Tiger corridors running through nearly 250 villages, housing nearly 2.5 lakh people, are being proposed as one of the ways to ensure a sustainable tiger population in the State.
In a push for corridors across the Western Ghats, researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun – an autonomous Union government institute that oversaw the recent tiger census – suggested three “regulated” corridors for Karnataka, stretching from Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve in the north to Nagarahole and Bandipur in the south.
The study, ‘Connecting tiger populations for long-term conservation’, notes that these corridors pass through 246 villages in Belagavi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Ramanagara and Bengaluru (Rural and Urban) districts. This “circuit” would connect to similar corridors in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra.
The corridors were based on ‘least cost’ and ‘least resistance’ pathways – that is, the optimal areas for connections between reserves based on ecology and habitations.
The study positions itself as a “tool” for conservationists and policy makers. “Bottlenecks in corridors need special attention through enhanced protection and restoration of ecology inputs. Infrastructural development within corridors should be minimal,” says the report, adding that the corridors allow for long-term conservation and exchange of gene flow between fragmented tiger populations.
While senior forest officials said there was no proposal yet on tiger corridors, with elephant corridors themselves being implemented with “difficulty”; Bandipur Tiger Reserve Director H.C. Kantharaj said a corridor connecting reserves along the Western Ghats may absorb the increasing tiger population in the reserves of south Karnataka.
Along with corridors, environmentalist Praveen Bhargav said there was a need for “consolidation” of habitats as well, allowing space for the spill-over of tiger population.
QUOTES
“Tiger corridors are an option that has been proven scientifically. But, there should also be emphasis on removing rehabilitations within reserves, which fragment the landscape as well as increase chances of conflict.” – Praveen Bhargav , environmentalist
“Whether it is Kasturirangan report or elephant corridor, the locals are not taken into confidence in any of these projects. What is certain is that these legislations will maki it impossible to live or farm in these areas and people will be forced out without proper rehabilitation.” — Shivakumar S.M. , advocate and activist in Belthangady (which comes under one of the corridors suggested)
