CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK #150

89Sanctuary Asia, October 2009Sanctuary Asia, October 200988

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The Fifth Bengal Tiger Consultation was heldat the Teen Murti Bhavan, New Delhi on July 28and 29, 2009. Earlier consultations (Sanctuary,Vol. XXVIII No. 4, August 2008, No. 6, December2008, Vol. XXIX No. 2, April 2009 and No. 3,June 2009) across the country mandated participantsto come up with a comprehensive plan to protectIndia’s rapidly deteriorating biodiversity and, morebroadly, to avoid a cataclysmic national slide at thehands of climate change. Volunteers from DelhiGreens, undertook much of the administrative workfor the consultation. Note: This is the abridgedversion. A more complete record can beaccessed at www.sanctuaryasia.com

Chair: Dr. Karan Singh, Member of Parliament,Co-Chair: Jairam Ramesh, Minister,Environment and Forests. Welcome: Prof. MridulaMukherjee, Director, Nehru Memorial Museum.Introduction: Bittu Sahgal & Valmik Thapar.Panel: Salman Khurshid, Minister, Corporate Affairsand Minorities, Hemendra Kothari, Chairman,Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT), Mumbai.

Sanctuary Asia and the WCT, incollaboration with the Bengal Tiger BachaaoCampaign, and the Nehru Memorial Museumand Library, New Delhi hosted the Fifth RoyalBengal Tiger Consultation focusing onEcosystems, Climate Change and NationalDevelopment. Participants included a significantnumber of empowered politicians, governmentofficials, economists, scientists, educationists,student representatives and media professionals.The two day consultation focussed on criticalwildlife habitats and the umbilical connectionbetween these fast vanishing oases and thecountry’s food and water security. The linkbetween the wildlife trade and insurgent groupsin India and the need to partner science andsociology with economics to achieve ecosystemregeneration were also discussed.

Madhya Pradesh, could be resurrected into a‘Green Economic Zone’ (GEZ). SalmanKhurshid expressed his unreserved support forthe initiative and said that good corporategovernance demanded carbon responsibility too.Hemendra Kothari expressed hope that thecorporate sector, government and NGOs couldwork together to the advantage of the tiger.

Jairam Ramesh underscored the value ofIndia’s wildernesses and expressed his dismay atthe deteriorating conditions of 16 out of India’s37 tiger reserves. He admitted that the MoEFhad an abysmal record in the past two years ofgiving clearances to projects within ProtectedAreas (PAs) and stressed that development shouldnot be allowed to take place at the cost of theenvironment. He also said he would fast-trackthe Green Tribunal. Perhaps his most significantpublic announcement was regarding theCAMPA (Compensatory AfforestationManagement and Planning Authority) funds,which he said would not be used for monocultureplantations, but for the protection and naturalregeneration of degraded forests.

First Working Session – Critical WildlifeHabitats, Water, Food and Economic Security

After opening comments by B. Sridhar,Bittu Sahgal outlined how saving India’swildlife would end up mitigating the impactsof climate change and how ecosystem renewalcould help shore up India’s water, food andeconomic security, while employing millionsas climate warriors.

Dr. Ullas Karanth strongly emphasised thatunless science was brought to the fore,conservation successes would be hard to comeby. He said that links had to be found betweenhabitat health, social security and economicsustenance of communities and that there wasno point ‘distributing’ environmental wealth to

THE FIFTH BENGAL TIGER CONSULTATION

A virtual who’s who attended the plenary, inan auditorium packed to capacity. B. Sridhar fromBengal Tiger Line, a moving force for theconsultation welcomed people into the hall.Brijendra Singh, Honorary Wildlife Warden,Corbett Tiger Reserve, Dr. Ullas Karanth,Wildlife Conservation Society, Ravi Singh, CEO,WWF-India, Belinda Wright, Wildlife ProtectionSociety of India and Valmik Thapar, all Membersof the National Board for Wildlife, werepresent as were Mark Tully, Gillian Wright andDr. Prannoy Roy, NDTV. Other key participantsincluded Dilip Kumar, Director GeneralForests, Rina Mitra, Deputy Director, WildlifeCrime Bureau, V.P. Singh, senior politician,Dr. Raghu Chundawat, tiger expert, Joanna vanGruisen, author and conservationist,Sanjeev Sanyal, GIST, Mark Parkinson, Director,The Sri Ram School and M. Jiwrajka, SupremeCourt’s Central Empowered Committee.

