A look at Project Tiger, 50 years on

Subject :Environment

Section :Environmental law and body

Project Tiger:

Launched in 1973, Project Tiger introduced India’s Tiger Reserves – which have since rapidly ascended in status. From an administrative category arbitrarily constituted and administered by the forest bureaucracy, Tiger Reserves became a statutory category in 2006. Today, Tiger Reserves are hailed worldwide as India’s miraculous success story in environment and forest conservation, especially in this age of climate change.
From only nine Reserves in 1973 encompassing 9,115 sq. km, there are 54 in 18 States, occupying 78,135.956 sq. km, or 2.38% of India’s total land area.
Critical Tiger Habitats (CTH) cover 42,913.37 sq. km or 26% of the area under National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
The initial tiger count in 1972 was 1,827 using the pug-mark method. By 2022, 3,167-3,925 tigers were estimated via the more reliable camera-trap method.
India claims to host 75% of the world’s tigers, growing at 6.1% annually.
The Wildlife (Protection) Act in 1972 established National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, altering forest-dwellers’ rights.
Project Tiger, previously a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, introduced Critical Tiger Habitats and Buffer Areas, leading to conflict due to the displacement of people coexisting with tigers.

The September 2006 amendment:

A five-member ‘Tiger Task Force’ was established in 2005 in response to concerns about tigers’ dwindling numbers in Sariska, Rajasthan, despite heavy investments.
The Task Force identified flaws in the approach of using guns, guards, and fences and highlighted conflicts between forest authorities and locals coexisting with tigers.
The September 2006 amendment to the Wildlife (Protection) Act formed the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and introduced a conservation plan.
Forest-dweller rights were modified; possible relocation was considered, and wildlife killings were permitted if they threatened human lives.
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act, enacted four months later, recognized traditional forest rights, empowering Gram Sabhas to manage forests.
This act safeguarded the livelihoods of around 20 crore Indians, half of whom were tribals, across 1.79 lakh villages.
The FRA introduced Critical Wildlife Habitat (CWH), preventing diversion for non-forestry purposes, a demand made by Adivasi movements during negotiations.

India’s basis for CTHs:

Tiger Reserves were initially meant to be created democratically based on scientific criteria, considering the interests of people living in these areas.
Critical Tiger Habitats (CTHs) are founded on scientific evidence of human activities’ irreversible damage to wildlife, requiring potential modifications to forest dwellers rights and possible relocation after consultation.
CTH establishment shouldn’t infringe upon Scheduled Tribes’ or other forest dwellers’ rights.
Buffer Areas aim to balance human-animal coexistence while respecting local people’s rights, determined by objective criteria and expert committee input.
Except for Similipal in Odisha, the CTHs had no Buffer Area.
However, all Tiger Reserves in India were notified without meeting these requirements, lacking informed consent from forest-dwelling communities, leading to conflict-prone situations for both tigers and forest-dwellers.

Relocation vs Rehabilitation:

The Wildlife (Protection) Act (WLPA) permits only voluntary relocation based on mutually agreed terms, while the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act 2013 outlines compensation and rehabilitation procedures.
LARR mandates compensating relocated individuals twice the market value of land,asset values, allowances, housing, basic amenities, and more, ensuring consent and proper resettlement.
However, the government has limited compensation to Rs 15 lakh, not meeting legal requirements, and transferring responsibility to State governments.
Officials often obtain minimal consent for relocation.
As of 2019, over 57,000 families lived in Critical Tiger Habitats (CTHs) across 50 Tiger Reserves.
Tiger Reserves face resistance to recognizing forest rights, causing conflict.
NTCA initially barred FRA rights recognition in CTHs, later withdrawing after the Union Environment Ministry issued guidelines.
There’s a clash between FRA’s provisions for public utilities and the Union Environment Ministry’s insistence on wildlife clearance for small-scale diversions from protected areas.
India’s expanding tiger population and reserves may escalate conflicts rather than foster biodiversity in the future.

Critical Tiger Habitat (CTHs)

Critical Wildlife Habitat (CWLHs)

These are core areas of tiger reserves and are identified under the Wild Life Protection Act (WLPA), 1972 based on scientific evidence.
Such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purpose of tiger conservation, without affecting the rights of the Scheduled Tribes or such other forest dwellers.
The notification of CTH is done by the state government in consultation with the expert committee constituted for the purpose.

CWLHs are defined only in the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
CWLHs are meant to be areas of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries that are required to be kept as inviolate for the purpose of wildlife conservation (not just tigers).
The identification of CWLH is done based on scientific and objective criteria, but it mandatorily requires the settlement of forest rights under FRA.
The notification of CWLHs can only be done with the consent of the Gram Sabhas and affected stakeholders.
Post notification, the forest rights in CWLHs can be modified or resettled subject to certain conditions.