(IN): Assam tiger reserves lack appropriate protection

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Link:

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080042846 & ch=3/3/2008%\

201:25:00%20PM

 

*Assam tiger reserves lack appropriate protection*

 

Kishlay Bhattacharji

Sunday, March 2, 2008 (Orang National Park, Assam)

Orang National Park is a comparatively smaller national park also one of the

few ones named after a former PM, it is also called the Rajiv Gandhi

National Park.

 

It represents many problems that national parks, wildlife sanctuaries

particularly tiger habitat in Assam are facing, pressure of population

outside the park, shortage of personnel inside the park and whatever

personnel are there are de-motivated.

 

Assam also falls in the corridor of the illegal wildlife trade, the volume

of which is one of the highest in the world. NDTV took a tour of the Orang

National Park, which has a healthy tiger population to find out the threats

the illusive tiger faces.

 

In the last five years, the density of population has only increased and

this is one of the biggest problems that tiger habitat like Orang faces.

Grazing of cattle, illegal encroachment happen all around the park.

 

The forest staff are at their wits end. In the past two years, five tigers

have been killed in this park. Most of them by villagers not poachers.

 

''First the cattle problem needs to be solved. The villagers kill them. We

cannot always be running after everyone. They need to send more guards. In

some camps we do not even have any guards,'' said Sharma and Ali Forest

Guards.

 

Orang needs around 200 forest guards but has only 60. It is the same story

across the state. It needs at least a thousand more forest guards to protect

its wildlife.

 

Most of the forest guards are close to retirement and in the last 15 years

no new guard has been recruited. Even their equipment are outdated and they

have never been trained for the job.

 

''The basic support the government needs to give is to strengthen the

protection regime and in order to strengthen it. We must think of putting

young people as frontline staff in protected areas which the government

hasn't done in the last 15 years,'' said Bibhab Talukdar, Secretary,

Aranyaak.

 

Thanks to their location close to the border, the Northeastern states fall

in the poaching route.

 

In the past year, Kaziranga which was thought to be the best-maintained park

in the region has lost 24 rhinos to poachers. The tigers don't stand a

chance.

 

''The problem with tiger poaching is that nothing remains so your record

shows that there hasn't been any poaching'' said Bibhab, Talukdar Secretary

Aranyaak.

 

What has the government done to contain poaching?

 

''Lots of admin and political will is required. There's lot of information

available as to who are the buyers of rhino horn at least but there has been

no effort to curb down these people,'' said Bibhab, Talukdar Secretary

Aranyaak.

 

People have been spotted walking freely in these parks, where no one can go

without permission.

 

 

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