India's Shaky Protection for Rajasthan Tigers and Tribal People

Did He who made the lamb make thee? (W. Blake)

Introduction:
(scroll to the bottom of this post to see the photo album)

Our eyes met. The large, round yellow eyes did not blink. They were as still as the eyes of a porcelain tiger. The cream, black stripes, and orange of its face blended with the colours of the leafless, brown, thicket. The face was utterly at ease, at peace! It had no fear. I was stunned, breathless, and unable to utter even one word! My body had gone limp. It could not move! All my strength had vanished in a flash. The tiger remained absolutely still just like me. The powerless one had finally met the all-powerful!

My sense of reality, my sense of being had begun to move in slow motion. It was like the feeling of my life hanging in the balance. Like the feeling that came over me five years ago. My speeding Subaru Impreza had almost collided with a moose one snowy night just before Christmas Eve in northwest British Columbia, Canada!

I had dared to look the tiger in the eyes. This was a demonstration of aggression to the tiger. It was easy for me to do! I was in the safety of the safari jeep's front seat. But my spirit did not come to flaunt my intrusion in its domain. Nor did I come to provoke the spirit of the tiger god of India's Tribal People. Instead, I had come in peace to gaze at its beauty, its magnificence, to learn about its reality, to see if I could do something to strengthen its reign.

As I looked through the brush on the left side of the jeep, I saw the large tiger lying on its stomach! I still couldn't believe it. I was the first to see it! 

Finally I was able to move, to lift my arm, to point at it in amazement! But I was still in awe, still voiceless! 

Within seconds, the jeep stopped at a hairpin corner that turned to the left. We faced the tiger head on! It was still lying 25 meters away at the edge of the road where it split into two directions.

Incredibly the young American man from Seattle jumped out of the rear of the jeep! Then I heard the feet of the second young man from Israel hit the ground behind me. Immediately our guide shouted out in alarm, "Get back into the jeep!" The men obeyed. Then we backed away from it a few vehicle lengths. This is how we began a ten-minute encounter with the tiger right at sundown!

The tiger laid calmly at the edge of the dusty, road surface. It stretched its neck, and tilted its head back. Then the tiger opened its jaws wide in silence, baring its fangs! He was putting on a show for us!

Looking back on my experience I have to say I was pretty naive at the start of the safaris. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Nevertheless, this incredible encounter was my inspiration to dedicate one month of research, reading, analysis, and writing immediately after my return home to Canada. The result of this work appears in this article. 

I will tell you about my personal experience in a search for a tiger at one of our planet's great wildlife reserves. It is called the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, India. Through the eyes of an indigenous man from Canada, this essay examines its physical geography, the tribal people in and around the reserve, and conservation issues that challenge the very existence of the reserve and its tigers. My personal photographs will enhance the article to show you the majesty and power of the tiger.

Ranthambore Tiger Reserve location (orange pin).

I will briefly discuss the threats to tiger survival. Visitors in the tiger reserve and villagers near the tiger reserve both threaten and conserve the tiger population and its reserve. My personal observations will provide some evidence of the threats to tiger survival. The reactions to a high court decision of June'12 in India for a temporary ban of tourists from the core area of tiger reserves will add more food for thought about the politics of tiger conservation (McCarthy, 2012). In addition, the fieldwork by H.S. Sharma published in 2000 provides very important insight into the social, economic and cultural conditions in the area. Furthermore, I will rely on the research by Tarun Nair, Program Coordinator at Gharial Conservation Alliance, to examine some of the consequences of hundreds of irrigation projects in the Chambal watershed that encompasses the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. 

Rajasthan Tiger Reserve:

This amazing sanctuary in northwestern India, near Sawai Madhopur in the state of Rajasthan, was to host my tiger safaris for five, fantastic days (March 18-22, 2013). I had gone to the sanctuary to see one charismatic species, the Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris). But, my eyes were soon opened to many challenging issues! I saw widespread conservation and social justice issues. An immense human population and wildlife intensely compete for scare resources in their daily struggle for life. Through personal observations during my brief visit, I was to learn how humans threaten tiger survival in this sanctuary near the Great Indian Desert.

Five reserves were combined to establish the current Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.

As for me, I chose to visit Ranthambore Tiger Reserve for a few important reasons. The reserve has a large Bengal Tiger population. The heat of the nearby Great Indian Desert produces a semi-arid climate in the sanctuary. Thus, all forests would be thin.

