From nehamit@GMAIL.COM Sun May 22 12:48:42 2005
Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 21:29:09 +0530
From: Amit Neha
To: nathistory-india@Princeton.EDU
Subject: Hindu 20-05-05 : Local communities must protect tigers: task force
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http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/05/20/stories/2005052001471300.htm
Local communities must protect tigers: task force
Staff Correspondent
Kerala approach stands as a model for all tiger reserves where Project
Tiger shows excellent results
NEW DELHI:
The Tiger task force has recommended involvement of the local
communities in the protection of tigers. The exclusion of the
communities in forest management and wildlife resources affects the
intelligence gathering critical to preventing poaching, the task force
said at the end of the second round of deliberations spread over two
days.
Talking to reporters here on Thursday, Sunita Narain , tiger task
force, cited the example of Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala where
Project Tiger had shown excellent results, primarily due to the
involvement of local communities. "The task force believes that
Periyar approach should be adopted as a model for all other tiger
reserves,'' she said.
It was pointed out that in spite of the organised investigations and
professional law enforcement, sandalwood smuggler, Veerappan, had
flourished in the forests for many years because of the support he
received from the local communities who had been denied access to
benefits of forests. This is the case in tiger conservation also, she
said adding that exclusion of the communities in forest management and
wildlife resources affects that gathering of information.
According to the task force, the recent Ministry of Environment and
Forests ruling that ``all rights and concessions (traditional rights
to collect minor forest product) could not be enjoyed in protected
areas'' had increased the conflict enormously. Under this direction,
roughly 3.5 to 4 million people living inside and along he fringes of
protected areas had lost all sources of livelihood and revenue that
had exacerbated destitution and in turn anger against the tiger.
Claiming that tiger conservation strategies had failed in setting up
enforcement networks capable of breaking organised wildlife crime to
creating conditions, Ms Narain suggested a review of tiger
conservation concept in the country. ``Indian tiger faces huge
challenges; extensive, highly organised international poaching
networks, lack of professional law enforcement to check international
crime and abysmally low conviction rate for poachers. But most
importantly, increasing hostility of local communities who share the
tiger's habitat because of years of mismanagement and conservation
policies that exclude people from protected areas,'' Ms Narain said.
Experts also voiced their disquiet over the Government's proposal to
set up a national wildlife bureau to check poaching saying that while
the bureau was necessary, the huge size was not required. Instead,
they suggested a "lean and mean'' organisational structure which could
track crime, manage database and follow investigations.
From peterfr.jackson@VIRGIN.NET Sun May 22 12:56:54 2005
Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 14:38:47 +0100
From: Peter Jackson
To: nathistory-india@Princeton.EDU
Subject: Re: South China Tiger Pop. Estimate (SPX)
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An eight month search for South China tigers was carried out by the
Chinese authorities in 2000-01. Dr Ron Tilson, an American wildlife
biologist and tiger specialist, took part of the survey and came to the
conclusion that the subspecies was probably extinct, although a few
individuals might still be alive. The Chinese authorities claimed to have
found some sign of the tiger, but no sightings. There have been no
reports of livestock predation for years. Ran Jingcheng's statement
cannot be taken seriously.
Peter
At 09/05/2005 14:27 -0400, landour marten wrote:
30 to 50 South China Tigers in the Wild
After 10 years of survey, Ran Jingcheng, director of Maolan
National Nature Reserves in Guizhou Province in southwest
China estimated that only 30 to 50 wild South China Tiger
have survived in China. China is the only home of the South
China Tiger subspecies which are the most critically
endangered in the world. South China Tigers are even rarer
than pandas.
Experts have proved that Guizhou used to be the most
important inhabitation for the South China tigers. Even in
recent years, news about the South China tigers' traces is
heard at times in some areas in Guizhou. However, nobody has
actually ever seen any tigers so far. Mr. Liu Jiayan, an
official with Guizhou Environmental Protection
Administration, said Guizhou was endowed with rich forest
resources in the history where numerous rare animals nestled.
SOURCE: People's Daily, Beijing.
