Tigers need prey, not pavements: Experts question Karnataka forest department spending

Time of India

6 days ago

Bengaluru: Karnataka, once home to India's largest tiger population, is now in the national spotlight for poor conservation efforts. From achieving the highest tiger numbers under Project Tiger to witnessing the country's worst single-day tiger mortality, the state has come full circle.
States that once lagged behind have now caught up or surpassed Karnataka, which is in urgent need of a major reboot to revive its tiger conservation track record.
Last month's gruesome poisoning of five tigers at MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary continues to haunt stakeholders. Experts in conservation biology have asserted that it is time for Karnataka to overcome its systemic neglect, which is hampering effective conservation and undermining the overall conservation framework.
"The forest department must rework its strategy to conserve tigers and their habitats by intensifying foot patrolling, proactively engaging with local communities, and thereby reducing the presence of humans and livestock in core and buffer areas of tiger reserves, as well as in the corridors connecting the reserves," explained Braj Kishore Singh, former chief wildlife warden of Karnataka.
BJ Hosmath, a retired principal chief conservator of forests and former field director of Project Tiger, said: "Working steadfastly in support of big cat conservation, Karnataka set up Bandipur and Nagarahole as some of the finest examples of tiger conservation in the country.
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But 20-30 years later, the conservation story has failed to go beyond these reserves. Instead of building on early success, Karnataka's story is now overshadowed by administrative apathy and skewed priorities among foresters.
More than conservation, the department seems obsessed with civil construction works in protected areas, which no one requires, sidelining the welfare of its frontline staffers who brave inhospitable conditions to protect flora and fauna throughout the year,"
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Getting priorities right
Singh also argued that tiger reserves need conservation priorities over civil works.
"Has any tiger demanded better roads, culverts, bridges, check dams, waterholes, or guest houses inside forests? Yet, the department's annual works data reveals increased spending on such work inside protected areas! When the ecosystem in the wild is meant to be natural, why should the department spend crores to damage it? Building or repairing guest houses, bridges, and arches while overlooking conservation would eventually divert the attention of the foresters and create problems like what happened at MM Hills.
Withholding salaries despite the release of funds and failing to provide amenities to frontline staffers not only jeopardises their livelihoods but also makes them reluctant to discharge their duties," he added.
Giridhar Kulkarni, a conservation volunteer, stressed the need for expanding core areas in existing reserves to support higher tiger density, besides making use of thermal drones and motion-sensor cameras for real-time monitoring in areas vulnerable to poaching.
Reflecting on the quality of conservation work in tiger reserves, Singh revealed, "The govt itself has admitted that 40-50% of the core areas of tiger reserves are infested by weeds, affecting prey density. When prey disappears, tigers also migrate to new locations, abandoning the core areas. As tigers move to the buffer and periphery of forests in search of prey, conflict situations arise... The core-area tiger occupancy reduced from 417 in 2022 to 393 in 2024.
Yet there is no policy or action to address this. Unfilled vacancies, especially in frontline posts such as watchers and guards, have added to the problem. The govt may claim it has digital monitoring methods, but that can't substitute for human presence in the frontlines. If technology was everything, why did it not stop the MM Hills killings? Technology can provide us with a platform, but staffers have to do the actual work.
I don't see any foresters at the top level making surprise visits to protected areas or keeping an eye on the activities of lower-rank officials at circles and divisions."
Gaps in management
Forest minister Eshwar Khandre agreed that there are gaps in the management of protected areas across Karnataka. "Despite our best efforts to conserve flora and fauna, there are gaps at multiple levels, and the recent MM Hills incident has brought us face to face with such realities. We have no dearth of funds for conservation. In fact, I have made it clear to officials multiple times that we are ready to give whatever is required to protect our heritage and secure those habitats of tigers.
Very soon, I'll hold a meeting of all directors of tiger reserves and review our conservation programmes," he said.