Sanctuary |People
Originally from Bombay, Dilip Khatau began exploring
the foothills of Nainital District in 1959 after reading about Jim
Corbett’s adventures in The Man-eaters of Kumaon. He fell in love
with India’s oldest national park and became a regular visitor over
the next four decades.
Time spent in and around the Corbett Tiger Reserve (then
Corbett National Park) gave him a deep understanding of the
issues that plagued this diverse and eco-sensitive landscape.
Poaching and retaliatory poisoning for cattle kills were common.
The locals did not trust the Forest Department for their interests
were at stake – and rightfully so. Compensation for a head of cow
that was killed could take as long as four years, if the cowherd
knew that it was available and initiated the process.
Dilip formulated a three-pronged approach. A medical team
was organised to cater to villages along Corbett’s mountainous
periphery. Providing basic medical care and referrals gained the
trust of the local people, and opened up a dialogue between them
and the organisation. This made way for awareness programmes
on both healthcare and wildlife conservation. Interim payments
within three days was made for any livestock killed. This was
possible thanks to the network of informers that the Corbett
Foundation had formed through its relationship with the locals.
The Foundation’s staff would document the incident, handle the
paperwork and make the payment at the scene of the kill. It
was with this strategy that The Corbett Foundation (TCF) was
inaugurated on April 22, 1994.
As Dilip explained then, “We hold regular baithaks (sittings)
and we speak to villagers about their problems – health, education
and women’s rights. Our doctors visit every village to treat and
medicate. They talk to locals about tigers, forests and water for
their wells and farms. It’s a slow process. But we are constants inTHE CORBETT FOUNDATION
THE CORBETT FOUNDATIONpeoples’ lives. Even in changing political circumstances, they know
we are on their side. These people are extremely proud of their
natural heritage. We will turn this to the tiger’s advantage.”
And turn it to the tiger’s advantage he did. By 1997, no further
cases of carcass poisoning were recorded. The Foundation’s work
spread across many villages in the Corbett landscape. The stage was
set for the Corbett Foundation to explore more ambitious tasks.
Working with local populations near Protected Areas remains
key to TCF’s conservation success. Twenty-fi ve years later, TCF
operates in 480 villages across six states in some of India’s most
crucial wildlife habitats. Besides Corbett, TCF has projects in the
Kaziranga, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench and Pakke landscapes.
TCF has provided over 4,000 unemployed youth and
women in Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Kaziranga and Corbett with
vocational training in varied skills including carving bamboo and
using handlooms. TCF also provides veterinary services to these
communities and has established a dedicated Rural Medical
Outreach Programme at Corbett, Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Kutchh,
bringing primary healthcare facilities to around 50,000 villagers
annually. The primary benefi ciaries predictably turned out to be
village women and children.
TCF helps treat and vaccinate over 200,000 cattle in 250
villages, set up hydroponics units and stall-feeding systems to
reduce free-grazing. In Kutchh, it is working with farmers of
Kanakpar village to practice rotational grazing to reduce grazing
pressure on grasslands. TCF has also provided high-milk yielding
cows to villagers in Corbett and Bandhavgarh.
TCF’s Interim Relief Scheme in Corbett and Kanha, in
collaboration with WWF-India, provides immediate interim
compensation to villagers who have lost their livestock to wildlife,
to prevent animosity and retaliation. TCF has undertaken surveys