Coal mining poses a serious threat to tigers in Chandrapur region, near the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve and must be reined in says this report by the Fact Finding Mission to the area organized by Greenpeace.

Coal mining poses a serious threat to tigers in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur region, near the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) and must be reined in. This is the verdict of a Fact Finding Mission to the area organized by Greenpeace India, consisting of wildlife experts Praveen Bhargav and Biswajit Mohanty and environmental lawyer Rahul Choudhary. The team released its findings and recommendations in a report titled “Undermining Tadoba’s Tigers”. The mission’s key recommendations are that no new mines should be given forest clearance in the region and further expansion of operational mines in tiger habitat should be stopped. They have also warned that TATR risks being completely cut off from surrounding forests by mines and dams, and that the ecological impact will be irreversible and cannot be compensated by afforestation. A fundamental shift in policy towards a scientific landscape approach that is focused on minimizing fragmentation of large blocks of contiguous forests instead of the present emphasis on forest density and measuring area lost is therefore the way forward.

See Also

Report: Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India, 2010.

Feature: Centre stops mining near Tadoba.

Feature: Coal blocked.

Feature: Adanis may have to leave Tadoba.

Report: Environmental clearance to coal projects.

Report: The Wildlife Act, 1972.

Feature: Protected area network in India

Report: Management effectiveness evaluation of tiger reserves in India.