Explainer: Why tiger poaching concerns are growing

More than 100 tigers have been killed in multiple tiger reserves in the past three years. Istock

IT'S been 18 years since the Centre allocated Rs 50 crore to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to nudge the states to form the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF). The idea was to curb poaching with increased intelligence and to bring down man-animal conflict. Two decades later, very few states have constituted the force and the result is heightened poaching and unnatural deaths of tigers. In the past three years, more than 100 tigers have been killed in multiple tiger reserves.

The 2008 conservation pitchIn the 2008 Budget, the then UPA government announced the formation of STPF and gave NTCA Rs 50 crore to exhort states to set up the force in the tiger reserves. It was to be run under Project Tiger with 60:40 Centre-state funding. In the Northeast and Himalayan states, the expenditure ratio was fixed at 90:10.Eighteen years after the announcement, the STPF has been made operational in Karnataka (Bandipur), Maharashtra (Pench, Tadoba-Andhari, Nawegaon-Nagzira, Melghat), Rajasthan (Ranthambore), Odisha (Similipal) and Assam (Kaziranga).Wildlife activist Gaurav Bhardwaj told The Tribune, "The job of the STPF was to stop poaching, electrocution and forest crime through robust intelligence and combing. Two options were given to the states: put police on deputation or the forest staff for the force. Most of the states chose forest staff."He said one company of STPF should have had 120 personnel. "It was initially planned for 13 sensitive tiger reserves; 30 per cent posts were meant for local forest-dwellers. Training was to cover wildlife law, weapons and commando work. Eighteen years later, only Maharashtra, Odisha and Karnataka have actually done it."Madhya Pradesh has nine tiger reserves but has not constituted the STPF. The state has witnessed 54 tiger deaths in the past one year."Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh announce it in every budget, but it remains pending. States that collect tourism money in the name of tigers have been slow to raise the force meant to protect them," he elaborated.Uttarakhand had announced the formation of the force last year, especially for Corbett National Park.Legal immunity to STPFThe STPF companies receive special training from the state police as well as the paramilitary forces based on a syllabus for skill development, combating poaching, and enabling intelligence-based enforcement in the forest terrain. The STPF personnel, being forest officers, would have policing powers, including the usage of firearms to combat tiger poaching and related offences within the tiger habitat.Whenever firing is resorted to by the STPF personnel, each such incident shall be enquired into by the Executive Magistrate.Gaps in the Protection force programmeFormer Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (head of forest force), Karnataka, BK Singh, said those who were appointed in the STPF used political influence to get transferred out of the force.Singh said while Karnataka and Maharashtra recruited, trained, and armed STPF personnel, other states went for traditional ways like strengthening forest protection staff they regularly recruited and trained. "Those who were recruited did not like to stay in STPF forever and managed their transfer. The policy was faulty as no single person can be expected to be running after poachers and hunters for the entire length of the service period," he said.Singh added that what was needed was regular recruitment for the STPF. "After five to 10 years, they would be shifted for regular forestry operations, and newly recruited personnel would take their place. This would have ensured continuity of the programme," he noted.The missing big catsIn August, the National Tiger Conservation Authority initiated an investigation into missing tigers, and possible poaching of big cats in Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve, Telangana, where 22 tigers have gone missing in the last couple of years. The NTCA has written to all tiger-bearing states, warning their chief wildlife wardens to be on the alert to prevent poaching and illegal trade in tiger products.