Tiger conservationists, international delegates, media and forest officials present in the packed auditorium of Vigyan Bhawan greeted the news with loud applause. Tiger conservationists and people across the country celebrated these new figures (including Hardnews, 'Celebrate the Yellow Stripes', http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2010/03/3479, April 2011) and were hopeful that the animal which has become a symbol of national pride isn't faring as bad as projected by media and others. This was a great moment for tiger conservation plans and it seemed things were not that pessimistic with the tiger protection programmes running in different reserves across the country. Despite the missing links in conservation strategies, this increase was a testimony that the increasing social and ecological consciousness to save the tiger has started to pay dividends.
Tiger Estimate 2010, carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, alongwith several other government and private partners, after rigorous scientific exercise, came up with the new statistics. However, this 49 per cent in tiger population densities followed a shocking 22 per cent decrease in tiger habitat across the country. This revelation soon took over the celebratory mood, and Jairam too called the findings a mixed bag, blaming poaching and development activities for the loss of habitat.
"Many tiger reserves are under threat from coal mining, hydel power projects, irrigation projects. There is a need for nine per cent economic growth and there is no dispute in that, but we have to reconcile growth with environment... Choices have to be made on whether we can afford nine per cent growth and end up our forest cover. We have to find a way of balancing imperative high growth with imperative preserving of the ecosystem," said Jairam. Soon, the increased numbers were sidelined and the issue of shrinking habitat took over the headlines and news debates.
In the days to come, several conservationists expressed deep anguish about the loss of habitat and its implications for the future of tiger conservation in India. Meanwhile, India's foremost tiger expert Ullas Karanth dropped a bombshell when he expressed surprise at the figures that implified a rise of 49 per cent in tiger density when compared with the 22 per cent habitat shrinkage. In a letter published in Science magazine, Karanth, alongwith other scientists, wrote, "The Indian government reported a 16 per cent increase in tiger numbers over the past four years. This implies an average increase of 49 per cent in local tiger densities, despite the reported range contraction of 22 per cent. Yet, these assertions cannot be verified because details of tiger photo-captures at sampled locations, as well as of spatial extrapolations from these data, are incomplete." Read the full report here.
Source: Akash Bisht, Hard News, Delhi.
