Today, there are 5 main National Parks where Bengal tigers roam freely, and Madhya Pradesh (Central India) is the core habitat. In prior years, some of the National Parks were connected by corridors through which the tigers had a larger area to move around in and create territories of their own. Today these Parks have been encroached upon by roads, highways, large villages and farmland. Unfortunately, in order to create the National Parks and preserve the wildlife, government had to relocate small villages that were spread out within the jungles; however, it is this relocation which has formed larger villages that block the corridors. Still being remote, these villages largely depend on farming and livestock for their daily necessities. This is where man animal conflict begins can pose danger to both groups. The rules are only known by the humans, wildlife still venture out in hopes of finding new territory, injured predators will feast on livestock and ruin farmland. The only people who are looking out for these animals are the locals who are employed as forest guards. They have excellent knowledge of the local National Parks and its flora and fauna, but no real field training on how to deal with poachers, collect samples, or carry out investigations.
This is why education is a key element for everyone involved; from the local villager to the guides to even the lodges and camps surrounding the National Parks. By educating the locals about the importance of the wild and what it means for them, man animal conflict can be reduced. Wildlife tourism can produce employment for many of these villagers, their farmland can help in supporting the lodges and camps, and with more wildlife in the park more guides are needed.
The Tiger Trust (an NGO) has been training field guards through legal workshops so that they are aware of their rights when dealing with poachers. Regular camps are held in order to give guards more confidence and knowledge as they protect our forests and to give management a better understanding of their needs and demands.
Working with the community is essential when discussing wildlife protection. It is important to understand the reason behind conflict between humans and animal. We studied an area called Jamtara where our latest camp has been established; the gap between the buffer and the core of the national park is hardly of 25-30 acres, but villagers have set up farm lands in these area. This was disturbing as it encroached upon the animals’ access to the corridor. The farmers would spend all night chasing wildlife away and playing loud music in order to deter animal presence. We created our version of Star Bed on their field, where we would pay them a nightly rate for each guest that would sleep in the star bed and the farmer would promise not to chase away any mammal that wants to cross. We, as guests get the reward of sleeping under the stars and listening to jungle sounds, with the chance of spotting mammals crossing through the fields while the farmers enjoys the revenue we generate for him which hopefully will discourage him from farming in the long term and help in re – establishing an old wildlife corridor.
More information at http://www.tigertrustindia.org/
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