SC may allow tiger tourism in core reserve areas
Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN Oct 10, 2012, 12.35AM IST

NEW DELHI:

After additional solicitor general Indira Jaising informed that National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) would notify new guidelines permitting regulated tourism in core areas within a week, the court fixed further hearing on October 16 and said on that day, it would "modify or vacate" its July 24 interim ban order.


A bench of Justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar realized that the court could not have passed the July 24 order on a special leave petition challenging an interim order of Madhya Pradesh High Court and said, "The Supreme Court could not in these proceedings either put a stamp of approval on the NTCA guidelines or quash them."

After the interim ban, the NTCA revisited its guidelines on tiger reserve management, made a U-turn, and framed fresh guidelines giving importance to public participation in efforts to conserve tigers and recommended limited tourism in 20% of core areas under strict supervision of forest officials.

Given the legal status of the guidelines framed by NTCA under its statutory obligations, the bench said, "NTCA may therefore issue the formal notification notifying the comprehensive guidelines in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Act. The additional solicitor general appearing for the NTCA submits that the requisite notification will be issued within a week. List the matter for further hearing on Tuesday, October 16, for consideration of the prayer for vacating/modifying the interim order."

The SC's July 24 interim order banning tourism in core areas of tiger reserves had cut off access to popular tourist destinations like Dhikala in Corbett National Park. It had brought politicians and environmentalists together in citing the importance of tourism in core areas for protecting the endangered big cat from poachers.

What the court was concerned about was rampant commercialization of buffer and core areas of tiger reserves without proper demarcation of these two important areas in protected forests. Its interim ban had shaken the NTCA to shed its lethargy and consult stakeholders before framing fresh guidelines on a war footing.

On July 9, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) had filed the 'Guidelines for Ecotourism in and around Protected Areas' in the apex court and said, "Any core area in tiger reserves from which relocation has been carried out will not be used for tourism activities."

The guidelines were based on key recommendations of the Tiger Task Force (2005) and were in sync with Section 38(v) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (as amended in 2006), which defined core/critical wildlife habitats as such areas that needed to be kept inviolate for tiger conservation without affecting the rights of Scheduled Tribes or forest dwellers.

On September 26, the NTCA submitted new guidelines to the SC and said tourists were permitted to visit only 20% of core areas of tiger reserves and it was well within ecologically permissible levels.

Taking into account the court's concern for tiger conservation, the NTCA had said conservation efforts must have public participation and regulated tourism was an effective and invaluable tool to harness community support for this purpose.


It had said, "With the importance of tourism in tiger conservation in mind, it is recommended that a maximum of 20% of the core/critical tiger habitat usage (not exceeding the present usage) for regulated, low-impact tourist visitation may be permitted."

The core area is kept free of biotic disturbances and forestry operations, where collection of minor forest produce, grazing and human disturbances are not allowed. The Act defines buffer zone as the area peripheral to the critical tiger habitat or core area providing supplementary habitat for dispersing tigers, besides offering scope for co-existence of human activity.