The Hindu Business Line : <I>`Tigeronomics' </I>

There was some heckling of the Finance Minister when he said in his Budget speech that he would relax the import duty on pet food. The main beneficiaries, the dogs, may be cat's whiskers, but big cats are living a dog's life. In the last two-three years a large number of tigers have been killed by poachers or have died in suspicious circumstances. Now, the lions seem under threat. Clearly, the big cats are being hunted down for their skin and body parts — a multi billion dollar illegal trade. The tiger population has fallen from 40,000 in 1947 to 3,642 in 2001.. Unfortunately, the Budget did not have much for the animals in the wild.

Even with the current low population, the 28 tiger reserves of India covering 37,761 sq km are still the major homes for the big cat in the world. So anybody who wants to see the tiger in the wild must come to India. The Government surely recognises the economic potential of `tiger tourism'.

Tiger watch packages can sustain a whole range of economic activities: Hotels, restaurants, travel services, and logistics (air, rail and road), besides offering a chance to the forest dwellers/tribals livelihood opportunities as forest guides and a ready market for their handicrafts and a wide range of minor forest products.

Besides poaching, mega projects in forest areas, conversion of forests into agriculture land, housing activity, spreading human settlement all shrink the tiger habitat. According to a study by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the habitat for tigers has shrunk by 40 per cent world over, but mostly in India. The Tiger Task Force set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forest in 2005 found 3,25,000 people living in the core and buffer zones of tiger reserves. Resettling these people will require some Rs 10,000 crore. The Green Accounting for Indian States and Union Territories Project estimated the value of our forests at Rs 88,60,259 crore in 2003.

Today, preservation of forest has become a key focus of the planning process of developed nations. Several countries have passed laws and allocated huge funds to protect and improve forest cover, the best bet to slow adverse climate change. India must improve forest governance to reap the twin benefits of improved environment and revenues from wildlife tourism.

(The author is a Pune-based freelance writer.)

More Stories on : Wildlife | Environment | Budget

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
`Tigeronomics'

A reality check on economy

Will the aim of inclusive growth be achieved?

This CAMEL is worth the ride

A milder regulation for SMEs

To avoid load-shedding — Switch to the Pune model

Factor carbon emissions into fuel costs

Grape gripe

Power for Mumbai

Alleviating poverty