After my return to Canada from my pilgrimage, I was to learn that during recent decades, tigers at Ranthambore have become so accustomed to humans that they began appearing in daylight. Soon, international experts found it to be the best place on Earth to see wild tigers. Hence, National Geographic, BBC and leading wildlife film companies and photographers like to go to the sanctuary to film tigers. This validates my thinking about doing photography in this reserve.

Vindhyan Hills over look the semi-arid landscape near Zone 9.

Ranthambore consists of several protected areas. This post will tell you the story of my first tiger encounter. It took place in Zone 9 in the Kualji Game Reserve (see the map above). It is at the southernmost part of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.

Thus, it would be useful to take a look at a few important features about the physical geography of the basin.

The Physical Geography:

Grasslands cover the thinly forested ridges. It is a Northern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest, “the single largest expanse of dry deciduous Anogeissus pendula Forest left intact in India” (Afroz Alam, 2011). In contrast to lush forest stands near water bodies in narrow canyons known to locals as "Khohs" (Afroz Alam, 2011), the flat, valley floor near Kualji Game Reserve looks like a desert with thin vegetation. Consequently, the chances are much better for a visitor like me to see tigers. This is why I chose Ranthambore for my wildlife, photographic 'pilgrimage' to India. All in all, I took 60 GB of stills and video during my visit in India. I will share a few of my photos with you in this blog.

The Great Boundary Fault passes about 10 km to the west of Sawai Madhopur (Srivastava, 2003). A Goggle Earth satellite image of the park clearly shows the Great Boundary Fault. It passes through Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.

The ancient Aravalli lies on the west side of the fault. The younger Vindhyan basin stretches to the east side. The Great Boundary Fault marked a collision location of tectonic plates eons before the present Indian sub-continent collided with Asia (Kaur et al., 2011) beginning 55 million years ago (Aitchison et al., 2007). The sandstone layers of the Vindhyan hills are typically flat at the top (tablelands). Locals call them "dangs". They end abruptly at steep escarpments.

Aravalli Range begins along the steep cliff (escarpment) at the western side of the Great Boundary Fault.

The travel route to Zone 9 from Sawai Madhopur follows the Great Boundary Fault. The Aravalli Range, 1.85 billion years old (Kaur et al., 2011), the oldest mountains in India, stands along the west side of the fault. This line of mountains creates a natural barrier that extends in a north, northeastern direction for 600 km through Rajasthan and nearby states. It stops the spread of the Great Indian Desert towards Delhi. Hundreds of mines have operated in these intensely bended and folded mountains. The brilliant white marble of the Taj Mahal came from these mountains. What is more, this part of India was to become home for the Meena Tribe 14 centuries ago.

Tree in the house:

At 1:30 pm, we left the Ranthambore Tourist Centre in Sawai Madhopur to begin the safari. The trip to Zone 9 was about 45 km. We stopped at two resorts to pick up passengers. As a result, we travelled for 90 minutes to get to our destination.

During road travel to Zone 9 on March 20, we passed through ten villages and towns in rural India. Zone 9, which is outside the park, requires the most distant travel of all the zones in the Reserve. Thus, I also gained insight into the lives of some 60% of Indians who live in such rural areas.

Rural women and girls at a village well and water storage tank.

As we travelled through the villages and countryside, I observed activities in daily, rural life. Village wells and the associated water storage tank were always a social gathering place. The lives of the young women and a girl at the water tank of a village along our travel route intrigued me. After my return home to Canada I was to learn more about them. In rural Rajasthan, 65.7 per cent in rural areas of girls marry at an age of 15 years (Alka Barua, 2007). Thus, most females in this scene are probably married.

In one of the villages, we saw a house built around a tree. It intrigues Canadians when they see the photo below. The roof and walls have been carefully built around a large tree. Freshly, laundered clothes hang on a clothesline in front of the house. The sandy yard in front of the house is very clean and smooth. There is no sign of animal use of the structure. Hence, humans appear to inhabit the house.

House built around a tree.

Why is the tree in the house? The Meena Tribal People can be animists. For them, animals, plants and trees can be deities. An individual tree or a grove of trees can be sacred. Picking even a twig from such a tree can be blasphemy (Yogesh Shrivastava, 2001). It could make perfect sense for them to take special measures to protect a sacred tree. Perhaps, this image of the tree in the house could be an indication of a Meena belief and practice.

Agriculture is the main activity of most Meena Tribe members.

The Meena Tribe:

During the safari, I asked the tour guide about indigenous peoples. He affirmed that there were indigenous people around Ranthambore. Thus, it would be helpful to take a closer look at who they are.

The Indus civilization began in the Stone Age (2006). Thus, tribal people in India do not necessarily claim to be the original people of a region. However, they do make prior claims to the natural resources of the region that they inhabit (Xaxa, 1999).

