PM asks states to create buffer zones around tiger reserves

Sharing a news published in The Times of India.

Mrudul

PM asks states to create buffer zones around tiger reserves
Nitin Sethi, TNN, Apr 20, 2010, 12.39am IST

NEW DELHI: After chairing the National Board of Wildlife meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has written to chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand — the three key tiger-bearing states — to declare areas around tiger reserves as eco-sensitive zones as required by law.

The PM’s letter came after repeated requests from the Centre to tiger-bearing states to create a buffer zone in tiger areas in order to reduce human-tiger conflicts that often lead to the striped animal being killed.

In the letter to Uttarakhand government, the PM asked that tourism in areas around Corbett be regulated and the region around the park be declared eco-sensitive. The declaration of eco-sensitive area limits the alteration people or government can make to the land use patterns in the region.

Finding it politically hard, state governments have been reluctant to declare eco-sensitive areas or to notify buffer zones. The PM also sought speedy relocation of the remaining Gujjar population in the tiger habitat and declaring the area as critical tiger habitat under the Wildlife Protection Act.

In the letter to Maharashtra, the PM focused particularly on Tadoba but asked the state government to quickly declare the critical tiger habitats around all tiger reserves as well as constitute the special tiger protection force meant to hire and train local tribal population in conservation.

Madhya Pradesh too has come under the scanner for unhindered tourism in tiger parks with the PM asking for greater regulation.

The original article can be found here: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/h...ow/5833681.cms

A welcome decision.

Our forests lack the buffer. There needs to be a transitional zone between forests and farms & villages and that's what buffer is all about. If good buffer is created, man-animal conflicts will reduce to a greater extent.

The move should be effected not only in Tiger reserves, but also in elephant reserves where the conflicts are always at an optimum level for elephants need more place than other animals.

Thanks for sharing.