To protect tigers, the Supreme Court on Tuesday banned all tourism activities in the core areas of the tiger reserve forests.
A Bench of Justices Swatanter Kumar and Ibrahim Kalifullah passed the order on a petition filed by conservationist Ajay Dubey that sought a directive to the States to notify the buffer and peripheral areas of the tiger reserves, under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, to prevent tourism in the core areas.
In April, the court heard senior counsel and amicus curie Raj Panjwani and asked Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Karnataka and Maharashtra to issue the notification. On Tuesday, the court was told that except Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Arunachal Pradesh, the other States had not filed affidavits and were yet to notify the core areas.
Wasim A. Qadri, counsel for the National Tiger Conservation Authority, which works under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, submitted the guidelines framed for ecotourism in and around the protected areas.
After hearing counsel for the States, the Bench said: “Why should tourism be allowed in core areas? Tigers are practically on the verge of extinction, whatever the statistics is.”
In its order, the Bench said: “Despite this court’s order on April 3, several States have not issued notification for buffer and core areas … During the course of the hearing, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh have said they are ready with the notification, while the other States said they are attempting to do so.” (Rajasthan has already issued the notification.)
Giving three weeks — as the last opportunity — to those States that have not yet notified the core areas and filed affidavits, the Bench imposed Rs. 10,000 in costs on them.
“If affidavits are not filed by these States [by then], this court will initiate contempt action and impose costs [on them] up to Rs. 50,000. Affidavits will have to be filed within three weeks. No further time will be given. The [National] Tiger Conservation Authority has placed its recommendation of guidelines."
"We will take up the guidelines for final hearing, so that the Centre can issue a notification for fixing [the] area and utilisation of [the] buffer and core area.”
The Bench said: “We make it clear that till final directions of this court with reference to the … guidelines, the core areas … will not be used for tourism.” The court directed the matter to be listed for further hearing on August 22.
1. Core areas are now hid from general public, which makes it easy for poachers to have "arrangements" with forest officials and do everything under the radar.
2. Government is going to lose a big deal of money from tourism.
3. We can set an age limit, validate IDs, validate purpose of visit and create special rules/permissions to visit the core areas. A police officer/security can accompany this kind of safaris and keep the crowd in control.
Someone should notify SC on the pro's of tourism, maybe they'll relax the restrictions a bit.
For all you know this maybe a big game plan by parties with vested
intrest, by closing the sanctuaries totally, you are giving way to tiger
poaching making it easy for them.
Good decision by the supreme court. I have also filed similar public
interest litigation before Hon'ble High court of Karnataka challenging
the order of Deputy commissioner. The deputy commissioner has allotted 3
acres land to dump municipal solid waste near BRT Reserve forest, Tiger
project and Eco sensitive Zone.
India never tackles the core issue. These guys should be concentrating on eliminating paochers. They should ban any kind of poaching with shoot at order sight.
Not deploy poor forest guards who do not even have a gun but deploy bsf or crpf.
A great move. The way the safaris were run there was no peace and quite for the animals. There was constant noise and human activity. We should let animals live in peace.
Medias are exaggerating when wild animals entering the farms and other living areas of human beings where as they never highlight, the core areas which are frequently affected by human beings.
It may not be a good decision in case of Kaziranga National Park in Assam as scessful conservation of the Tiger along with the One horned Rhino was possible because of unemployed youths were absorbed in various torisim activities and they had always supported the conservation part.
Assam is still a insugency infacted backward state with hardly any industries to employ all these yoths in case their livelyhood is snatched from them and if they turn against the intrest of the park , than may God save all these poor animals.
I hope nothing bad happens.
I am from Dandeli - Anshi Tiger Reserve Area. Eco Tourism is a bane in this area. Recently Mr Madan Nayak ACF was killed by this mad eco tourism. Entire Area of Dandeli - Anshi should be protected from the Eco Tourism which disturbs the eco systems of the tiger. More than 60 illegal eco tourist homes are operating the the people concerned are not doing much to protect the TIGER and ITS ECOLOGY, FOREST and ENVIRONMENT.
