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The most recent celebrity who has lent his name for the cause of saving the tiger is Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Having met Jairam Ramesh in New York this September at the reception of the Coalition of Rainforest Nations, ... Full story

The killing of elephants on railway tracks in West Bengal made headlines recently. On 22nd September, seven elephants including one calf were mowed down by a Guwahati bound goods train near Moraghat level crossing around midnight. The railway track in question passes through an elephant corridor which, according ... Full story

The recently concluded The Future of the Bengal Tiger, a conference hosted by the Sanctuary Asia, brought together over 150 delegates, speakers and other participants from all walks of life. Held on 6th August 2010 at the Teen Murti House auditorium, the participants were a blend of wildlife conservationist, researchers, media persons, bureaucrats, foresters and many school students and laypersons. Though students represented the majority, the blend of participants reflected the growing interest in tiger conservation among the general public. The conferences entailed talks by the forest department officials, military personnel, politicians, wildlife biologists and journalists. The sessions also dealt with issues like corruption, conflicting mandates among the different bureaucracies, political will towards conservation and other biological, social and political imperatives and challenges of tiger conservation in India. The entire discussion was holistically facilitated by the enchanting and forever enthusiastic Mr. Bittu Sahgal of Sanctuary Asia. The inaugural session saw introductory speeches by some key people influencing tiger conservation in India. The Hon'ble Minister for Environment & Forests Shri Jairam Ramesh, Dr. Karan Singh, former chairperson of Tiger Task Force 1972 and a staunch conservationist began the day with their thought provoking facts and key challenges. Valmik Thapar’s stimulating talk drew attention of the audience and speakers to the grave situation of tigers in India. He spoke at length about bringing reforms in the selection, recruitment, training of the Indian Forest Service officials. He expressed concern towards the precarious state of forest department, staff and stressed on the need of good cadre-building through proper training, remuneration and strengthening them with facilities and arms to improve protection of the reserves. Other speakers in this session included Meera Sanyal RBS, Hemedra Kothari and Dr. Vandana Shiva. The second session was chaired by Ms. Belinda Wright of Wildlife Protection Society of India, Mr. P. K Sen, former director Project Tiger, Ms. Prerna Bindra, the renowned wildlife journalist, and Mr. Biswasjit Mohanty of Simlipal Tiger Reserve. The session included discussions on the protection status of Tiger Reserves, threats posed by poaching and left wing extremism to tiger habitats. Mr. Sen shed light on the inter-departmental conflicts between Indian Forest Service and Indian Administrative Service which is hampering tiger conservation presently. He recalled several instances when forested lands were mindlessly diverted to development projects and other activities by the revenue department that has led to the reduction of forest wealth in India. Ms. Bindra spoke about the rising wildlife crime and vulnerability of the protected areas to different kinds of criminal activities such as Naxalism, underworld, drugs and wildlife trade. The interactive session following the discussions was dominated by the questions raised by the students of various schools in the NCR. The students echoed their sentiments by asking the experts about what they can do to save tigers in India. Full story