigers in a reserve in the north eastern corner of the country was estimated to be 12 in 2006, but none have reportedly been spotted in the park’s core area for the past year.

Valmiki and Manas reserves, situated in central and north-eastern India respectively, last took a tiger census in 2006. Valmiki estimated 10 tigers lived in its boundaries, while the count for Manas was 40.

But large scale deforestation, poor conservation and active poaching have seen at least four deaths being reported in Manas this year.

Former director of Project Tiger P K Sen told Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times that the situation was grim.

“Thirty per cent of the reserves are in shambles. The habitat is good, but tigers are dying because of a lack of measures to protect them from poaching,” he said.

Mr Sen added that the central and state authorities should work together to counter poaching.