Tiger Bonds To Stimulate Private Investment In Conservation
Project Tiger is commemorating its golden jubilee in India. On 9 April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the fifth cycle of a census, which showed that India's wild tiger population climbed last year to 3,167, a 6.7 per cent increase from 2018.
Project Tiger was founded in 1973 in Jim Corbett National Park and has made tremendous development since then. From fewer than 1,800 tigers in the 1970s to 2,967 in the 2018 census, the population has continuously increased. Over the previous five decades, the country's tiger reserves have grown from nine to 53, encompassing 2.5 per cent of India's land area.
Because the tiger is at the top of the food chain, it can have an impact on the entire ecosystem; it is also known as an umbrella species. Conservation of tiger habitat contributes to the protection of other critically endangered species.
According to a study conducted by the Centre for Ecological Services Management (CESM) and the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), tiger reserves protect genetic material that can be used to make medicines and treatments. The natural landscape of a reserve provides options for climate change adaptation through carbon sequestration. The annual monetary value of these benefits ranges from Rs 8.3 to 17.6 billion.
Project Tiger has been recognised as a success, as evidenced by an increased population and a larger protected territory. As we rejoice, many difficulties remain. The number of reserves has expanded over the previous decade, while funds allocated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) have decreased: from Rs 34,874 lakh in 2016-17 to Rs 21,949 million in 2021-22.
According to other research, the current technique of money appropriation is complicated and causes delays in the flow of cash. It supposedly disrupts planned efforts and forces management to choose short-term initiatives over long-term development.
In its 2010 report, the Public Accounts Committee of the 15th Lok Sabha stated that there needs to be more clarification on the transfer of families living in tiger habitats. The cost is projected to be Rs 8,000 crore and the move is proceeding at a “snail's pace” over a decade.
As per the Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves 2018, at least half of India's tiger reserves are threatened by linear infrastructure such as motorways and railway lines. Other issues raised in the review were villagers living inside tiger reserves putting pressure on tiger habitat, a lack of forest staff, pollution, and climate change.
The declining government aid for an ever-increasing number of tiger reserves, combined with problems like the expensive cost of village relocation and looming climate change dangers, makes it clear that Project Tiger requires additional financial help to achieve its objectives.