Cricketer and youth icon Rahul Dravidparticipated in all the sessions on both days and isexpected to play a prominent role in tigerconservation in the years to come (full participantslist posted at www.sanctuaryasia.com).

Earlier over 2,000 young children from Kidsfor Tigers, the Sanctuary Tiger Programme, hadassembled on the lawns of the Nehru Museumto create a large aerial display symbolising theconnection between forests, wildlife and climatechange (see image on page 30).

The Plenary: Uniting the NationBittu Sahgal, Editor, Sanctuary Asia,

explained the Bengal Tiger Consultation processand progress and then Thapar and Sahgal jointlypresented a vision of how wildlife habitats couldbe saved, while fighting climate change. Using apresentation that had been worked on byKoustabh Sharma, they demonstrated how thedevastated Panna-Chhatarpur landscape in

usher in equity, if in the process the basic ecologicalfoundation itself was destroyed. Dr. HaripriyaGundimeda, Associate Professor, Indian Instituteof Technology, Mumbai and Green IndianStates Trust (GIST) made a presentation on theGDP of the poor, making a strong case forpreserving natural ecosystems as a way to assistimpoverished communities.

A vibrant open session ensued, during whichRanjit Barthakur, Nature First, presented thebuilding blocks of a forest-renewal-basedcompensatory system, which would be presentedfor consideration to the Planning Commission.Sanjeev Sanyal, GIST, put forward the concept ofa Green Economic Zone (GEZ), where ecosystemfarming and rewards would be the pinion aroundwhich livelihoods would be developed. HemendraKothari suggested that since urban migration wasinevitable, it was necessary to impart vocationaland life skills to rural youth.

Ravi Singh endorsed the thrust of theecosystems evaluation initiative and asked thatthe delivery system to reach real benefits tocommunities be carefully set up and monitored.V.P. Singh said that in Ganganagar, Rajasthan,agriculture had become unsustainable andthat no dams should ever be built acrossnon-perennial rivers. This was echoed by severalparticipants including Vikram Soni who saidthat urban India must now limit consumptionso that rural India and ecosystems can regenerate.S. Husain, Field Director, Ranthambhore, said thatwhen they shifted Indala village, it was themost powerful people in the village whoopposed the idea because they had more landthan they were eligible to claim.

Drs. Karanth and Gundimeda summarisedthe session and emphasised that the successof any initiative would depend on whetheror not mainstream economists accepted therationale being put forward.

Second Working Session – Ecosystems, theWildlife Trade and Internal SecurityAre unprotected forests fuelling terrorism andinsurrection in India?

Before inviting Belinda Wright to chair thesession, Bittu Sahgal drew the connection betweenthe late ivory and sandal poacher Veerappan andthe LTTE, which financed much of its armsthrough illegal trade. Rina Mitra, Keshav Kumar,IG Police, Gujarat, and Dr. Raghu Chundawataddressed participants on the nuances of the issue,pointing out that unless field protection andintelligence worked in tandem, poaching wouldspiral uncontrolled. Belinda Wright screened achilling film on the subject and confirmed that thewildlife trade was indeed financing insurgencygroups. Consumers of wildlife contraband shouldknow that this was the wildlife equivalent of ‘blooddiamonds’. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau(WCCB) was mandated to curb poaching, but itseffective role has not yet been clearly defined interms of its powers and functions. Samir Sinha,TRAFFIC, said that most of officialdom continuesto remain in denial. Chundawat explained thatwhile local villagers were undoubtedly responsiblefor laying traps, putting out poison and shootingtigers and other wildlife, the entire village was neverparty to such crimes. Nitin Desai, WPSI, said thatif youth were gainfully employed it would be moredifficult for poaching gangs and Naxalites to recruitthem. Dr. Ullas Karanth further suggested thatspecific traditional nomadic hunting tribes inMadhya Pradesh known to be involved in tigerpoaching be specifically targeted to provide themalternate livelihoods. Fateh Singh Rathore, TigerWatch. agreed and added that we should arrestpoachers but look after their families as was beingdone in Ranthambhore so that we gain theconfidence of villagers. Ashok Kumar, WTI, madethe point that if villagers such as the Van Gujjarsaround Corbett or Rajaji were going to shift, then

New Delhi, July 28 and 29, 2009

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After five national Bengal Tiger Consultations there is consensus that: 1. Protecting tiger and other wildlife habitatsis India’s best option to counter and mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. 2. Facilities for physical protectionof habitats must be dramatically enhanced. 3. Communities must be guaranteed livelihoods to restore forest ecosystems.

