tiger and tourism

Volume 29 - Issue 24 :: Dec. 01-14,2012

INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE

from the publishers of THE HINDU

• Contents

CONSERVATION

Tiger and tourism

RAKESH SHUKLA

The best solution to the problems relating to tourism in the

core areas of tiger reserves will involve a balance between

banning tourism there and allowing heavy tourism.

Tigers and their majestic moods remain the star attraction in

most national parks.

OSCAR WILDE famously said: “One can only give an unbiasedopinion about things that do not interest one, which is no doubt thereason an unbiased opinion is always valueless. The man who seesboth sides of a question is a man who sees absolutely nothing.” Inspite of this quote, one hopes that the present situation ofbafflement over whether tourism should be allowed in the core areasof tiger reserves in the country or how much should be allowed willhead towards a more or less consensual and reasonable settlement.This, though a rather idealistic expectation, will ultimately help thestakeholders accept the final outcome with considerably lessunhappiness and aggravation than might otherwise be the case andwith a sense of humility to nature in all its manifestations. The threemain considerations that govern the entire issue are the fragility ofthe core areas, ecotourism conducted as intense business, andavenues of livelihood for local communities.

There has been no long-term, systematic study in India of thepleasures and perils, so to say, of either banning tourism in the core

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areas or allowing a heavy influx of tourist vehicles into them. I amnot using the phrase “unsustainable tourism”, which is flawed andfaulty tourism and needs careful assessment and evaluation. Wildlifeconservation has been practised in India for almost 50 years, andenough knowledge and experience have been gained so that neitherof the two extreme positions of no-tourism and heavy tourism needsto be taken. Both have more negatives than positives. Here heavytourism means the large number of tourist vehicles that are atpresent regarded as giving rise to unsustainable tourism.

If there is no-tourism, meaning a complete ban on the entry ofvehicles into the core areas and tourism permitted only in the bufferareas, society and the core areas themselves will face consequences.One of the important objectives set by the framers of Project Tiger in1973 was to create awareness of nature/wildlife conservation in thegeneral public through tourism in national parks. No-tourism in thecore areas would automatically shut a wonderful window to afantastically wide range of carnivores, herbivores and birds in theirnatural environment. The biodiversity range, abundance of wildlifeand quality of forest cover that the core areas are famous for maynot be there in the buffer areas. Besides, small populations of someendangered animals can only be seen in the core areas because oftheir special food requirements and restricted movements. Greatsightings of tigers and other wild animals and amazing forests, withdifferent wildlife habitats and waterbodies, are what thrill, impressand inspire tourists. The entire ambiance of the magnificentwilderness is what inspires awe in tourists and what they cherish forthe rest of their lives.

PHOTOGRAPHS: SUDHIR MISHRA

WORLD-CLASS TIGER SAFARIS and interpretation complexes

outside the core areas of tiger reserves could greatly

complement the conservation philosophy that opposes heavy

tourism. Here, the interpretation complex at the Kanha

National Park.

The core areas of the tiger reserves are wonderful wildlife habitatsthat support a wide range of floral and faunal species, some of themendemic and endangered. These ecotypical representative areas are,experts suggest, feeling the impact of successional and climaticchanges in various ways. These changes range from the subtle tothe apparent and are perceptible only to the trained eye. Theappearance of unwanted and previously unrecorded plant species,the condition of a particular vegetal cover type, sightings of anyunrecorded faunal or bird species and changes in habitat use bywildlife species are some of the important observations scientists,conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts, including photographers,like to record when they go inside the core areas as tourists.

A good number of such tourists, both Indians and foreigners, whogenerally remain unidentified, visit the core areas every year. Theirvisits are vital as they sometimes document and inform tiger reservemanagements about important observations, which help the latter


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take suitable action. The British are regarded as remarkabledocumenters, and their seminal documents and almanacs on theforests and wildlife of this country contributed enormously to initialconservation efforts in India. No-tourism in the core areas woulddeprive the country of good literature on nature conservation, whichultimately preserves natural history for posterity. The world at largewould be disappointed as some of the excellent writing on the Indianwilderness in magazines, newspapers and books, which areappreciated all over the world, emanate from these core areas.

Those involved in wildlife conservation, especially parkmanagements, have always sworn by the cooperation of localcommunities in the conservation of protected areas. Thesecommunities are credited with maintaining the well-being/ecologicalhealth of protected areas and their surroundings. In many tigerreserves, a large number of these communities have now beenrelocated outside protected areas. They have had to sacrifice theforest rights and concessions they had enjoyed for severalgenerations. Villages surrounding protected areas have also met thesame fate as protected areas are no longer managed forests wherevillagers can exercise their traditional rights. While the protectedareas have become places of national and international renown, witha flourishing tourism industry, the local communities find themselvesat a disadvantage. They feel that wildlife is being conserved at theirexpense and that rich people are availing themselves of theopportunities for making money.

INSIDE THE CORE AREA OF KANHA. Nature in such

awe-inspiring splendour can be enjoyed only in an

anthropogenic-activity-free environment.

Even a diehard optimist can foresee that a complete ban on tourismin the core areas, with its diversion to the buffer areas, is sure tocause a considerable drop in the number of tourists in the years tocome. This situation may adversely affect the present occupationsand incomes of local communities.