Tribal people comprise 8 percent of India's population (84.51 million) according to the 2001 census. They occupy 15 percent of the sub-continent of India in several ecological and climatic zones.  There are 697 tribes specially recognized in the Constitution of India (2011b).

The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) was founded in 1968 by anthropologists who were alarmed about the genocide of indigenous peoples in the Amazon. It continues its work to the present day in a global network. Today, indigenous peoples from all over the world are involved in its rights-based approach. IWGIA recognizes Scheduled Tribes in India as being indigenous peoples (2013d).

To enact provisions of the Constitution of India, administrators define scheduled tribes according to certain criteria. The criteria can include geographic isolation, low standard of living, and their practice of animism, physical features, language, customs, and traditions that are different from mainstream Hindu society (Xaxa, 1999).

The Constitution of India protects tribal people. It provides privileges, benefits and security to them. What is more, in 1950, the Constitution provided self-governance powers to tribal people in areas where they are the majority in the population (2011a).

In India, however, the use of the term indigenous has been a term of considerable debate. Politicians, administrators, social workers, and academics used the term “indigenous” to refer to a category of disadvantaged people.  Therefore, this identity was forced upon the Meena by the dominant society (Xaxa, 1999).

According to a researcher who had finished extensive fieldwork in 2000, most of the people in and around the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve are tribal people called the Meena (Sharma, 2000). They “are settled unlike other tribes in Rajasthan" (Sharma, 2000).

The Meena, also known as the Meos, or Mewati, or Minas, are a tribe and caste in parts of western and northern India. The Minas may have migrated to this region of India with various Rajput groups from inner Asia in the 7th century (2009).

Twelve tribes are scheduled for the State of Rajasthan. The Meena (Mina) tribe had a population of 3,799,971 in the 2001 census of India (Office of the Registrar General). Thus, the Meena, along with their allied groups, currently rank among the largest tribes of South Asia (2009). The Minas believe that “they were among the oldest inhabitants of the region” (2009). 

Search Strategy:

We arrived at the gate to Zone 9 at 3 pm. The guide went into the Forest Check Post (Qualji) to speak to the Rangers. The Rangers told him that they heard a tiger roar at noon. Then a warning call from deer was real close to the station. A small farming community is across the road from the station gate. So the tiger was still near the station.

Gate to Eco-tourism Centre at Zone 9.

After a short stop at the Check Post, we drove forest roads close to the station. Our search area was limited to a triangular-shaped area with an area of 1 square kilometer. Every 10 minutes or so, we stopped the jeep and listened for warning calls of deer or langurs (Semnopithecus dussumieri). Zone 9 is the home of one male and two to three female tigers. 

In addition, we looked for fresh scat; fresh sloth bear and tiger paw prints on the dusty road surface. We also made frequent checks of a water hole and a tributary to the Chambal.

Sambar (Cervus unicolour) visits the water hole to drink and wallow in the mud.

The river tributary was so low that it had stopped flowing. There were just pools along the riverbed. Therefore, humans, life stock, and wild animals can easily wander across the dry riverbed. Our guide drove us in the jeep for about 1 km along the riverbed.

Zone 9 search locations in the Kualji Game Reserve.

This is how we searched the area close to the Check Post. We drove the same route for three hours until sunset, criss-crossing the same small area, the riverbed, and around two watering holes. We paid close attention to the water holes because tigers need water every hour during hot days. And the temperature on this day was 35 C. In one month the temperature will rise to 40 to 50 C.

Hindi surprise:

Around 6 pm, we needed a break too. Our guide stopped the jeep. We sat in silence to listen for warning calls. Instead, we heard a different kind of sound!

After three hours of listening to the Indian men speak Hindi during our search for a tiger, a young American white woman from Seattle who was sitting in the back seat of the jeep finally spoke up! In Hindi! All of us were amazed! The Indians laughed nervously. They had spoken Hindi during the entire safari.

The tour guide and driver complimented her on her ability to speak Hindi so well. I spoke to her, as well from the passenger seat in the front seat, "You are a humble woman to remain silent for so long!" Her big smile was an affirmation of her appreciation to me for noticing her way of entering a foreign culture.

Sunset encounter with the tiger:

The Guide began to drive the same circuit again. This time we saw fresh tracks of a tiger and a bear. Finally at sunset, we found a really fresh place where a tiger had lied down in the thick dust on the road surface. Our guide excitedly called on all of us to search the bush beside the road as he drove.

