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hearing from lots of people incl guides,drivers & even resort owners from Kanha that one of the finest TR is loosing its sheen thick & fast !! sighting has gone down dramatically!! in fact a friend who is passionate about Kanha & recently built a small resort there just old that gunshots are often heard from core areas!!!!
something needs to be done on a warfooting note or else another Panna in the making?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avijit Ganguly
Kanha is getting too commercialised like Ranthambore.
If am right, Rajesh Gopal (current Project Tiger Director) used to be the head of this park.
Even Belinda Wright (Wildlife Protection Society of India) has a resort here called Kipling Camp, www.kiplingcamp.com. The website says "Liquor -- Indian beer is good and readily available, but wine is scarce and only found in major cities. There are Indian made spirits galore, but it is advisable to bring your favourite tipple with you, especially if it is Scotch" Such is the focus on eco-tourism.
Too much of pressure for Tiger sighting (tracking on elephant back).
When a park get too much commercialised then the forest department spends most of the time managing tourism issues rather than spending time on protection and park management.
Hi !
true!!! but even then the park was doin well few years back!!! .i think management is too bad to handle a park like Kanha!
If National Parks like Kanha are so badly managed, it seems the future of Tiger is in real danger.
With so many new resorts coming up, people mostly go more for weekend trips and for enjoyment, than on a serious Jungle adventure. It should be the resorts responsibility to keep the rules strict, which is definitely not followed.
I am not sure why no big steps are taken by the government in this regard.
Sad to hear that Kanha is not in good shape. In the past it was one of the finest reserves and a few pathbreaking studies had been conducted in this park.
The suggestion quoted in the resort website regarding liquor, appears humorous, however liquor is not a taboo for foreigners. I think all the resorts in Kanha serve liquor. However, lets not get diverted from the core issues of the park, the way the field director- although a reputed person - had attributed a tiger death to too many tigers in the park.
Low Prey density is the major reason for the enhanced range of tigers and at times that leads to increased conflict. For further details:
http://indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2270
One of the major issues is the villages and the anthropogenic pressures due to ever growing human population. Hordes of cattle invading the forests reduces the food available for ungulates. Tree felling and the ever increasing cultivation area is isolating and fragmenting the habitats. Contiguity among forests is lost. It becomes difficult for tigers to move in to new areas once the existing one vacates the habitat or dies due to natural or unnatural causes.
Prey density needs to be increased. The level of protection has to be increased. The forest department staff has to patrol more. The focus has to be in scientific management of the park. There are no short cuts. Long term ecological management is the need of the hour.
Adhoc management practices, be it creating artificial waterhole or granting tourism permits have to stop. Tourism is an important component in raising awareness. However, wildlife tourism or ecotourism as it is refered, is leaving a lasting effecting on our forests. Time and again, it has been proved that the primary motive of tour operators is to make money. I wish our tour operators become more sensitive. Having said that, it is also not just the problem of tour operators.
It is said the total capacity of the Government and privately run resorts amount to atleast 1000 beds per night. Has the National Park authorities/Forest department done studies about the carrying capacity of the reserve before giving these permissions?
Let us try to tackle the core issues.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi
Its not about liquor..I understand that it is necessary for resorts..when a park gets busy with tourism in this scale, then the whole eco-system (forest department) starts servicing the tourism business instead of focusing on management issues..