TERRIBLE DECISION. This is detrimental to the health of tigers and its habitat. Usually it is the tour guides who have the pulse of the health of the forest, and report it much before the official Government machinery. By preventing this channel, there is no independent monitoring of the health of the forest, we have to depend on the wildly optimistic and exaggerated claims of the Government. By banning genuine friends of the tiger from the forest, the Government and the Courts leave the forests and the tiger at the mercy of violators of law, who destroy these zones for timber, illegal mining, illegal ganja cultivation, hunting of wild animals for meat and parts.
The ONLY way to protect the tiger and the entire pyramid of the wild ecology is to let local people make a profit from tourist monay. If they get and income from tourism, they will do everything to protect the tiger from poachers because it is their livelihood. A live tiger should be more valuable to them than a dead one.
But the above illegal activities are not being done in the name of tourism. They are done by illegal encroachers, who often have quid pro quo arrangements with the authorities. In fact, in the areas where tourists visit regularly, there is more accountability. What the govt should focus on is the creation of tiger corridors, as even when the tiger populations increase in a particular reserve, they die due to internal conflicts due to lack of enough space. They are suffering due to lack of connectivity between forests. But of course, that is a tough target, banning tourism in core areas is much easier.
This is the beginning to show that importance for restoring the declining population of tigers need to be imposed. tourist to reserve forest could be stopped totally
Again the SC has come to the rescue of wildlife. In the past two
decades, If SC had not intervened India's natural wealth would have been
at stake. Thanks also to the people and institutions behind this.
I welcome this move. A couple of years ago, I visited Corbett National park, and found the safaris conducted to be extremely disappointing. The vast majority of folks who show up have no interest in wildlife. Jeeps filled with screaming kids and the boisterous young going round and round on the same tracks, making a ruckus. They just want to brag about having seen a tiger. People don't seem to realize that there is a variety of flora and fauna to be experienced in a nature reserve - not just the big cats. Most people are better off watching wildlife on TV. The animals will thank you.
I have not seen a tiger in the wild yet. Does this mean I'll never get to see one? After all tiger is my national animal. They can try and control the visitors, validate their IDs but a total ban on tourism? Think about the visitors from abroad, they're just going to think we're incompetent in keeping poachers out of national parks.
Tourism in the Core zone of National park should not have stopped.As it is the whopping source of income for these protected areas which are used for hiring additional numbers of guards to keep an eye on the poachers.Also,In the absence of tourists it will be more easy for poachers to trespass and hunt.
It is good decision, All the should follow it because this is factor of
life our National Animal..
Thanks to Rajasthan Government for before notification ...
Good decision. It is worth to extend such order to all eco-sensitive zones that are affected by eco-tourism or tourism. On the name of tourism, violators of law, are destroying these zones for timber, illegal mining, illegal ganja cultivation, hunting of wild animals for meat and their parts.
Dr. S. Jeevananda Reddy
This is a good move, general tourists need not go deep into the jungles.
Only qualified people to study the animal and the forest dept have the
rights to do so. But Indian also needs to increase the punishment, treat
crime of killing a Tiger as comparable to killing a human being.
The decision by the supreme court seems to be based on incomplete information or
misrepresentation of facts. Rather than putting a blanket ban on all tourism in core
areas, the apex court would have done a greater service by outlining fundamental
principles of tourism in wildlife areas and expressly making the communities around
these areas as rightful shareholders of tahe economic benefits arising out of these
areas of natural beauty. What we lack today is good interpretation facilities and
better non invasive ways of experiencing wildlife without damaging the essential
characteristics of the ecosystem/habitat.
It is a happy moment for tiger conservationists that the Supreme Court has banned tourism in core areas of India.Ifeel it is the only way that the big cats can be saved.
Commercial tourism activities is being curtailed... Scapegoat found and dealt with... cheers!
What about religious tourism / pilgrimage?
I have been in Kalakad-Mundathurai Tiger Reserve and found substantial number of pilgrims enter the Tiger reserve and leave the place foul with plastic bags and what not... The garbage disposal strategy for these plastics; is simply to burn them.
To simply conclude that the commercial tourist is the only problem is farfetched and in sync with our nation’s approach of taking some steps; not necessarily the right steps...
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