Looking through the brush on the left side of the jeep, I saw the striped face of a tiger looking at me! I couldn't believe it. I was the first to see the tiger through the bush on my side of the jeep! I was stunned when our eyes met!

I stood up on the passenger seat to take photos. I laid my big telephoto lens on the top edge of the windshield. Then I tried to control my excitement as I began taking photos.

My D7000 camera was taking photos as fast as possible in Continuous High mode (up to 6 photos/sec) shutter release mode. I had to pause several times during the photo shoot to allow the memory card to save the photos in raw and jpg format. Thus, the Class 10 transfer speed of the memory card was not fast enough for a situation like this one.

According to my photo sequence, the big male tiger remained lying down for four minutes. Then it got up and began to walk very slowly away down the road. So, we slowly followed it for 4-5 minutes. Then we stopped and backed away from it.

The guide told us the male was T42. This tiger has killed two men. It's mate, T37, a female, 5 years of age, died (2013b) of a heart failure on March 18 (2013a). This sad event took place two days before my encounter with T42. So, the young male tiger (T42) was staying close to the location of his dead mate.

After the ten-minute encounter was over, we left the park, as it was getting dark. We stopped at the gate to the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve Ecotourism Centre on our way out of the sanctuary. Our guide spoke to the Ranger at the gate. Then our guide asked me to show my photos to the Ranger.

I showed him my best photos. The Ranger used his cell phone to take a photo of my camera photo display of the right side of the tiger. He wanted positive identification of our sighting. For stripes on the side of the tiger can determine the identity of the tiger just like human fingerprints.

As we drove through the countryside and the villages, darkness descended upon us. I was amazed to witness every house along the route was in darkness. Just a few street side vendors had battery powered LED lights to decorate and light their carts. Villagers were gathering on the streets to socialize in the coolness of the evening. For me it was an unforgettable experience.

During the excitement of the encounter, I forgot to take a GPS reading of the location. However, I returned the next morning at sunrise to look for T42. The Rangers said the tiger had left the reserve. It went to a nearby lake. So, we did not stay long in Zone 9. However, I took a GPS reading where we encountered the tiger. It, therefore, provides the precise location of the encounter shown in the Goggle Earth Satellite image above.

Canadian First Nations comparable to the Meena Tribe:

The history of Canada’s aboriginal people provides another way to understand the Meena Tribe of India. Migration of some indigenous peoples in Canada also took place through our history because of war, famine, and the colonial administration of the original people of our country.

One tribe, in the 1870s, the Anishnaubemowin (Saulteau) migrated westward from Manitoba to Moberly Lake, B.C., following their leader's spiritual vision. The spiritual vision of the Meena was that their descent was from the Matsya avatar, or fish incarnation, of Vishnu (2013d). Thus, the history of the Meena and the Saulteau First Nations could be comparable for spiritual reasons since the Meena migrated to the present day Rajasthan from inner Asia in the 7th Century.

Another example, a small number of Cree followed the fur trade from Eastern Canada. They arrived at the edge of Gitxsan territory in northwestern British Columbia during the early part of the 19th century. While these specific Cree were tribal, and aboriginal people, the Gitxsan, the tribal people of northwestern Canada whose oral history dates their presence in the Skeena watershed back to the last ice age, would never agree that the Cree are indigenous to Gitxsan territory. Still, these Cree do not claim to be indigenous to the area.

Similarly, early in the 19th century, the Gitxsan gave permission to the Wet’suwet’en to establish a village at Hagwilget. It is about 30 km inside of Gitxsan territory. The permission was granted in 1823 because salmon could not pass a rockslide in Hagwilget Canyon. There was no salmon upstream of the slide in the Bulkley River. Consequently, the Wet’suwet’en migrated from their original territory like the Meena tribal people of India. My ancestors were then able to harvest salmon for their survival at the present village site of Hagwilget. The Wet'suwet'en are indigenous to their birthplace, 20 km upstream of Hagwilget at a place called Dizkle. Hence, the Wet’suwet’en are tribal and aboriginal, but not indigenous to Hagwilget.

The history of the Meena Tribe and the Wet’suwet’en, thus, both challenges and widens my understanding of what it means to be an indigenous and tribal person in both Canada and in India.

Village along the way to Zone 9.

Do International Conventions and Declarations protect Tribal People in India?

Often wildlife seems to be more of a concern to the general public than indigenous people. What about the survival of tribal people? What tools and instruments could protect their rights, interests and survival of their cultures?

In 1957, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted Convention No. 107 (C107) "Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957,"for the protection and integration of indigenous, tribal, and semi-tribal peoples in independent countries. India has ratified C107 (International Labour Organization (International Labour Organization (ILO), 2012).