Rahul Dravid spent two full days with participants of the Fifth Bengal Tiger Consultation. In his words: “I have to understand the issues if I want to effectively help win public supportfor wildlife and climate issues.” Participants felt that capacity building of forest staff and management and the adoption of the very latest scientific methodology such as doublesampling and camera trapping were vital in critical tiger habitats. Kapil Sibal, Minister HRD (above right), said education must be recognised as a powerful conservation tool.

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CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK #150

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it made no sense to offer them employment to stayin the park. Chundawat, Wright and KeshavKumar also suggested that it was time to create acomprehensive genetic profile database of wildtigers and vastly improved forensic systems andtools to monitor poaching, track the exact sourceand fight legal cases more definitively.

Third Working Session – Making ConservationWork – Partnering Science and Sociologywith EconomicsImpeccable science must be central todecision making.

Dr. Ullas Karanth chaired the session with BillMcKibben and Prerna Bindra as part of the panel.Karanth began by saying that given the extent ofpotential habitat still available, the tiger populationin India could rise to 5,000 if we succeeded inengaging conservation NGOs and the governmentmeaningfully. Groups such as Wildlife First havedemonstrated how this can be done throughconservation and monitoring. He said thatconservation must rely on the very latest scientifictechniques in conservation to succeed and explainedthe direct co-relation between tiger populationsand prey density, the new methods of trackingtigers, including statistical sampling, use of cameratraps and the genetic analysis of tiger droppings.He stressed the need for inviolate spaces and asound core-buffer protection strategy.

Bill McKibben, author, activist andlegendary climate crusader, focused on the needto build an effective international movement topush the forthcoming negotiations in thedirection of science. On October 24, he noted,millions of people around the world will holdrallies and events to make the 350 number thatrepresents what scientists have called a boundarycondition for future civilisation, the world’s mostwell-known number.

Prerna Singh Bindra, environmentaljournalist, was able to focus the group’s attentionon the wide canvas of debilitation that threatenedthe tiger. She pointed out that while the mediacould at best play a role in raising alarm orawareness, the real task lay in motivating andequipping people involved in wildlife and forestprotection on the ground.

Evening Plenary: Tigers, Climate Change andCarbon – A Talk by Bill McKibben

McKibben outlined the progress of 350.orgin creating a global movement for an effectiveclimate deal. He said that though India’scontribution to global warming was currentlynegligible, the country and its people would begreatly impacted and the nation must therefore beat the forefront of the battle to minimise its ownemissions and place pressure on the industrialnations to curtail theirs. He also briefed the audienceon the significance of the Copenhagen Climatemeet and hoped that India would send a strongdelegation with the mandate to lead the world.

Fourth Working Session – Ecosystem ServicesAre we undervaluing our natural treasury?

The session was introduced by Bittu Sahgalwho placed the discussion on ecosystems in theperspective of climate change. Valmik Thapar placedthe burden of understanding the imperative ofprotecting forests squarely on the corporate sector,suggesting that their track record, across the board,was abysmal. This was followed by a presentationof a carbon-ecosystem model by Samir Menon ofNature First, through which he shared work doneon measurement and evaluation of the ecosystemservices of selected PAs. Vikram Mehta, ChairmanShell, who was there in his personal capacity, beganby saying that the corporate sector should notremain in denial about climate change. He felt that

