Why in news?

Conservationist organizations across India have called for the withdrawal of what they term the "illegal" relocation of villagers from tiger reserves, ordered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

A notification issued on June 19, 2024, identified 89,808 families from 848 villages for relocation. The NTCA directed state authorities to prioritize relocating residents from core areas of tiger reserves, emphasizing time-bound action plans for the process. Conservationists oppose this directive, arguing it threatens the rights of forest-dwelling communities.

What’s in today’s article?

• National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)
• News Summary

National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)

• About
  • It has been constituted in 2006 under the provisions of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The authority consists of:
    • Minister in charge of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (as Chairperson),
    • Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment and Forests (as Vice-Chairperson),
    • three members of Parliament, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests and other members.
• Nodal Ministry - Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC)
• Objectives
  • Providing statutory authority to Project Tiger so that compliance of its directives become legal.
  • Fostering accountability of Center-State in management of Tiger Reserves, by providing a basis for MoU with States within our federal structure.
  • Providing for an oversight by Parliament.
  • Addressing livelihood interests of local people in areas surrounding Tiger Reserves.
• Powers and functions
  • to approve the tiger conservation plan prepared by the State Government
  • evaluate and assess various aspects of sustainable ecology and disallow any ecologically unsustainable land use within the tiger reserves
  • lay down normative standards for tourism activities and guidelines for project tiger from time to time for tiger conservation in the buffer and core area
  • ensure that the tiger reserves and relevant areas are not diverted for ecologically unsustainable uses, except in public interest and with the approval of the National Board for Wild Life and on the advice of the Tiger Conservation Authority

News Summary:

• Directive issued by NTCA
  • NTCA recently issued a directive to 19 states, urging them to prioritize the relocation of villagers from core tiger zones, drawing strong opposition from conservationist groups and activists.
  • In a letter, the NTCA highlighted that 591 villages, comprising 64,801 families, still reside in core tiger areas, and the slow progress of relocation raises concerns for tiger conservation.
  • Similar letters were sent to other states, with Karnataka having already relocated 1,175 families from 81 villages since 1973.
• Tiger reserves and core zone
  • A Tiger Reserve consists of:
    • a ‘Core’ or ‘Critical Tiger Habitat’, which is to be managed as an inviolate area, and
    • a ‘Buffer’ or Peripheral area, which may be accorded a lesser degree of habitat protection.
  • Core zones in tiger reserves are designated areas where human activities, such as hunting and forest produce collection, are prohibited, while buffer zones have regulated restrictions.
  • There are 53 tiger reserves in India across 19 states with 848 villages in the core zone, of which 257 villages have been relocated since Project Tiger began.
    • The Wildlife Act mandates core zones to be "inviolate" through voluntary relocation on agreed terms.
• Concerns raised by wildlife activists
  • The activists claim that the residents mostly belong to the Adivasi and other forest-dwelling communities.
  • They are entitled to live and use the forest produce for their livelihood as enshrined in the Forest rights Act, 2006 [FRA] as well as The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 [WLPA]. 
  • They stated that the displacement from 19 tiger states could be the largest such exercise ever conducted across the world touted as an objective for the conservation of wildlife.
  • They warned that such a move would result in conflicts between state authorities and the STs and other traditional forest dwellers (OTFDS) living within the tiger reserves.
  • This step exposes these communities to vulnerabilities such as economic and social insecurities, destitution and disruption of their eco-cultural fabric.
  • They point out that provisions under WLPA prohibits the apex tiger authority to issue any directives that interfere with the rights of local people, especially the Scheduled Tribes. 
  • It also highlighted that the decision also violates the conservation efforts towards biodiversity and wildlife which these communities depend on for their sustenance.