The convention has evolved over the years. In the 1980s, the assimilationist approach of Convention No. 107 was considered outdated (International Labour Organization (ILO), 2010). Therefore, the Convention was revised and replaced in 1989 by Convention No. 169. Thus, ILO Convention No. 169 (C169) now "is a legally binding international instrument open to ratification, which deals specifically with the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples. Today, it has been ratified by 20 countries". However, India has not ratified C169 (International Labour Organization (ILO), 2012).

C169 recognizes indigenous and tribal peoples’ aspirations to exercise control over their own institutions, ways of life and economic development and to maintain and develop their identities, languages and religions. The crucial factor is that these processes would take place within the framework of the states in which they live (International Labour Organization (ILO), 2010). Thus, C169 mirrors the modern aspirations of First Nations and Indigenous People of Canada. What is more, it has the potential to be implemented in India too.

ILO supervisory bodies monitor the implementation of all ILO Conventions. This allows a continuous dialogue to take place between the ILO and the governments concerned with the hope of strengthening the implementation of these Conventions. As a result, the first monitoring and report was done in 2009.

The supervisory body found at least eight violations of its conventions. First, Vedanta Resources, a mining giant, aims to mine a sacred mountain for a large bauxite deposit and operate a processing facility in Niyamgiri hills, Lanjigarh, in the state of Orissa. It threatens the existence and the way of life of Dongria Kondh. Second, the ITUC calls on the Government of India to establish a National Tribal Policy and to adopt C169. Third, the Committee of the ITUC requests the Government to provide information about the fulfillment of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. Fourth, the Committee requests updated information on the tribal population displaced from the land they traditionally occupy as a result of the Sardar Sarovar Dam Project and the measures taken to guarantee their resettlement and compensation in conformity with the Convention. Fifth, the Committee requests updated information on the various measures taken in education, training and employment and other areas for the benefit of the tribal population. Sixth, the Committee repeatedly asks the Government to provide information on the specific measures it has taken to intensify campaigns against caste-based discrimination in employment and occupation. Seventh, in 2007, there were 104,003 cases before the courts out of which 6,505 resulted in a conviction about the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The Committee has called for strict enforcement of these acts. Eighth, the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, so far had been adopted by 20 states. Thus, the Committee of the ITUC calls for enforcement of the act and to eliminate this illegal employment practice (International Labour Organization (ILO), 2010).

The Committee of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), therefore, sent a communication to the Government of India for its comment on September 3, 2009. By 2010, the government had not yet replied to the above-mentioned eight serious violations of Tribal Peoples rights (International Labour Organization (ILO), 2010). Therefore, India's participation in the United Nations process does not appear to be done in good faith. So, I have been waiting since May 13, 2013, for the ILO supervisory body to verify with me if it has received an answer from India.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted by the General Assembly of the UN in September 2007, is not legally binding on countries. However, it establishes standards which countries recognize and politically and morally agree to uphold. Presently, 147 countries support the UNDRIP. India, the United States, and Canada have agreed to recognize the Declaration (2013b). The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Dr. James Anaya, promotes, monitors, assesses, and reports about its implementation. Since Dr. Anaya began his current term as Special Rapporteur, he has issued 17 country reports (2012b). However, he has not assessed India yet. So, reports and news releases by indigenous organizations in India and non-governmental organizations like Human Rights Watch and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees would require examination to determine the effectiveness of the UNDRIP in India. 

Parching the Chambal River Basin:

Why were we able to drive on the riverbed of the tributary to the Chambal? Tarun Nair, Program Coordinator at Gharial Conservation Alliance, provided a compelling answer in his publication, "Parching the Chambal River Basin: Unrelenting irrigation schemes wring the unique Chambal dry."

Waters from the tributary at the south edge of Zone 9 and the Chambal flows in a northeasterly direction through Rajasthan. Normally, they would flow into the Ganges. However, a cluster of dams on the tributary has reduced the flow to zero where it would normally empty into the Chambal.

Rajasthan has been known as the homeland of famine (Singh, 1998). Yet, the construction of hundreds of irrigation projects and dams results in no river flow down stream of the Kota barrage. More than 200 irrigation projects and four major dams in the Chambal watershed have deprived hundreds of birds, mammals, and aquatic species of life. The Chambal, normally 400 m wide, has been reduced to a channel just 10-15 m wide in certain sections. Thus, aquatic ecosystems have been severely degraded or destroyed throughout the basin (Nair, 2011).

