Tiger Landscapes

           

      

                                  

                                     TIGER MAP OF ASIA.

     

                            INDIA’S TIGER RESERVES.

1. Corbett, Uttarakhand: Severe habitat degradation to the south of Corbett, overcrowding by resorts blocking movement of elephants, roadkills, colonisation by Lantana camara, forest fires, dynamiting to kill fish, industries in Rudrapur and Kashipur, illegal encroachments and the irrigation colony in Kalagarh.
2. Dudhwa, Uttar Pradesh: Poaching, forest fires, retaliatory killings, siltation of grasslands, which are the prime habitat of the barasingha and human-animal conflict.
3. Valmiki, Bihar: Biotic disturbances due to the 140 villages located in and around the reserve, which are dependent on forest resources, perennial inundation in Madanpur range due to the construction of a rail embankment inside the reserve, lack of buffer area or operational safety zone around the reserve to reduce the impact of human activities and lack of road network, vehicles and manned checkposts.
4. Namdapha, Arunachal Pradesh: Poaching, skeletal forest department staff, lack of protection infrastructure, low motivation, lack of effective patrolling, low prey base (here, the tiger also feeds on mountain ungulates such as takin, serow and goral). Sustained efforts to work with the local Lisu tribe is vital to ensure that poachers from across the border can be apprehended and to help stop hunting within the community while equipping them with other livelihood options.
5. Pakke (Pakhui), Arunachal Pradesh: Local hunting, fishing using dynamite, poisoning of elephants and encroachments. However, these have declined in recent years following the formation of a committee comprising village heads.
6. Kaziranga, Assam: Poaching, seasonal floods, the NH-37 highway on the northern side that prevents animals from crossing over to the hills, encroachment along the periphery, loss of forest and grassland habitat, water pollution due to pesticide run-off from tea gardens, a petroleum refinery at Numaligarh and growth of invasive species such as Mimosa.
7. Manas, Assam: Paucity of funds leading to delays in paying staff and implementing steps for habitat management , lack of adequate equipment and vehicles and vacant field posts. The Bodo Territorial Council has been doing a commendable job and several poachers have surrendered in the recent past.
8. Nameri, Assam: Human-wildlife conflict, particularly with regard to elephants, rapid conversion of habitat to agriculture, human encroachment and poaching. It is also one of the 168 sites selected for a large-scale hydroelectric power project.
9. Dampa, Mizoram: Jhooming practices, fuelwood collection, timber operations, roads, quarrying and hydroelectric projects.
10. Kanha, Madhya Pradesh: Tiger-centric tourism policies that provide few benefits to locals, anthropogenic pressure from the 18 villages inside the national park, including illicit cutting of bamboo poles in the buffer zone, deforestation and forest fires. Dozens of steel traps and injured tigers have been found in Kanha over the past couple of years.
11. Pench, Madhya Pradesh: An important link between tiger habitats to the west and south (Melghat) and to the east (Kanha and Nagzira), fishing in the reservoir is the main threat here. Fishermen also indulge in poaching and are also responsible for forest fires. With the Pench river running dry, the Pench hydroelectric dam is one more wasted mega-project. The fish mafias are now trying to pressurise the government to amend the WPA to allow fishing rights in Protected Areas.
12. Pench, Maharashtra: The reserve lacks a suitable buffer area. The adjoining area of Mansinghdev must be notified as a sanctuary and be connected
    to Pench. The Totladoh irrigation department’s settlement must be vacated and handed back to the forest department.
13. Bori-Satpura, Madhya Pradesh: Several villages lie within and outside the reserve. Herbivore density is low due to the encroachment and degradation of the meadows. Inadequate and aged field staff and lack of equipment hamper effective monitoring. Plans to ply luxury houseboats and build lodges could also harm the reserve. Pachmarhi is already facing the brunt of religious and commercial tourism. After the successful resettlement of Dhain village, several other villages situated in Bori Sanctuary are demanding to expedite the resettlement process.
14. Melghat, Maharashtra: Forest fires, illegal grazing, collection of non-timber forest produce such as tendu leaves, mahua and musli, quarrying, road-widening projects and spread of Lantana camara and Hyptis sauveolens add to the list of problems. The Chikaldhara Pumped Storage Project on the boundary of the reserve could drown over 100 ha. of the tiger’s habitat, while the Upper Tapi Stage II Project could drown 244 ha. of the reserve and an additional 1,673 ha. of forest land outside, including a part of the denotified portion of the Melghat Sanctuary. The denotification of 532 sq. km. of tiger forest from Melghat Sanctuary in 1994 has proved detrimental to both tigers and tribals. The tiger population has declined from 22 (in 1994) to merely two in 2008 in the denotified area, while the human population in the 39 villages has increased.