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THE FIFTH BENGAL TIGER CONSULTATION, NEW DELHI, JULY 28 and 29, 2009 (KEY LEARNINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS)The recommendations from the earlier consultations were ratified with three additional priorities.1. The creation of a ‘Green Economic Zone’ around important wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. It is proposed that a 15 km. zone bedemarcated around ecologically sensitive zones and protected by regulations that limit environmentally damaging activities such as mining andhighways. Where necessary, degraded land will be ecologically restored. The government, in collaboration with local communities and conservationorganisations, should build viable local economies based on activities that are environmentally enhancing or at the very least, benign. These couldrange from eco-sensitive tourism and traditional handicrafts to responsible farm practices and light industry. Location specific models should be theway forward and efforts must be made to carefully assess and develop appropriate plans. The ecosystems services that accrue as a result of the aboveactions must be measured and communities must become the first beneficiaries of the returns that ensue. Implementation: Ministry of Environmentand Forests, through the National Tiger Conservation Authority.2. Reinvigorate the forest services. The Indian Forest Service and its cadres have rendered an invaluable service to the country by fighting a constantand difficult battle against industrial projects, forest degradation, poaching, illegal logging and encroachment. In the last two decades, there hasbeen a steady decline in the induction of new recruits, further compromising its effectiveness. It is vital that a wildlife sub cadre be created and thatForest Departments be placed at par with other “uniformed” services such as the police, BSF and so on. The induction of local communities into thedepartment is also an important step towards engaging local communities in forest protection. Implementation: Ministry of Environment and Forests,through the National Tiger Conservation Authority.3. Make environmental education a central part of our curriculum at both the school and tertiary level. An educated and informed public awareof the immense value of natural ecosystems is a step in the right direction. The existing model curricula for environment studies is below par and hasnot achieved the expected results. The conservation fraternity was never meaningfully engaged in the process, which resulted in a rigid andover-academic approach to the subject. Implementation: The Ministry of Human Resource Development, which should be urged to appoint a coregroup of educationists and environmentalists to work together to create truly beneficial material.This is an abridged version of the recommendations. The complete text is available on www.sanctuaryasia.com

if we do not impact on the public psyche we willbe unable to tackle climate change, and concludedby underscoring the need to heed Pascal’sPrecautionary Principle, stating that more harmcould come from ignoring climate threats, than byspending time, money and energy on counteringthem. Hari Bhartia, Vice President of theConfederation of Indian Industry, asked for greatertransparency in the climate dialogue and said thatthe contribution of individuals to the problemand to the potential solution to climate changeshould not be underestimated.

Malini Mehra, Dr. Haripriya Gundimeda andSamir Menon wrapped up the session and,together with Koustabh Sharma they assuredparticipants that they would collaborate to producea document that outlined how issues surroundingecosystem services and livelihoods could be unifiedto benefit both people and parks.

Fifth Working Session – The Legal FrameworkCan conservation laws guarantee livelihoodsbased on protection of lands surrounding theProtected Area Network?

Valmik Thapar introduced Salman Khurshid,after which M. Jiwrajka explained how it was notonly possible, but imperative that local communitiesbecame the first beneficiaries of ecosystemrestoration. Salman Khurshid challengedparticipants to make the protection of ecosystemsan election issue that would tomorrow guaranteepoliticians a place in Parliament.

Muhammad Khan, Special Adviser, MoEF,believed that there was really very little differencein the objectives of those in the room and theofficial position of the MoEF. He pointed outthat even the Hon. Chief Justice of IndiaMr. Balkrishnan was concerned and had askedwhether the National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Scheme could not have guidelinessimilar to those being employed by CAMPA. Onthe Forest Rights Act, he clarified that the rights ofpeople are not secondary, but would not be at thecost of the integrity of the ecosystem. Valmik Thaparasked Salman Khurshid to help set up a greengroup in Parliament, across party lines.

A very lively open discussion ensued withAshok Kumar, WTI, suggesting that critical wildlifehabitats be acquired, irrespective of who ownedthem, rich or poor. Dr. Karanth suggested thatbudgets for the improvement of the life ofcommunities be tapped from rural developmentdepartments and not scarce wildlife funds, addingthat in the name of livelihoods, communities shouldnot become conduits for the supply of forestbiomass. Sanjeev Sanyal added that to protectwildernesses, we would need to ensure thaturbanisation itself was better planned. Several senior

The Bengal Tiger Consultation process has won cross-sectoral involvement and the MoEF is working now to insinuatebiodiversity protection into the national agenda. Public pressure will be needed to help ensure that the ecologicalimperative is endorsed by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry as intrinsicto national development.

