Tiger taskforce commends "innovative practices"

· Local communities involved in conservation

· Fewer tiger deaths, tiger parts seizures

· Felling of trees for firewood cut by 95 per cent

· Tribals organised into anti-poaching squads

CHENNAI: Tigers in Tamil Nadu are safer than in most other States, according to the Tiger Taskforce, which is investigating the status of the big cat in Indian forests.

The "innovative practices" adopted by the State such as recruiting ex-poachers as forest guards augured well for the tiger, said Sunita Narain, Director, Centre for Science and Environment, who is chairman of the taskforce.

"Out of 114 tiger deaths in the country between 1999 and 2003, only five were from Tamil Nadu. Also, out of 211 seizures of tiger parts made by law-enforcing agencies in this period, only four were from Tamil Nadu. Some of the approaches adopted by Tamil Nadu need to be explored by other States," Ms. Narain told The Hindu in a telephonic interview from New Delhi. Madhya Pradesh topped the list with 57 seizures, followed by Uttar Pradesh (44) and West Bengal (39). "Experts pointed out how excluding local communities in forest management and wildlife conservation affected the gathering of intelligence and information, critical to preventing poaching," she said.

Wildlife managers in the State see the taskforce's commendation as a vindication of their decades-long campaign to include tribals in conservation efforts. "We have been able to bring down the felling of trees for firewood by 95 per cent and grazing by 70 per cent. Nearly 70 per cent of the beneficiaries of the programme are women. Tribals have thus been given a participatory role in forest management," Dr. Sukhdev, Chief Wildlife Warden, said.

In Tamil Nadu, unlike the rest of the country, the anthropogenic stress on the forests was lesser as fewer tribals lived inside sanctuaries. "Wherever small pockets of tribals lived, we organised them into anti-poaching squads and equipped them with weapons and wireless equipment," Dr. Sukhdev said.