15. Tadoba-Andhari, Maharashtra: Human Irrigation Project, forest encroachment, increasing human-wildlife conflict with retaliatory tiger killings, illegal extraction of bamboo, grazing and forest fires. As many as 53 villages lie within five kilometres of its borders and five villages exist inside.
16. Bandhavgarh, Madhya Pradesh: Bauxite mining in the Maikal ranges, coal mining in the Umaria corridor, poaching, heavy tourist influx, urbanisation of Tala village, flyash dumping in the Johila river and degradation of the corridor between the  Bandhavgarh and Sanjay Reserves.
17. Sanjay, Madhya Pradesh: Encroachments and human-wildlife conflict.
18. Panna, Madhya Pradesh: Poaching, loss of habitat, illegal fishing, illicit removal of timber and other forest products, widespread grazing, national highway through the reserve causing road kills and diamond mining.
19. Ranthambhore, Rajasthan: Poaching, illegal grazing, fuelwood collection, religious and commercial tourism, encroachment and lack of connecting corridors. All the tigers are concentrated in the national park area. The Keladevi Sanctuary, which is part of the reserve, has 42 villages within its boundary, little habitat and virtually no prey base.
20. Sariska, Rajasthan: Poaching, anthropogenic pressure and lack of connecting corridors. Sariska
    still has good potential tiger habitat and a high density of large ungulates. According to recent reports, the management has taken strong steps to apprehend poachers, improve patrolling and work out relocation packages. The PMO’s office has approved the
    plan to reintroduce tigers here. Forest blocks in Alwar Division and the Jamva Ramgarh Sanctuary in Jaipur must be revived. There are also other possible corridors in Bundi, Kota, Chittorgarh, Udaipur and Sirohi.
21. Simlipal, Orissa: Four villages are located in the core and 61 in the buffer. The local tribals engage in an annual ruthless hunting ritual called Akhanda Shikar where any animal in sight is killed by hordes of tribals. The regular trapping of deer, wild pig, fowl and hare and rampant cattle grazing has resulted in drastic decline in prey base and therefore, predator population. Irresponsible, unregulated tourism, commercial poaching of elephants and timber smuggling add to the woes.
22. Satkosia, Orissa: There are around 106 villages in the reserve, five of them in the core. Organised poaching by the wildlife and timber mafia is a serious threat due to the porous southern and eastern boundaries of the park, which are easily accessible through the Mahanadi. The NH-42 and the Rengali canal have badly affected tiger and elephant movement between Satkosia and Simlipal.
23. Sundarbans, West Bengal: Deforestation, oil pollution, overfishing, prawn seed collection, reclamation, poaching, proposed nuclear reactors, proposal for international steamer channel, thermal plant, oil and gas exploration. The reserve and its wild denizens will also be one of the first to bear the brunt of climate change.
24. Buxa, West Bengal: Several tea estates in the vicinity exert a great deal of biotic pressure. Dolomite mining has caused great damage. Poaching of wildlife as well as timber, firewood removal, illicit grazing, boulder removal from river and electric fencing also harm wildlife. Demographic pressures are also huge here.
25. Palamau, Jharkhand: Naxalites, poaching, mining, alienation of locals, increasing
    human-wildlife conflict, illicit felling of khair and teak and unfilled forest department vacancies.
26. Achanakmar, Chattisgarh: The forest is periodically ravaged by fires set by cattle grazers. The presence of 22 villages inside the park, most of them in the core, makes poaching, illegal woodcutting and grazing difficult to keep in check. The Bilaspur-Amarkantak highway cuts through the park.
27. Indravati, Chattisgarh: Naxalites have control over much of the reserve and forest guards have not entered the reserve since 2002. No assessments have been possible in the recent past regarding the tiger population.
28. Udanti, Chattisgarh: Quarries, diamond mining, clearing of forested habitat for agriculture, shifting cultivation, encroachments, habitat degradation, grazing, forest fires and collection of non timber forest produce.
29. Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh: The recently concluded census suggests the presence of 30-40 tigers here. Clearance for uranium exploration bordering the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, large scale habitat degradation and tremendous pressure from humans in and around the reserve are the main threats. The 24 villages in the core must be relocated. There is also illegal entry into the reserve from the porous borders of Nalgonda, Guntur and Prakasham.