One of the main threats to tiger survival in the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve is an illegal canal that violates both the Wildlife Protection Act and the Forest Conservation Act of India (Kavita Prasad, 2012). The illegal construction of a canal, 10 m deep and 12 m wide, threatens to destroy the crucial corridor that links two protected areas, the Ranthambore National Park to the Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary (Tejpal, 2011). If the crazy canal is completed, tiger movements between the two protected areas for breeding will be impossible. Thus, two small isolated tiger populations will not be able to maintain sufficient genetic variation for survival.

Incredibly, an ex-forest minister and local MP started the illegal project. Now, the government position is that the project should go ahead because it has already been started! In response to these illegal acts by the politicians, senior officials in the ministries directly affected by the illegal decision have bravely started an online petition to stop the canal (Kavita Prasad, 2012).

Some observers think online petitions are useless. India, however, has an innovation that is worthy of testing. The Parliament of India has established a Committee on Petitions. It examines every petition referred to it. It's website goes onto to say, "The recommendations of the Committee on the Petition will be presented in the form of a Report to the Rajya Sabha where after the recommendations will receive the consideration of the appropriate Ministry of the Government of India. This process will be monitored by the Committee on Petitions" (Rajya Sabha Secretariat, 2013).

Petitions do work in India. A good example was a recent petition to abolish the practice of untouchability in a small village near the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.

In just five days, more than 5000 people signed an online petition in 2012 that forced a District Magistrate to call a Public Hearing. The Magistrate ordered an end to the tradition that forced Dalit women to take off their footwear when they pass through so called “upper caste” neighbourhoods. The Villagers of Dangariya promised to stop this practice (See http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/untouchability-abolished-in-dangariya-rajasthan).

Now, citizens everywhere who love tigers now also have an opportunity to register their opposition to the canal at another online petition site (See http://www.thepetitionsite.com/981/646/173/stop-illegal-canal-in-tiger-reserve/.

To visit or not to visit Ranthambore Tiger Reserve?

In 1980, the former private hunting grounds of Chieftains and the Maharajas of Jaipur were turned into Ranthambore National Park. In 1992, the Tiger Reserve was expanded to include the adjoining Keladevi Sanctuary and Sawai Mansingh sanctuary along with other forests. As a result, today, the tiger reserve covers an area of 1334 sq. km.

According to the latest census by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the tiger population in India increased to 1,706 in 2011 from 1,411 in 2008 (Pidd, 2013). Yet, the immense population of India, which will grow to 1.6 billion people by mid-century (2013), reduces the area where wildlife can co-exist with humans.

Tourist fascination with tigers causes widespread concern both in India and elsewhere in the world. Visitors to tiger reserves wonder about their positive and negative impacts on the tiger population. The dilemma, to visit or not to visit, surely challenges visitors to the Reserve.

There are no reliable figures about visitors to Sawai Madhopur. However, according to an article in the 20 August 2012 Guardian, in 2011, 288,000 tickets were sold to visitors for national park entry (Pidd, 2013).

Not everyone shows up for his or her visit. As a result, I saw a strong informal market in operation amongst locals. They obtained the seats of the no-shows at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve Tourist Centre. There were so many locals at the "current booking window" that it was a struggle for me, a tourist, to get to the window. Instead, the locals got the boarding passes of the "no-shows" to sell to "walk-up" visitors. The seats would be sold to visitors for their own profit. As a result, there were no empty seats in the jeeps during my visit. For, everyone wanted to use jeeps for their safari.

During my visit, I normally saw four to six vehicles in the same zone that I was visiting. A maximum of 40 vehicles with a total of 520 tourists are in the park at any one time. Tourists are only allowed in the park for six hours (two intervals of three hours each) every day. Supporters of tourism in the park say the visitors only have access to one quarter of the park area (McCarthy, 2012).

Poachers kill tigers that fetch lucrative prices in China, Japan, Viet Nam, Southeast Asia (Sharma, 2000) for its fur. Therefore, Guides volunteer to patrol the park from sunrise to sunset. Tourists and guides deter poachers of the tigers. Visitors also reduce illegal grazing and illegal woodcutting. That is why a significant number of knowledgeable observers say it would be a disaster if the government were to close core areas of tiger reserves to visitors.

India's Wildlife Protection Act requires that core areas of tiger reserves, currently only 1 percent of Indian's landmass, to be "inviolate." Yet, during the past six years, field biologist Dharmendra Khandal says 20 percent of the land where tigers live in India, has been lost in the past six years to human population growth, agriculture, and to mines (McCarthy, 2012).

