Times of India , Friday, May 20, 2005

Correspondent : Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Tiger conservation has failed on several fronts due to highly organised international poaching networks, lack of professional law enforcement and increasing hostility of local communities, said experts on Thursday. The initial round of consultations held by the government-appointed Tiger Task Force with wildlife experts has revealed that the current database - both official and non-official - of poaching shows an increase in trend. "But all agree that this reporting is only the tip of the iceberg," said Sunita Narain, director of the Centre for Science and Environment, who heads the five-member Tiger Task Force set up by the ministry of environment and forests to review conservation programmes. "The fact is that seizures cannot be translated easily into tiger mortality, as they include parts of tigers and cannot be used as estimates for deaths," said Narain at a press briefing on Thursday to highlight the findings of the first round of consultations. The official database reveals 114 tiger deaths due to poaching in five years between 1999-2003 and 238 items of tiger parts seized in 211 cases in the same period. The unofficial database reveals higher estimates. "But it is difficult to analyse the exact difference because of varying systems of classification and categorisation in the different database," said the task force report. The problem, experts say, is that there is no coordinated or corroborated database of the seizures that can be used for further investigation. Besides the problem of poaching, there is an "increasing hostility of local communities who share the tiger's habitat" due to years of mismanagement and conservation policies that exclude people from protected areas. "It is clear that the tiger crisis needs serious and considered response. No quick-fix solution will work," the experts added. During its three-month tenure, the task force will continue its deliberations with experts and hold talks with local people in key protected areas in the country to seek answers for desired change and results.

SOURCE : Times of India, Friday, May 20, 2005