Union minister points to man-animal conflict as a key challenge

UNion surroundings government minister Bhupender Yadav has flagged man-animal contravene and tigers exterior panthera tigris reserves as two of the most critical challenges faced by the conservation sector.Speaking at the Indian Conservation Conference hosted by Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Yadav said: “Just two days ago, I went to Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. There are two kinds of issues there. First, there is man-animal conflict. Second, tigers outside tiger reserves. This is also a big challenging problem. This problem is also seen in Tadoba... In Kabini... In Ranthambore...,” he said.“We have also made a decision at the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in the last few days. We will have to revisit our forest management. And, this review will have to be done in the prospect of TN Godavarman judgment. What were the practices of pre-Godavarman judgment? Because we will have to see this problem due to the new pressures on wildlife areas. This is also a problem from Kerala,” Yadav said in his address in Hindi.A Supreme Court verdict in the TN Godavarman Thirumulpad vs. Union of India & Others case on December 12, 1996, directed that “forests” would not only include those understood in the dictionary sense, but also any area recorded as forest in government records irrespective of the ownership. However, the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, exempts “unrecorded deemed forests” from being recognised under the modified law on forest conservation.“Tigers in Dudhwa are being seen in sugarcane fields. Or our elephants in Karnataka are entering coffee plantations. Wild boars are destroying crops in other states,” he said.“The solution is not just wire fencing. Its solution is not just electronic fencing... There is no such solution. We have to go with co-existence, new approaches, with our traditional knowledge. For a long time, documentation and codification of traditional conservation knowledge did not happen,” Yadav added.Yadav gave examples of Soligas in Karnataka, the Meena tribe in Sariska, Maldharis in Gir who have co-existed with wildlife for a long time.“The tribes in Arunachal Pradesh, have coexisted with elephants for a long time. If you go to the area of Amarkantak, there are people from the Baiga tribe who have extensive knowledge of herbs,” Yadav said.Yadav said that for the first time, on June 30, MoEFCC has organised a conference in Kolkata, on documenting traditional knowledge.Along with a new assessment for wildlife management intervention, the Centre has decided that Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History in Coimbatore will focus on human-wildlife conflict.“For the future, we have decided to develop it as an institute of human wildlife conflict management. Now we are moving ahead in dolphin conservation, but the way the sand is being excavated from the rivers, or the cutting of the river banks... Because of that, the gharial is also likely to face a new problem. And for the conservation of gharial, We have started a new project,” Yadav said.Yadav said that the new conservation policy must have a humanitarian approach. “I want to say one thing, I am a forest minister, but I am saying this very seriously. If you remove all the locals, is the forest safe? And then If you bring 10,000 tourists later, then is the forest safe? If the forest is safe with the arrival of 10,000 tourists, then how is it bad to have the one living in these forests for thounsands of years?”“So, we have to add a humanitarian approach to policy...ecology and economy are together. Ecology is the most important. But, the economy is also important,” he added.As per the 5th cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2022 (usually done in cycles of four years) summary report, India has a minimum of 3,167 tigers and is now home to more than 70% of the world’s wild tiger population. HT had reported in 2020 that one in every three tigers in India lives outside reserves, according to a report, Status of Tigers, Co-predators and Prey in India (2018).Yadav said that in the last 50 years, India has shown that 70% of the tigers in the world are safe in their habitats. “They are safe in their habitats in India. From 2014 to 2025, we have moved from 47 to 58 tiger reserves,” Yadav said, adding that every year, despite all the development pressures, India has declared a new area as tiger reserve. “When we came in 2014, there were only 25 Ramsar wetlands in the country. Today, their number has increased to 91,” he said.