The temporary halt to tourism in core zones of tiger reserves is a wake-up call to an industry that has grown rapidly and become disruptive in some places. Rather than view the Supreme Court’s interim order as a setback, tourism operators should see it as an opportunity to set things right. While there is no question that commercial tourism must be strictly regulated, a total ban on public access to wildlife reserves would be extremely harmful, as it will negatively impact conservation education, monitoring and other conservation activities by non-governmental organisations.

Sensible tourism has an important role to play in conservation, and if government and tourism stakeholders work together, it is possible to craft solutions that benefit local communities, nature lovers, tourism operators and, most importantly, wildlife itself.

The Reserve Had To Bear The Brunt After NTCA Guidelines Were Implemented To Create A Critical Tiger Habitat

Jaipur: It was a National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guideline way back in 2006 that eventually left the Ranthambore tiger reserve bereft of enough forest area on the periphery that could be declared as a buffer zone after the Supreme Court directives now. Though the state forest department has notified a buffer zone for the Ranthambore tiger reserve after the Supreme Court directives but instead of a continuous, peripheral zone, the buffer in this case is fragmented, isolated pieces of land at various corner of the critical tiger habitat. Sources revealed that soon after the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) act in 2006, the NTCA came up with guidelines for declaring Critical Tiger Habitats (CTH) for reserves across the country.

The recent ban by the Supreme Court on tourism in core areas of tiger reserves in India raises some fundamental questions:

1. Is tourism, however intense, the real culprit behind the killings of tigers and their seemingly low breeding capacity?
2. If after four decades of implementing the Wildlife (Protection) Act, and efforts by Project Tiger and the National Tiger Conservation Authority, tigers are near extinction today, can banning reserve tourism reverse the situation?
3. Can people be denied the right to visit national parks to watch the most admired animal in the world?

Maharashtra’s tigers are under unprecedented threat from poachers this year.

Following the Supreme Court order, State wildlife authorities on Wednesday, banned tourism in the three tiger reserves of Mudumalai in Udhagamandalam, Anamalai near Pollachi, and Kalakkad – Mundanthurai in Tirunelveli district.

Officials in the forest headquarters said the field directors of the three tiger reserves have been asked to instruct the district forest officers concerned to stop allowing tourists till the apex court passes further judgement. Incidentally, the core tiger habitat in Mudumalai, which includes Theppakadu elephant camp, and Anamalai, where Top Slip is, are the core tourist spots thronged by several thousands of tourists every year.

While wildlife activists have generally welcomed the Supreme Court Order banning wildlife tourism in core areas, the Travel Operators for Tigers (TOFT) has called the decision a “fundamentally retr

States to notify core, buffer areas

Concerned that the tiger is “on the verge of extinction” in India, the Supreme Court today imposed an absolute ban on tourism in core (critical) areas of tiger reserves.

Supreme Court warns gives three weeks to States that are yet to issue notification

To protect tigers, the Supreme Court on Tuesday banned all tourism activities in the core areas of the tiger reserve forests. A Bench of Justices Swatanter Kumar and Ibrahim Kalifullah passed the order on a petition filed by conservationist Ajay Dubey that sought a directive to the States to notify the buffer and peripheral areas of the tiger reserves, under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, to prevent tourism in the core areas.