In India, tigers have found mention in mythology, folklore and legend. In the last quarter of the 19th century, nearly 30,000-40,000 tigers roamed the Indian forests. But large-scale clearance of forests for farming, under an 1894 policy, led to destruction of vast areas that included the ecological habitat of tigers. British and Indian royals also hunted tigers in a big way.

Independent India's political initiative for conserving natural resources saw it adopt a highly progressive forest policy in 1950, providing for creation of sanctuaries and national parks. The government followed it up with the enactment of the Wildlife (Protection) Act in 1972.

India is one of the 17 mega bio-diverse countries and is party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). By 2004, the country had established 92 national parks and 500 wildlife sanctuaries, covering an area of 15.67 million hectares of prime forest area. Of these, 281 are identified as tiger reserves for special attention.

In view of the steep decline in tiger population, India banned hunting and all trade in tiger products in 1972, followed by the "Project Tiger" in April 1973 in nine tiger reserves, covering 29,716 square kilometre. Currently, there are 27 special tiger reserves under this project, covering 37,761 square kilometre.

The project's basic objective was and is to ensure maintenance of a viable tiger population for ecological, cultural and scientific values as well as to conserve the unique ecosystem as national heritage for posterity.

A new eco-development project was launched with the World Bank's assistance in 1994 in six tiger reserves to ensure local stakeholder participation and to promote awareness, education, research and effective management.

All these efforts initially yielded results, and the tiger population in the wild, which was 1,827 in 1972, increased to 3,642 in 2001-02. However, by the mid-80s, poaching for a booming trade in bones, skin and other body parts of tigers started to grow at an alarming rate.

Well-organised gangs with international contacts lured poor forest dwellers into killing tigers and selling their parts for onward transport and smuggling to markets in Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China.

Attempts were made to check this growing trade with the police raiding storage areas and custom authorities at air and seaports. But the racket has grown rapidly due to the high price of tiger bones (reportedly around $350-400 a kg) and of skin (around $1,000) in the international market.

In view of the highly lucrative nature of the trade, special efforts are needed to stop the killing of the big cats as global focus is now on India where nearly 65 percent of the world's tiger population lives.

Under New Delhi's initiative, the "Global Tiger Forum" (GTF) was set up in April 1994 with India as the first chair country. Its main objective was to make all the tiger-range countries members so that the animal trade menace could be curbed.

GTF member countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan have witnessed an increase in big cats, mainly due to conservation projects launched with the forum's help.

The GTF is still functional, currently under Nepal's chairmanship, but some countries like China, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia have still not joined the forum despite a decline in their tiger populations.

Evidently, the GTF was not adequately utilised to persuade or pressurise countries consuming tiger parts to join the forum.

After an international workshop to take stock of the "Project Tiger" in 1993, the GTF launch and the World Bank-assisted project in six reserves in 1994, no new policy initiatives or conservation plans were launched for almost a decade.

There has been a lack of political commitment to wildlife in general and tiger conservation in particular. No wonder then that on the completion of the 30th year of the "Project Tiger", no transparent stocktaking followed.

However, the recent poaching scares in Sariska and Ranthambhore reserves in Rajasthan indicate that well-organised attacks against the tiger continue.

So what steps can be taken?

For starters, all field-level vacant staff positions - there are too many of them - in tiger reserves should be filled up immediately. Need-based financial allocations and decentralised sanctioning powers should be granted to park managers, with all political transfers stopped immediately.

Local participation for job and asset creation through forestry and other need-based development activities within a 10 km radius of the park boundary is vital. All hotels in the area should appoint at least 60 percent of staff from the locals and pay a park development levy. A park with a good tiger population will ensure higher tourist visits, better job opportunities and economic returns.

The forests and environment ministry should ensure satellite imagery-based maps for all protected areas to ease an overall management plan. This should be updated annually to assess damages through excessive grazing, fire and encroachments.

The map would indicate all possible approaches to the park, water holes and salt licks for defining the tourist zone, locating of watchtowers and check-posts.

These measures will ensure the preservation of the national ecological heritage so that people can see the tiger roam and hear the tiger roar in Indian forests well beyond the 21st century.

(Mukerji is a former director general of forests of the Government of India. He can be reached at anumira@mantraonline.com)