30. Bandipur, Karnataka: Two major roads (Mysore-Ooty and Mysore-Calicut) cut through this reserve and plans to upgrade both these to high-speed roads are on the anvil. Another highway is planned on the border of the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, which will affect wildlife movement between Nagarhole and Bandipur. Livestock grazing is a serious concern. Scientific studies have shown that it is linked to the international coffee market, which increases the demand for dung from this area to be used as organic manure in coffee plantations. Uncontrolled tourism, bad management practices such as setting of fires as a management tool and needless habitat damage from a variety of manipulations, including bulldozer-made trenches in the name of water harvesting, etc. also affect wildlife. Many poaching cases are also being detected.
31. Bhadra, Karnataka: Though past model relocation projects are yielding results and animal numbers are rebounding, the proposed Upper Bhadra and Tegargudda dams, two microhydel projects and windmills to be set up on the Bababudangiri hills pose grave threats to this reserve. The proposed windmills will cut off the habitat contiguity to other reserved forests. Mining at Hogarekan that provides a buffer to the reserve can cause serious damage to the sensitive shola forests. Four mini-hydel projects are planned in the Ecological Sensitive Area of the reserve. Timber smuggling on the northern side, poaching of ungulates for the pot, the mushrooming resorts in the buffer zone and official ecotourism inside the park are also serious concerns.
32. Anshi-Dandeli, Karnataka: Fragmentation is a serious issue here. Six large and small dams, four hydel-power generation units and three major diversion tunnels, along with highways are within the reserves. Construction of the Aghanashini dam and one mini-hydel project have been planned. Large-scale extraction of non-timber forest produce and grazing also cause serious disturbances. The area is yet to recover from the timber extractions done in the past for paper and pulpwood industries that were set up here in the 1960s and mining activities that were carried till the late 90s. Poaching for commercial trade seems to be scaling, recently 43 otter, 23 leopard and one tiger pelts were confiscated from this area. Unlike in southern Karnataka, there is hardly any tradition of carrying out serious anti-poaching activities here, with very few cases being detected as a result. A proposal to add over 300 sq. km. of fine forests, if implemented, will greatly enhance this reserves’ value. There is still no concept of conservation management in the reserve and the forest department needs to understand the importance of patrolling and anti-poaching activities.
33. Periyar, Kerala: The reserve has been doing well and community-involvement has been greater. However, if the height of the dam is increased, as Tamil Nadu has been demanding, it could submerge flat grazing land, including mudbanks. Pilgrims to the Sabarimala temple also place tremendous pressure on the reserve. Other threats include illegal ganja cultivation, unruly tourists and spread of exotics. The Cumbum and Varshnad valleys, including the mountain stretch between them, must be brought into the Protected Area network together with the proposed Meghamalai Sanctuary.
34. Kalakad-Mundanthurai, Tamil Nadu: Biotic pressure due to colonies of the State Electricity Board, tea companies, tribal hamlets, cattle grazing, timber poaching and the presence of private estates. The border with Kerala on the western side is vulnerable to illegal entry and activities.
35. Mudumalai, Tamil Nadu: The proposed multi-dam Pandiar Punnapuzha Hydroelectric Project at Gudalur near Ooty poses the greatest threat to the reserve. Around 160 to 175 ha. of the Avarahalla Reserve Forest that is part of the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary would be submerged apart from the forest area that would be required for the construction of roads, dam and the power house. It would particularly affect elephant movement in the region. Other threats include exotics, anthropogenic pressures, poaching, degradation, biotic pressures, uncontrolled tourism and extraction for medicinal purposes.
36. Parambikulam-Anamalai, Tamil Nadu: Conversion of forest into tea and coffee estates, several large plantations, pesticide run-off and human-wildlife conflict.
    Additionally, the NTCA has given ‘in principle’ approval for four additional tiger reserves: Sunabeda in Orissa, Sahyadri in Maharashtra, Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh and Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh. The Nagarahole National Park in Karnataka, earlier a part of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, will be considered as a separate reserve.
37. Kawal Tiger Reserve: Situated in Adilabad District of Andhra Pradesh, 893 Sq kms declared as core area with an additional buffer of 1400 Sq kms. The Sanctuary is dominated by dry deciduous teak, bamboo, termanalia and other mixed species. This reserve is critical as it acts as a sink for Tiger’s migrating from Indravati landscape. Apart from local tribal pressure, human migration from neighbor state forms heavy pressure on wildlife. Although a stronghold of Gaur and other species this is a high potential Tiger habitat. If pressures and threats are eradicated will serve as a good Tiger domain.

(Source Sanctuary Asia)

Leave Me Alone – A Sanctuary Asia Campaign for Tigers (click link to know status of Tiger reserves and tigers -2013)

       

                         

                                 INDIA’S FOREST COVER.