Break Govt. Monopoly on Safaris to Empower Local Communities and Protect Wildlife in Karnataka

Wildlife safaris have been made the scapegoat by the Karnataka government as the forest department has failed to address the rising man-animal conflict in the state, prompting a backlash from the farming community. It is more than 40 days since the state govt. banned wildlife safaris in Nagarhole and Bandipur Tiger Reserves as a result of 4 tiger attacks in which 3 farmers died and one was seriously injured. The attacks occurred in Sargur Taluk near Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary located more than 50-65km from the safari zones of Kabini and Bandipur National Parks.

A conspiracy has been hatched against wildlife tourism as safari vehicles have been blamed for pushing wildlife out of forests into conflict with farmers. The fact is all these tiger attacks happened near Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary, where there are no safaris and vehicles to disturb the wildlife. For over 25 years the govt. and private resorts have been running safaris in Nagarhole and Bandipur without blame of such incidences, then why is it now that safaris are being targeted for these man-animal conflicts?

One of the main reasons is local communities have been excluded from the tourism boom that Kabini and Bandipur have seen over the past 15 years. The govt. run Jungle Lodges & Resorts Ltd. (JLR) has monopolized over Rs. 150 crores in safari revenue, very little of which has been shared with the local communities. Since JLR took over safari operations in 2011, thousands of local youth and villagers have been denied employment opportunities as field guides, naturalists and safari drivers preventing private resorts from employing local staff for safari and ancillary operations.

There is some opposition against new properties in Kabini for which the forest dept. has introduced several new canters and jeeps at Damankatte Safari Gate, located 30km from where the attacks have occured. This can be investigated, but why shut down other safari zones and penalize resorts that have been in existence for over 25 years with all statutory permissions and safari licences? If the Karnataka Govt. follows its own Criteria for Allotment of Safari Vehicles, it can immediately open safari operations in for those properties that meet the criteria. There are several hundred local villagers employed at these handful of properties many for whom wildlife tourism is their only source of livelihood. There is a whole community of farmers and local vendors who depend on the wildlife tourism sector as well.

With one of the highest tiger and elephant populations in India, Karnataka is facing increasing man-animal conflicts with cash crop monoculture and livestock being one of the biggest causes of this problem. Instead of banning and blaming wildlife tourism, Karnataka must help farmers by incentivizing them to shift from cash crop monoculture to reforestation through carbon finance and policy changes. Regulated tourism in protected areas reduces the biotic pressures on wildlife by providing alternate employment to local communities who’s only other alternative is farming.

 

 

Since the ban on safaris on Nov 7th, 24 tigers have been captured of which 4 cubs have already died! Karnataka is struggling to house these big cats as there are limited holding facilities which are already full and like prison cells for the big cats. In an era of rewilding, we seem to be going backwards by imprisoning an entire generation of tigers.

By putting a blanket ban on all safari zones the state government has unjustly targeted the wildlife tourism sector, hurting the local communities employed in this sector. In addition, thousands of tourists from India and abroad are being denied the opportunity to experience the nature and beauty that Karnataka has to offer.

To mitigate rising man-animal conflict, empower local communities and protect our wildlife, we request the Karnataka govt. to implement the following  

1. Adhere to the Criteria for Allotment Govt. Order. # FEE 38 FWL 2013 to limit the number of safari vehicles as per the carrying capacity outlined by NTCA and the 2012 Supreme Court Guidelines.
2. Create an equitable safari revenue model by implementing Section 5. b) of the Karnataka Wilderness Tourism Policy 2004 that will allow local communities to be stakeholders in the safari revenue model
3. Introduce low-emission eco-friendly safari jeeps with better noise and air pollution standards to reduce disturbance to wildlife and forest
4. Create a 300-acre holding facility between Kabini and Bandipur that can house captured/injured tigers and wildlife that will be in their natural environment within large enclosures, instead of overflowing prison cells located far off near Mysore and Bangalore.
5. Incentivize farmers in wildlife areas to shift from cash crop monoculture to agro-forestry and reforestation through policy changes and carbon finance.