Tooth and claw

Even as a tentative beginning is made in Sariska, tiger parts seized in Gurgaon are a reminder of the dire threat that continues to stalk India8217;s dwindling tiger population. This is the biggest seizure so far for the newly formed Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, an agency that coordinates national and international efforts 8211; those of Interpol, the CBI, and various non-governmental bodies 8212; to control the trafficking of tiger parts. Interpol estimates that the illegal trade in such wildlife products is worth some 12 billion a year, mostly to China and Tibet, which use tiger bones, teeth and claws in traditional medicinal preparations. While India has successfully exerted diplomatic pressure on China to announce a ban on the trade in parts of tigers bred in captivity, to ensure that there are no 8220;legal8221; outlets confusing the clampdown on smuggling, insufficient pressure has been applied, either externally, to directly shut black market operations down, or internally, on known poaching rings.

India has even rejected World Bank offers to fund tiger conservation, because our pockets are deep enough and our commitment and expertise formidable enough to tackle the problem ourselves. While the nation8217;s tiger population has shrunk to deeply worrying levels, Indian conservation efforts have also been ramped up in recent years 8212; but these efforts must be targeted much better.

The prime minister8217;s taskforce set up a national tiger conservation authority which brought in a sense of combined purpose rather than multiple bodies with overlapping powers and recommended drawing in the local community, and involving them in conservation efforts, alerting authorities to suspicious outsiders and patrolling the reserves. Currently, poor equipment and insufficient pay for forest guards are compromising their mission. In an environment where prices for tiger parts on the black market have reached astronomical levels, it is absolutely necessary to ensure that the incentives for those protecting the tigers are properly aligned.