When a lawyer-cum-activist filed a complaint recently against Hollywood comedian Russell Brand and singer Katy Perry for violating the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act in the course of their wedding held near the Ranthambore tiger reserve, it once again highlighted the adverse impact tourism can have on wildlife conservation and the sensitivities around the issue.
Such instances are so rampant that earlier this year Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to chief ministers of three tiger-hosting states to put a check on mushrooming resorts and to notify buffer areas around the reserves to mitigate man-animal conflict. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) also shot off tourism guidelines with dos and don?ts to the tiger-bearing states in August.
Experts say the situation is alarming and requires a complete overview of policies and their implementation to strike that delicate balance between sustainable tourism and wildlife conservation. ?Tourism is a double-edged sword, which is both good and bad in parts. So we can?t and shouldn?t rubbish it completely. However, it?s not at all well managed here and I feel that eco-tourism is just a catch phrase that people use,? says Vivek Menon, CEO, Wildlife Trust of India.
According to Menon, the problem lies in the fact that we just refuse to look beyond the tiger, and others hardly differ. ?One of the major reasons for our problems is the very tiger-centric tourism that prevails in India. People want to do whatever it takes to see a tiger in the wild, which leads to rules being flouted all around. The pressure of tiger tourism is so immense that it has now become intrusive and dangerous to tiger habitats,? says Prerna Singh Bindra, a conservationist and member, National Board on Wildlife.
Other important attributes of the problem include lack of awareness and sensitisation in the country, failure of the administration in involving the local population and making them partners in eco-tourism, lack of coordination between the Centre and the states and use of reserves by states as revenue-churning machines, and the political and bureaucratic nexus. ?It is a free-for-all. State governments, in fact, are asking the parks to increase revenue. With so much pressure of tourism on the parks, one can imagine the situation. The states are just not doing enough and people with connections are continuing with their resort-building spree,? says Dr Sejal Worah, programmes director, WWF-India. ?In certain reserves, while the locals are being moved out of the core habitat areas, tourists are still allowed and encouraged to go inside. If the area is the core and is inviolate, then how can tourists be allowed in?? she asks.
Experts are unanimous on the need to formulate necessary policies, coupled with stringent implementation and improving the coordination between the Centre and states. They insist on implementation of basic steps like finding out and following the carrying capacity of reserves, making core areas completely inviolate, creating proper buffer zones around reserves, safeguarding corridors and controlling and regulating the vehicular movement within and around the reserves is critical.
?People also need to be exposed to other sanctuaries that are lesser known and go beyond the tiger. Besides, visitors, especially the younger generation, needs to be made aware through interaction with wildlife. When they visit a national park, they should feel connected with what they see and should feel that it?s their responsibility as well to conserve this treasure,? says Menon.
Experts also say that partnering local communities with eco-tourism industry can go a long way in making it sustainable. At Rumbak, a village in the Hemis National Park in Ladakh, one of the areas where snow leopards are found, local people are now very much involved in tourism and their livelihood depends on the income wildlife tourism generates. Snow leopard is now a source of income for locals and this has actually brought down incidents of man-animal conflict to a minimal level. Earlier, people used to poison snow leopards when they attacked cattle, but not any more, says Bindra.
She goes on to state other examples. In Arunachal Pradesh, at Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, researchers and serious tourists pay an amount to the local tribal council for conducting research in the forest, accommodation and assistance in field work. Similarly, in Parambikulam, mineral water bottles are not allowed and water is provided from a water filter plant run by the Kadav tribe. Clearly, simple practices can go a long way in resolving complex issues.