Wildlife experts warn that India’s tiger protection plans appear to be failing – and a recent meeting reveals that China is not interested in curtailing its demand for endangered tiger parts.
Despite millions of dollars in funding, a new protection force, forest dweller relocation plans, and other measures, wildlife experts fear that India’s attempts to protect endangered tigers from poaching are failing.
A further blow to tiger protection efforts came when a recent meeting between India’s Minister of Environment and Chinese officials did not make any progress on the issue.
And as 2010 – the Chinese “Year of the Tiger” – approaches, demand for tiger parts is expected to skyrocket even further out of control.
Last week in New Delhi, wildlife experts and directors of India’s 38 tiger reserves met at a conference focused on protecting India’s endangered tigers.
According to a reports, Belinda Wright, director of Wildlife Protection of India was in attendance. She believes that the money is not reaching the intended recipients.
India has framed all the policies and is doling out ample monetary aid to save the tiger but it is clearly not trickling down …Poaching cases are just not stopping.
To further complicate things, issues standing in the way of implementing effective tiger protection are numerous – and politically sensitive:
- Bureaucratic turf wars and corruption
- Land development: India’s 29 independent state governments are continuing to sell land around the tiger reserves for hotels and mining interests
- Domestic insurgency: Maoist rebels are active in seven of the 38 tiger reserves
- Lack of effective firearms: Forest guards are outgunned, and do not have shoot-to-kill permissions
- Forest dwellers: People living on and near the tiger reserves eagerly accept bribes from poachers to guide them through dense jungles
- No law enforcement at the porous India-Nepal border
25 tigers have reportedly been slaughtered by poachers this year. The demand is driven by China, due to an unfortunate superstition that tiger skin and body parts are “remedies” for various ailments.
The illegal market in tiger parts – and China’s deplorable tiger farms – are both thriving.
China skirts issue of tiger poaching
Last month, when India’s Minister of Environment Jairam Ramesh traveled to China, the hot topic was tiger poaching.
The Chinese response was disappointing: Chinese officials said there is no link between Chinese tiger farms and Indian tiger poaching.
In a recent Reuters article, Ramesh explained that the poaching of India’s tigers is driven by the use of tiger parts in China. He also stated that the tiger farms are in violation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Earlier this year, the World Bank refused China’s request to lift the ban on tiger farming.
Belinda Wright added that the huge demand is from China, and that India is “like a supermarket.”
Another trip to China by Indian wildlife officials is planned for November.
Image source: flickr.com/mdpettitt/ / CC BY 2.0
About Rhishja Cota-Larson
HOW COME…
FINGERS ARE ALWAYS POINTING TO THE CHINESE?
ARE THEY REALLY ‘hard-up’ FOR THESE STUFFs ?
Hmm….STRANGE !
I think everyone talks but no body could care less.Its as absurd as saying lets stop demand for money so that our banks would be safe and there would be no bank roberies!!!
If you want to know how to ensure the tigers safety I can tell you how.
All you need to do is ask me.
The international community should pressurise china to crack down on illigal trade in tiger body parts and the indian govt. should impose very severe punishment to poachers, otherwise our generation will be the last one to see the tiger in the wild.
completely agree. something i wrote on the same
comments most welcome indeed…
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/the-habitat-imperative/275576/0