The proposed tiger conservation project to be launched by World Bank in India has invited ire of tiger conservationists in the country.
Conservationists oppose its proposal for saving tigers
The proposed tiger conservation project to be launched by World Bank in India has invited ire of tiger conservationists in the country. Conservationists like Valmik Thapar, Brijendra Singh, Bittu Sahgal, PK Sen, K Ullas Karanth, Raghunandan Singh Chundawat, and Belinda Wright have registered their objection to the project.
In a letter written on June 3 to Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, the conservationists have demanded that the World Bank keep out of it “as it has caused enough destruction to biodiversity in the country”. The letter says that though tiger conservation initiatives from all quarters were welcome, some consequences of the World Bank initiative would be fatal for wild tigers in India.
“World Bank’s funding and involvement in tiger management on ground in India at this stage will negatively impact these ongoing efforts,” says Bittu Sahgal. Indian government had already earmarked substantial funds for tiger conservation, including core tasks of improving law enforcement and creating inviolate critical habitats.
The letter says, “Environmentalists consider that many of conservation and livelihood-based interventions meant to protect tigers, wildlife, forests and nature, have adversely impacted tigers and their habitats and lead to a serious official drift away from the core mission of tiger protection on ground. Infrastructure related projects of the World Bank, like highways, forestry plantation, etc., have also had major adverse impacts, which similarly remain unacknowledged.”
Despite earlier promises about transparent prior consultations, Bank officials have proactively pushed a project concept note and their own ideas to get Indian government’s endorsement and involvement with Bank’s tiger initiative even before contours are clear to the tiger conservation community in India, the letter says. “The signatories to the letter are not at all in support of the ongoing moves of the Bank, nor they have endorsed any tiger-related initiative of the Bank to get involvement of Indian government in the project,” said Bittu Sahgal. “We have written to the prime minister, expressing our apprehension about the World Bank tiger initiative and requested him not to engage with it in a precipitate manner.”
Tiger conservationists have requested the Bank authorities to instruct all its officials to withdraw the proposals made by the executive director for the region to the Indian government.
a_ashwin@dnaindia.net
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