The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) recently updated its tiger corridor policy by limiting their definition to just 32 "least cost pathways" specified in a report published in 2014. This move has been a subject of much interest and discussion among environmentalists and developers alike, especially owing to its implications for tiger conservation and forest land-use clearance regulation in India.
What Are Tiger Corridors?
Tiger corridors are important landscape connections between different tiger habitats, enabling tigers to disperse, find mates, and ensure genetic diversity for species persistence. Tiger corridors avoid habitat fragmentation, which is among the most significant threats facing tiger populations. Healthy corridors are crucial to ensuring tiger populations in protected reserves and forested lands.
Recent Developments in Corridor Definition
Earlier, NTCA identified various tiger corridors on the basis of different scientific research, such as studies conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and All-India Tiger Estimation (AITE) data. These reports demarcated several possible routes supporting tiger movement between reserves. But under the new policy, the official recognition of corridors is only limited to the 32 least cost routes out of the 2014 NTCA report and those noted in official Tiger Conservation Plans (TCPs).
This reduction excludes other scientifically confirmed corridors and pathways, basically confining the coverage of protected corridors.
Legal and Administrative Context
As per the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, any developmental activity in tiger reserves or corridors has to be cleared by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL). The State Board of Wildlife of Maharashtra (SBWL) had originally restricted clearances to projects in the minimum cost corridors. This system was challenged legally, which resulted in questioning by the Bombay High Court.
The NTCA U-turn seems to be driven by judicial review and ministerial deliberations in quest of clarification. The definition of the new corridor simplifies regulatory processes for projects outside these 32 routes but within already mapped corridors.
Impact on Development Projects
The new definition helps mining and industrial projects, especially in Maharashtra state, where most operations were stuck due to forest clearance. For example, Western Coalfields Limited's Durgapur open cast mines and Lloyds Metals & Energy's Surajgarh iron ore mines are now outside the official tiger corridors and encounter lesser regulatory hurdles.
Yet this action has caused concerns among the conservationists regarding elevated habitat fragmentation and dilution of tiger conservation efficiency at a landscape scale.
Scientific Perspectives and Challenges
Scientific research utilizing sophisticated methods such as telemetry, landscape modelling, and Circuitscape has identified a dense network of about 192 tiger corridors in central India, facilitating connectivity among 30 reserves and 150 protected areas. The implications of these results are that tiger movement is more extensive and complicated than expressed in the narrow 32 least cost pathways.
Conservation specialists caution that the NTCA's narrow definition contradicts scientific evidence supporting habitat connectivity to a wider extent. Conservation strategies at a landscape level are essential to reverse the effects of urbanization, mining, and road development.
Policy and Conservation Implications
The constricting of corridor definitions can weaken long-term conservation objectives for tigers by overlooking substitute paths important for migratory and genetic connectivity. While map refinement based on revised AITE data is ongoing, legal challenges have hampered progress.
The policy change highlights the perpetuating conflict between conservation of wildlife and development priorities in India. Successful tiger conservation hinges on balancing habitat protection and sustainable development to safeguard this apex species from extinction.
The NTCA's move to restrict tiger corridors to 32 least cost pathways is an important policy decision with broad implications. Though it allows for quicker clearances for industrial development, it goes against the science of tiger connectivity and could question the future of tiger habitats. Ongoing discussion amongst policymakers, scientists, and conservationists is necessary to frame an integrated strategy protecting tiger corridors while balancing responsible development.
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