Sanctuary |Conservation Action
“I strongly believe that tiger conservation, or conservation of nature, is not a drag on development. Both
can happen in a mutually complementary manner. All we need is to re-orient our strategy by factoring in the
concerns of the tiger in sectors where tiger conservation is not the goal. This is a diffi cult task but can be
achieved. Our genius lies in “smartly” integrating the tiger and wildlife safeguards in various infrastructures at
the landscape level.” – Prime Minister, Narendra Moditiger and wildlife safeguards in various
infrastructures at the landscape level...”.
WCT therefore set out to achieve
precisely what the Prime Minister
proposed – to evolve policy solutions
to integrate safeguards for wildlife at a
landscape scale.
We soon identifi ed two key problems.
First, most corridors were not spatially
defi ned and therefore remain unknown.
This situation is further accentuated bya dearth of quality maps in the public
domain. Secondly, timely information
on proposed project was missing in the
public domain, which negatively impacted
specifi c corridors, thus hindering our
ability to implement legally-mandated
safeguards on time and at minimum cost.
Our team comprised connectivity
scientists, landscape ecologists and
policy professionals who found that
existing government databases onproject clearances were a gold mine of
spatial and temporal information. For
the Central Indian and Eastern Ghats
tiger landscape, the team managed to
put together datasets of (i) Protected
Area (PA) maps, (ii) forest cover, (iii)
information on mammal species outside
PAs (using WCT’s multi-year camera-
trapping exercises outside PA networks),
(iv) the NTCA-Wildlife Institute of India
(WII) database, part of the three All India
Tiger Estimation exercises carried out,
and (v) information on tiger dispersal
using fecal DNA.
Relying on these datasets and using
the latest GIS modelling techniques,
our team constructed an ecologically-
comprehensive map of tiger corridors
across the Central Indian and the
Eastern Ghats landscapes, across 11
states, to cover a network of 191 PAs, of
which at least 145 either harbour or have
the potential to harbour tigers.
Through this comprehensive mapping
exercise, we identifi ed a minimum ofABOVE LEFT An eye-level view of the ‘openness’ of one of the largest wildlife mitigation structures on NH7. The ample clearance/openness is expected to
facilitate the movement of multiple species of wild animals.
ABOVE RIGHT One of the authors with possibly the fi rst recorded evidence of a tiger pugmark below one of the wildlife mitigation structures along NH7.ADITYA JOSHI ADITYA JOSHITIGER CORRIDORS DO NOT HAVE LEGAL PROTECTION: A
MYTH PERPETRATING IN POLICY CIRCLES!
Tiger corridors do enjoy legal protection under Section 38.O.1.g of the Wild
Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The same has been reiterated by the National Tiger
Conservation Authority (NTCA) in notifi cations issued to all states.
The relevant section of the law says that “ensure that the tiger reserves
and areas linking one Protected Area or tiger reserve with another Protected
Area or tiger reserve are not diverted for ecologically unsustainable uses,
except in public interest and with the approval of the National Board of
Wildlife and on the advice of the Tiger Conservation Authority”.