forest officers including Digvijay Singh Khati,Uttarakhand Forest Department and SunanayanSharma (Sariska) interjected that people living insidePAs would eventually have no option but to movebecause agriculture in such circumstances wassimply not viable. Both Hemendra Kothari andDr. Gundimeda said that a basket of incentives,together with imparting skills would be necessaryto ensure that young persons became ‘employable’.The consensus of the entire group, as articulatedby Vinod Singhal, Field Director, Corbett TigerReserve, was that guaranteeing locals livelihoodsthat were positive to ecosystem regenerationwas vital for the long-term survival of wildlife.Salman Khurshid endorsed the strategy ofoffering communities living around PAs alternativelivelihoods in sync with ecosystem restoration,but asked that they be guaranteed a higherstandard of living.

Sixth Working Session – The Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests (MoEF)Reform in an era of climate change

Valmik Thapar introduced the session, bystating that one reason for the Ministry’s failureto protect natural India is that it was originallymandated to exploit, not protect, our naturalresources. Chairing the session, Dilip Kumar, IG,Forests, explained that his personal view was thatsince reform and splitting the MoEF evokes verystrong responses, it might be better to firstintroduce reform in the lower level of field workersso that their work conditions improve. VinitaRai, Former Member Secretary, AdministrativeReforms Commission, felt that after 13 years ofservice it should be possible for domain expertiseto be assigned, so that people good at wildlifeadministration and protection were able tocontinue serving the country in that field. She

added that a very transparent process was neededthat would enable lateral appointments. Sheadvocated flatter structures of governance andfelt that the government had to embrace scientificinputs more readily and encourage diversity ofeducational backgrounds for officers. As we go topress, the Prime Minister’s Office is seriouslyconsidering reform of the MoEF.

Seventh Working Session – CompensatoryAfforestation Management and PlanningAuthority (CAMPA) Fighting climate change through the renewal andregeneration of forest lands and natural ecosystems

The session was chaired by Dilip Kumarwho reminded all present that the root cause offorest destruction was our unsustainable lifestyle.Valmik Thapar introduced the session andplaced historical issues concerning CAMPA intoperspective. M. Jivrajka briefed participants onthe legal and ground realities in the use ofCAMPA funds. He explained that the SupremeCourt had by its order dated July 10, 2009permitted the release of Rs. 5,000 crores intranches of Rs. 1,000 crores per annum,specifically for conservation and protectionactivities on a pro rata basis of 10 per cent of thecorpus amount deposited as of June 30, 2009,which amounted to just under Rs. 10,000crores. Artificial regeneration or plantations havebeen permitted, but only for very limited sitespecific schemes. The balance amount mustnecessarily be used for conservation andprotection work in national parks and sanctuaries.

The concluding session involved a wrap updiscussion to arrive at a set of recommendationsthat could be passed on to the MoEF and thePrime Minister’s Office for their consideration.Sanctuary, the Bengal Tiger Line and the Wildlife

Conservation Trust promised to place a recordof the deliberations in the pubic domain.

Evening Plenary: Education forSustainability – In an Era of ClimateChange – Kapil Sibal, Minister, HumanResource Development

This well-attended session began with afour-minute audiovisual compilation of news clipsthat graphically depicted the reality of climatechange. Dr. Erach Bharucha, BNHS, deliveredbrief comments suggesting that the HumanResource Development Ministry take a moreevolved position on environmental education. Heassured the minister that conservationists wouldbe glad to work voluntarily to hammer out ameaningful curriculum. Mark Parkinson, The ShriRam School, made a lively audiovisual presentationand assured that educationists would be happy toprepare the necessary documentation inconsultations with the ministry.

From the moment Kapil Sibal took the stage itwas clear that he was one with the audience andvice versa. He said that it was no good having anine per cent GDP growth if in the process theearth’s life support systems were compromised. Hefelt strongly that teachers had a very special role toplay. Sibal covered a vast canvas, arguing thatteaching had to be much more holistic andpromised that his government’s aim would be to“connect India’s villages in the next three years,which would lead to a leapfrog in education.” Hechallenged the room full of educationists andconservationists to come up with accurate, reliableand relevant content so that this vital nationalambition could be met. After a very interactivequestion and answer session, participants were leftwith the very welcome feeling that this was aminister they could work with. �

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