Yet, critics question the presence of visitors in core areas of tiger habitat in the park. They remind us about the injustice of tribal people being forced out of their villages inside the park. Then the Government of India throws open the doors of Ranthambore National Park to foreign ecotourists like me without adequately empowering the forest-dependent poor to raise their standard of living.

The bottom line in controversies like this is usually economics. If the locals around the tiger reserve cannot make money on tourism, some of them would poach tigers for the money instead. They will get their money one way or another. Thus, most conservation experts say poaching is a bigger problem than tourism.

Conservation issues at Ranthambore National Park:

Aditya Singh, an avid wildlife photographer, conservationist, activist and engineer, moved to Ranthambhore in 1998. He has a collection of wonderful photos of tigers at Ranthambore on his website (See http://ranthambhore.com/about-us/). It has news about Ranthambore and its surroundings too.

Villagers inside and close to the Ranthambore tiger reserve are mainly agricultural, pastoral and farm workers. They all depend on the natural resources of the reserve.

The Goggle Earth Satellite image for the location of my tiger encounter clearly tells the story. There are fields and villages all around the little "island" where the tigers cling to life in Zone 9. A large group of structures appears to the south of the encounter location is a historic Hindu temple.

Travel Operators for Tigers run a campaign with several objectives. It believes in "Well conceived, well planned and well managed tourism is a critical tool in wildlife conservation, rural and community development and sustainable livelihoods." They explain the conservation issues around Ranthambore using the Zone of Influence (ZI) concept (2012).

The Zone of Influence (ZI) of the reserve is thought to be within 10 km of the legal boundaries of reserve. Four villages are inside the Core and Buffer zone of Ranthambore National Park. Sawai Madhopur sanctuary possesses three villages (2012).

The photo below shows an example of a potential conflict between animals in the sanctuary and livestock from nearby farms and villages. The Sambar shares river water with a herd of goats from a nearby farm. A man stands at the top of the riverbank in a grassy opening. It appears he is a herder keeping watch on his goats. Interestingly, the Sambar appears to be more concerned about our presence in the jeep rather than the herd and the herder.

Nonetheless, the photo does provide evidence of potential conflicts. Domestic animals and wild animals could easily cross the river. Wild animals could cross the river to raid crops while domestic animals could be easy meat for tigers if they stray into the reserve. For we all know, the grass is always greener on the other side! In crossing over, conflicts will surely occur in Zone 9.

A Sambar shares river water with farm animals while a herder watches from the hillside (location 189).

The Goggle Earth Satellite image of location 189 clearly shows the location of a nearby farm. It is about 250 m away from the location where we encountered the small herd of goats on the river bed. Intense grazing on both sides of the river indicates the likelihood of conflicts between predators and prey in Zone 9.

Intense, grazing has degraded the forest on both sides of the river at location 189.

What is more, in 1991, there were 332 villages within 5 km. radius of the Reserve. There are 112 villages within two km of the reserve boundary! Authorities call this zone an "eco-development zone" (2012). The people in this zone believe they own resource use rights in the tiger reserve. And they get angry when they are stopped from using it. As a result, the villagers never stop trying to invade the core area of the park. The reserve areas outside the park experience the same pressures.

In response to threats to tiger survival, a new conservation organization called the Tiger Nation has been established. Using the power of social media, cutting edge ID methods, and the world's leading tiger experts, the Tiger Nation uses 'people-powered conservation.' It documents the identity of tigers in all tiger reserves in India, provides population counts and runs an international campaign to save the tigers. Through its campaign, the Tiger Nation (See www.tigernation.org) has found that Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, one of 42 tiger sanctuaries in India, currently has a tiger population of 31. According to the Tiger Nation website, "Today, Ranthambhore’s tiger numbers are the highest they’ve been since Emperors battled over the ruined [Ranthambore Fort] ramparts above."

Thus, I will do a small duty as a conservation photographer for the sake of tiger survival in India. I will upload my best photo of the tiger to the Tiger Nation website. It can confirm its identity. In addition, my sighting will enlarge its GPS dataset, thus, documenting the tiger movement in Zone 9. However, a membership will be necessary to give my photograph. Currently, it costs C$39 for a one-year subscription. Expense way for me to freely share my information but I will do it for tiger survival!

Can tigers survive in India?

Most of our planet's charismatic and endangered species owe their existence to special, protected areas and reserves on every continent. Wild tigers at the most westerly location on Earth are no exception to this great and urgent need for protection. Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, one of the world's 600 wildlife reserves (Riley and Riley, 2005), has become one of the great reserves on earth to fulfill this urgent need to protect tigers. Yet, tiger survival and even the integrity of the sanctuary itself are still in crisis at Ranthambore. Can tigers survive in India? This appears to be an open question. For the answer is blowin’ in the desert wind!

