Jaipur: A day after the Supreme Court invited suggestions and objections for framing guidelines for conservation of tigers, Rajasthan on Thursday came up with its own guidelines, the first state to do so.

The guidelines, to be submitted to the court as an affidavit by Friday, seeks to promote tourism but disperses it over a wider area than just confine to the national park only. It also seeks to promote eco-tourism in lesser known areas, non-forest areas and even on private lands adjoining tiger reserves by developing them into alternative wildlife land use options. Currently tourism in the state has been confined to areas of government ownership and is managed solely by the forest department.

JAIPUR: The ghost of the Sariska shame have been exorcised. A newborn cub hold much promise, at least momentarily, to erase all the shame that the Sariska tiger reserve brought to the nation after all its tigers were found to have been poached in 2005.

But with the celebrations, conservationist and wildlife lovers feel it is also a time to tread with caution. About 10 to 12 days back, a forester, Ram Prasad was beaten up by villagers at a place in the Sariska reserve that forms a part of the territory tigress ST-2.

More tigers are being introduced in Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan’s Alwar district this monsoon under the recovery plan of the tiger habitat which lost all its big cats to alleged poaching some time in 2004-5. Most of the six tigers reintroduced in the past four years, starting with the first male tiger in June-July 2008, were released during this season.

And if Sariska needs more tigers, where would the Rajasthan authorities look for other than the Ranthambhore National Park, which at present has an actively breeding cat population? All the tigers in Sariska are from Ranthambhore though there is a proposal to get one or two from the forests of neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

Jaipur: The recently notified buffer zone for the Sariska tiger reserve seems to have got a better deal. About 250 sq km was added to the CTH of the reserve.
According to sources, “The buffer zone here is a continuous chain of land unlike the fragmented buffer of Ranthambore. However, the buffer area in the north western and southern part of the CTH here is much more than the other parts.”

For creating the buffer zone in Sariska, parts of forest land from the Alwar and Jaipur forest division were included. While areas such as Sirawas, Digani and Bhasra were included from the Alwar forest division, the Digota block of the Jamua Ramgarh sanctuary was included from the Jaipur forest division.

JAIPUR: The Supreme Court's interim order to ban tourists from core zones of tiger reserves, where the concentration of tigers is particularly high, has dampened the spirit of wildlife lovers across the world. Be that the international media, Facebook, Twitter or blogs these were abuzz with the news.

Though the final verdict is yet to come, travellers across the globe don't want to take any chances. "I have already started receiving cancellations from repeat visitors for next year," said Paul Goldstein, an award-winning wildlife photographer, philanthropist and TV presenter in UK.

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?

They want to adopt the model to save jaguars

A team of wildlife experts from Argentina is visiting the Bandipur and Nagarahole tiger reserves to study the conservation methods adopted. The teams will take back lessons from the tiger reserves so that Argentina’s own endangered species, the Jaguar, is reintroduced and protected in that country. Ignacio Simenez, Sofia Heinonen and Valeria Francisco of The Conservation Land Trust (CLT), who are visiting the world’s largest tiger density areas, plan to reintroduce the Jaguar in Argentina’s first naturally protected area, Poa de Corrientes (in the north of the country).

SC Order Banning Tourism In Core Of Tiger Reserves Has Dampened The Spirits In Raj

Jaipur: The Supreme Court order banning tourism in core areas of tiger reserves till further directions has evoked sharp reactions from forest officials and conservationists the state. Most felt that regulated tourism is a better option than a complete ban. “Regulated tourism is a much better option. We have over the past 10 years controlled much of tourism activities in Ranthambore.

Ninety travel operators under the banner of Travel Operators for Tigers (TOFT) have expressed their unhappiness at the Supreme Court order disallowing tourism activity in core areas of tiger reserves.

Expressing his anguish over the judgment, Dr Goverdhan Rathore, a lodge owner and son of the legendary conservationist Fateh Singh Rathore, expressed surprise that the Supreme Court has chosen to disregard clear evidence that “wildlife tourism in Indian tiger reserves was not harming tigers”

Jaipur: The forest department has finally notified the buffer zones of Sariska Tiger Reserve and Ranthambhore National Park. The notification of buffer zones would help regulate commercialization of revenue land and create a better habitat for the big cat.

As per the notification issued under Wildlife (Protection) Act, a 298 sq km of buffer area has been added to the Ranthambore park which is spread over approximately 400 sq km. Similarly, 392 sq km buffer area has been added to the STR, which is spread over 800 sq km.