At the same time, heavy tourism in the core areas is equallydetrimental. Only with common sense and empirical knowledge canwildlife managers assess the negative impacts of excessive tourism.Tiger-centric tourism in many tiger reserves has prevailed over theenjoyment of watching other wild animals and birds. This fixationresults in the crowding of tourist vehicles along those roads wherethe chances of tiger sightings are high. Tourists always insist ongetting special viewings of this magnificent species. If, sometimes,resident tigers become untraceable for a few days and tiger viewingsare not conducted, the tiger reserve management has to faceunhappy tour operators. As the guides and drivers of tourist vehicleshave a good knowledge of the timings and movements of residenttigers, tourists do not mind waiting ad infinitum to see them. In spiteof restrictions on organised tiger viewing from the backs ofelephants, tiger reserve managements often find touristsunmanageable, which regularly results in unpleasant situations andcontroversies.


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It has been observed that excessive tourism is also responsible forthe somewhat aberrant behaviour of tigers in the tourism zone. It isgenerally accepted that non-stop viewing of a detained wild animalmay cause changes in its behaviour, including reduced time spent onfeeding or resting, and physiology, including increased levels ofstress hormones. The resident tigers gradually lose the habit ofavoiding humans if they are in close proximity to them on an almostdaily basis ever since they were categorised as large cubs and wereallowed to be seen by tourists. Tiger reserve managements,however, never regard tourists as a physical threat to wild animals,and no tourist has ever been found to be involved in any poachingcase.

IN KANHA. Even restricted sightings of painstakingly

conserved wildlife species add to the joy of tourism and bring

immense respectability to the park management. The small

population of the hard ground barasingha in this national park

is a case in point. Interestingly, when it was facing the

gravest threat to its survival, there was no wildlife tourism in

the protected area.

The growing economy and the rise in consumerism have led to agradual increase in the number of tourists visiting protected areas.This has caused ecotourism to gradually lose its real spirit.Competition in tourism has resulted in those in the hospitalitybusiness offering tourists the best facilities, however out of placethese may be in the tranquil landscape in the vicinity of a core area.Opulent accommodation with walled or fenced premises, dazzlinglights and loud music runs counter to the ethics of ecotourism. Thismakes it difficult to manage the spillover wildlife population inadjacent buffer areas, and the concept of ecological corridors for themovement of tigers is made redundant in such landscapes. One mustnot think that the actions of those in the hospitality industry are areprisal against tiger reserve managements, whose control and


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regulation of tourism is generally restricted only to the nationalparks. Both park managements and tour operators/lodge and resortowners are important stakeholders in ecotourism.

The protected areas are some of the finest ecotypical wildernessareas in the country and have virtually been turned into islands inthe vast sea of humanity. Even within the protected areas, primewildlife habitats are included in tourism zones. The protected areasare crucial for the country as far as nature conservation isconcerned. Let us not fantasise about the wildlife conservation areasof African countries and imagine that kind of wildlife tourism canalso happen in India. The socio-ecology and eco-demography ofAfrican countries are immensely different from those of India: Africahas spectacularly extensive wilderness areas with huge populationsof a wide range of wild animals.

While the average area of the largest tiger reserves in India is onlyaround 2,000 square kilometres, most national parks in Africa aremind-bogglingly large: to name just a few, Serengeti (15,000 sq km)and Ngorongoro (50,000 sq km), both in Tanzania; Kruger (20,000sq km) in South Africa; Etosha (22,000 sq km) in Namibia; andTsavo (12,000 sq km) in Kenya. Further, India supports a hugehuman population—the main cause of the present panickysituation—with a much higher population density (around 383inhabitants per sq km) than Namibia (3), Botswana (4), Zimbabwe(33), Kenya (71), Tanzania (51) and South Africa (42).

The best solution probably lies somewhere between no-tourism inthe core areas and heavy tourism there. Light tourism shouldcontinue in the core areas with smaller tourism zones, and potentialareas in the buffers should be developed to introduce newecotourism activities and reduce the pressure on the core areas.

This is easier said than done. Each tiger reserve has to be evaluateddispassionately and a consensus reached regarding reduction in thepresent tourism zone and in the number of vehicles to be allowed.Developing the buffer zones for tourism to ensure that tourists gettheir money’s worth is going to be a real challenge. The buffer zoneshave for long harboured densely populated villages with multiple-useareas and all sorts of rampant anthropogenic activity at all hours.The fragmentation of forest areas and the biotic pressure have giventhese landscapes a patchy and unhealthy look. There are, however,chunks of good, forested areas close to the boundaries of the coreareas. These areas can be slowly developed to facilitate jungleexcursions for sighting spillover wildlife populations. The enjoymentof the entire spectrum of wildlife species, however, will not bepossible. One can also think of removing museums, interpretationbuildings, canteens, shops, and so on to the buffer areas, if they areat present located in the core areas. This step will add to thetranquillity of the core areas. The creation of excellent tiger safarisand state-of-the-art interpretation complexes and orientationcentres in the buffer areas may satisfy tiger adorers and ensurealmost daily sightings of tigers. Disappointed visitors from the coreareas can take enormous comfort in this.

Besides, some more ecotourism activities, generally not allowed inthe core areas, such as walking safaris, night drives, home stays,folk dances and cultural interactions can also be introduced in thebuffer areas to attract tourists.

Rakesh Shukla is Research Officer, Kanha Tiger Reserve.


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