Tiger Photo album: 

All photos by Larry Joseph, copyright, 2013.

Nikon D7000

Lens:

wide-angle zoom, AF-S, Nikkor, 12-24 mm, 1:4 G ED,

telephoto, zoom, AF-S, Nikkor, 50-300 mm, 1:4.5-5.6 G ED, VR,

telephoto, zoom, AF‐S, Nikkor, 200‐400 mm, 1:4 G

Sunset over the tributary of the Chambal at the edge of Zone 9.

Fresh tiger paw print.

Male tiger (T42) about 25 m. from the jeep.

This is my best side!

What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? (W.Blake)

Like human fingerprints, strips on the side of its body provide conclusive identity.

References:

Indus Valley Civilization. In: Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life (2006): Gale Group.

Minas. In: Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life (2009) Chicago: Gale Group.

Indian Scheduled Tribes (2011a) http://www.indianetzone.com/37/indian_scheduled_tribes.htm (accessed April 24, 2013, 2013) (Type of Medium).

Indian Tribes (2011b)  (accessed May 6, 2013, 2013) (Type of Medium).

Ranthambhore: Park Issues Conservation Issues (2012a) http://www.toftigers.org/Ranthambhore%20Tiger%20Reserve/Ranthambhore%20Park%20Issues (accessed April 5, 2013, 2013) (Type of Medium).

The Role of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within the United Nations Human Rights System, a Handbook for Indigenous Leaders in the United States (2012b) Tucson: The University of Arizona Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program.

Breaking up Indian states The good of small things. In: The Economist online (2013a) London: The Economist Newspaper Limited 2013.

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In: Wikipedia (2013b): Wikimedia Foundation.

Heart failure led to tigress’s death at Ranthambore National Park In: Daily Bhaskar.com (2013c) Jaipur: DB Corp ltd.

Indigenous peoples in India (2013d) http://www.iwgia.org/regions/asia/india (accessed May 23, 2013, 2013) (Type of Medium).

Meena. In: Wikipedia (2013e): Wikipedia

Tigress found dead at Ranthambore. In: The Times of India (2013f) Jaipur: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

Afroz Alam VS, Shiv Charan Sharma Bryoflora of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan (India). In: Archive For Bryology (2011) Banasthali Vidyapith- 302044 (Rajasthan) India: Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology. 8.

Aitchison JC, Ali JR, Davis AM. When and where did India and Asia collide? Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (2007) 112:B05423.

Alka Barua HA, Pradeep Kumar. Care and support of unmarried Adolescent Girls in Rajasthan. Economic & Political Weekly (2007):9.

International Labour Organization (ILO). Monitoring indigenous and tribal peoples’ rights through ILO Conventions: a compilation of ILO supervisory bodies’ comments 2009-2010 (2010) Geneva: International Labour Office.

International Labour Organization (ILO). Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (2012) http://www.ilo.org/indigenous/lang--en/index.htm (accessed May 5, 2013, 2013) (Type of Medium).

Kaur P, Zeh A, Chaudhri N, Gerdes A, Okrusch M. Archaean to Palaeoproterozoic crustal evolution of the Aravalli mountain range, NW India, and its hinterland: The U–Pb and Hf isotope record of detrital zircon. Precambrian Research (2011) 187:155-164.

McCarthy J. Tourists Banned From India's Tiger Reserves. In: NPR (2012) Washington, DC 20002: National Public Radio.

Pidd H. Tiger population of India facing 'total disaster' due to tourism ban. In: theguardian (2013) London: Guardian News and Media Limited.

Rajya Sabha Secretariat. Petitions-Procedure for submission (2013) http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/petition/petition.asp (accessed May 22, 2013, 2013) (Type of Medium).

Riley L, Riley W. Nature's strongholds : the world's great wildlife reserves. (2005)  Princeton, N.J. ; Woodstock: Princeton University Press.

Sharma HS. Ranthambhore Sanctuary: Dilemma of Eco-development. (2000)  New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.

Srivastava DC, Sahay, Amit. Brittle tectonics and pore-fluid conditions in the evolution of the Great Boundary Fault around Chittaurgarh, Northwestern India. Journal of Structural Geology (2003) 25:11.

Xaxa V. Tribes as Indigenous People of India. Economic and Political Weekly (1999) 34:3589-3595.

Yogesh Shrivastava PJ. Biodiversity in Folk-Beliefs and Practices among the Tribals of Rajasthan. In: Journal of Human Ecology (2001) Jaipur: Kamla-Raj. 141-146.