____________________________________________________________
Peter Jackson
29 Lake Close
Wimbledon
London SW19 7EG
T/F: (44) 020 8947 0159
From pankajs@VSNL.COM Sun May 22 12:59:02 2005
Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 11:41:00 +0530
From: Pankaj Sekhsaria
To: nathistory-india@Princeton.EDU
Subject: Displacement from Satpura Tiger Reserve
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Date: 10th May 2005
Press Release
ALL IN THE NAME OF SAVING THE TIGERS
The tribals of village Dobjhirna and Ghogharikheda are sitting in Dharna
in Hoshangabad district collectorate premises from 7th May and have gone
on hunger-to-death from 8th may. The tribals are united under the banner
of Kisan Adivasi Sangathan and Samajwadi Jan Parishad, Hoshangabad. They
are demanding action against the brutalities of forest and police
officials, particularly F.I.R against the Thana-in-charge of Babai thana,
who had attacked their village on 6th May in order to evict them from
their agricultural land.
The people of Dobjhirna and Ghogharikheda were served notice for the
first time in June 2004 on the land that they had been tilling from past
10 years. The forest department in the month of October 2004 passed the
order for eviction against them and issued them ultimatums. They started
agitations only recently when they realized that the threat has been
real. On their land other villages are being resettled under the
patronage of the forest department and the police. The settlement process
is in full progress.
Recently on the fateful 6th May the forest officials came with bulldozers
to uproot all the trees from their land and level it for the settlers.
The villagers offered resistance by lying in front of the machines. In
the process they were brutally beaten. 16 persons including two minor
girls and two old ladies were injured. The officer in charge of the
nearest Babai Thana laid assault on the villagers in presence of the
deputy rangers and the S.D.O. (Forest) of Sohagpur. One house was also
demolished and the belongings were trucked away. The Police officer
threatened them not register the case anywhere and refused to hear to
their grievances, leave alone the help for any medical help to those who
had been battered. The tribal villagers are bona-fide residents of the
village. They have housing patta; ration card and voter identity cards.
The land they had been tilling belongs to the forest department. The
villagers have not been offered any alternative rehabilitation in lieu of
being deprived of the land that had been made cultivable by them from
years.
All this is being done to establish a tiger reserve and national park in
Satpura, Bori and Pachmarhi sanctuaries that are in this district. The
proposed plan shall evict 59 villages settled under these sanctuaries and
resettle them in other areas. The villagers of Dobjhirna and
Ghogharikheda are victims of this plan. Their land is being used to
resettle Dhain, Bori and Sakot villages.
There are certain questions that must be addressed at this point before
the plan is implemented: -
1. Whether the region has got tiger population to bring them under the
plan? As per the tribals, the Satpura region has very low count of
tigers. Is it a hoax being created to uproot tribals by any means?
1. What are the plans of rehabilitation for those villages that are
being dispossessed for the resettlement of the villages in the
sanctuaries?
Recently, in the nearby district of Betul, a case has been brought forth
to light by the tribal organizations in which the media, the forest
officials and the police had connived together to falsely claim that
tiger poaching was abundant and as many as 20 tiger hides were caught
from the tribals. The fact may be that the whole Satpura region may not
have as many tigers as has been claimed by the administration and the
media.
The Kisan Adivasi Sangathan and the Samajwadi Jan Parishad has demanded
that, in line with the recent directions of the Supreme Court regarding
the enquiry into the matter of dwindling number of tigers in various
sanctuaries and tiger reserves following the unearthing of poaching in
Sariska; CBI enquiry be made in the claims made by the officials
regarding tiger conservation being the main purpose of the proposed
Satpura Tiger reserve.
The villagers are on fast demanding a case to be registered against the
police and forest officials for brutally beating, demolishing and looting
the house. They are demanding that their right to life and livelihood
must be protected and their lands must be given back to them.
The Sangathan has demanded that enquiry be made into the massive tree
felling and deforestation caused in the process of claiming and
resettling the villagers at the proposed site.
Anurag Modi
________________________________________________________________________________
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