GUNS, guards and fences are not enough to protect India鈥檚 tigers. That was the clear message from a task force on tiger conservation set up by India鈥檚 prime minister, Manmohan Singh. The report was delivered to him on 5 August.
The five-member task force reviewed evidence on the threats facing the tiger. It concludes that humans are the main danger, with both poaching and conflicts with local people taking their toll. India has a total of around 3600 tigers.
The report recommends the creation of a wildlife crime bureau to pursue poachers more effectively and that villages be moved away from tiger habitats. Sunita Narain, who chaired the task force, says it is unrealistic to remove all local people from tiger reserves, though. The report suggests measures to help tigers and people coexist, such as sharing ecotourism revenue with local people.
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鈥淭he report recommends that villages be moved away from key tiger habitats鈥�
But another member of the task force, tiger expert Valmiki Thapar, disagrees. He argues in a dissenting report that coexistence will doom the tiger.
