India Battles Shrinking Tiger Habitat
A shrinking habitat for tigers is one of the biggest problems facing conservationists in India. India has one of the world’s largest programs to protect the tiger. However, there is a growing problem of balancing the interests of wildlife with those of villages in or near tiger reserves.
Conservationists say neither the villagers nor wildlife gain from being close together. They say wild animals including deer, boar or elephants, can damage crops or attack farm animals.
For tigers and other animals, the presence of these villages means noise and movement in the middle of the forest.
Five years ago officials launched a program to protect the tigers’ habitat. They moved the villages in the 886 square kilometer reserve. Similar programs are taking place in several other tiger reserves across the country.
Under the program, villagers in Sariska are given about $16,000 to leave their homes and re-settle elsewhere.
R.S. Shekawat, the director of Sariska Tiger Reserve, says moving villages out from the reserve is very difficult. Villagers cannot be forced to leave.
The struggle to balance the interest of wildlife and villagers is not likely to end anytime soon. India needs to conserve the tiger. But the government also wants to guarantee a fair deal to people and tribes for whom the forest has always been home.
