Critical Tiger Habitat or Critical Wildlife Habitat

Tourism is another crucial aspect that comes into play when an area is declared to be a Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH) or Critical Wildlife Habitat (CWH). Tourism first came up as a topic of discussion when Mr. Ajay Dubey filed a PIL in the Supreme Court demanding for a blanket ban on all tourism activities in the core areas of the forests as continued tourist activities would contravene with the objectives of the Wildlife Protection Act. Supreme Court then passed an order imposing a temporary ban on tourist activities in the core areas of forests. Tourism was then allowed only in the buffer areas. For example, in certain tiger reserves such as Kaziranga Wildlife Reserve, tourism was not allowed in 95% of the core area. Various arguments have been put forward with regard to allowing tourism in the buffer and core areas of the forests. The advocates of tourism argue that tourism should be allowed since it acts as a restraint on the poaching activities. Besides, tourists can always supervise the effective functioning of the forest department in the management of forests. Any inefficiency in the management process can be brought to the notice of the public. Tourism also generates employment opportunities on a massive scale. However, the opponents argue that increased access to forests will only hamper the efforts undertaken for protection and construction of resorts; jungle lodges etc for accommodation of tourists will only deprive the animals of their natural homes. Now, tourism is being allowed in 20% of the core area of the forests. An example is that of Kalakad- Mundanthurai forest in Tamil Nadu .

Prey Population

Tiger conservation has a large dependency on the availability of healthy prey population in reserve areas. Conne...

... middle of paper ...

... requisite for the successful conservation of tigers. Management evaluation should be carried out regularly, keeping in mind the specific nature of each reserve. Management practices should be adopted for suiting the unique biodiversities of the reserves across the country and innovative plans should be developed.

The National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) is a successful policy for conservation of wildlife. The plan has developed two new protection categories; ‘conservation reserves’ which connect to the corridor of the protected areas and ‘community reserves’ which ensures greater participation by the local communities in conservation . It contains various recommendations to address the needs of the local communities living in and around the reserves and recognizes the need to reduce man- animal conflict and complete rehabilitation of dwellers .