A 45-year-old post, which oversaw the turn around in tiger population in Nagarahole and Bandipur reserves, has been abolished by the State government, rankling environmentalists who fear that conservation efforts will be hampered.
The post of field director for Project Tiger, which had jurisdiction over the two reserves, has been abolished by the Forest Department. The reserves span over 1,500 sq. km, and according to the last iteration of the Tiger Census, it housed more than 221 tigers between them. The field director was responsible for the expenditure of Project Tiger funds for the reserves as well as coordination of various bodies to aid conservation efforts there.
“The post worked well for the first two decades, but now has become redundant. Moreover, issues with tigers are spilling out of the two reserves and we felt that handing this charge to the territorial divisions in Mysuru and Kodagu will help in better coordination of all staff there,” said Anur Reddy, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife).
With five tiger reserves declared in the State, the department felt that this would induce uniformity in the administration of these areas, he said. “A post to coordinate all reserves will be created in Bengaluru. Currently, for any Union government meetings, all five directors had to go which is unnecessary,” said Mr. Reddy.
The areas around Nagarahole and Bandipur are at the epicentre of man-tiger conflict, with 11 tigers reported dead in the first six months of 2017 - or, nearly one-fifths of total tiger mortalities in the country. Mortalities outside reserves have been on the rise.
Losing control
The move, however, has not gone down well with environmentalists. K.M. Chinnappa and Praveen Bhargav, Trustees of Wildlife First, have said that this handing over control “will be counterproductive as they are already overburdened with territorial duties.” The system of exclusive wildlife management will be disrupted.
Letter to Minister
“Several committed officers holding this post have played a valuable role in ensuring that the Nagarahole-Bandipur tiger reserves are one of the best in the country and world,” they said in a letter to Forest Minister B. Ramanath Rai.
