Conservation & Us

Social Conflicts

Casteism, Gender Violence, Female Infanticide, Untouchability, Alcoholism are some of the social banes addressed at BCRTI.

Local Man-Official Conflict

Instead of one comprehensive united law we have numerous contradicting ones. To name a few: Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA), 1972; Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Indian Fisheries Act, 1897 and Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. The FRA is in divergence with the WLPA and that’s just the beginning of a confused and ineffective management system where the forest department is in dangerous conflict not only with itself but also with the people of India. This aggressive stance of the official aggravates the relationship between the locals and officials. The new Eco-Sensitive Zone if implemented correctly, could be hugely beneficial, however it is doing more damage than good as it is paving the way forward to corruption, threats and blackmail of the local people living in and around forested areas.

Man-Animal Conflict

The local man-Official Conflict has had severe repurcussions. One of the fall outs has been displaced anger against animals. We at BCRTI study the reasons and find and implement solutions in the field. Since Adam & Eve man has, having established his dominance, lived comfortably with animals.  It is only after the introdcution of exclusionary forest and buffer managemet policies by the British, and later bu independent India, that we see a spike in the man-animal conflict. This needs urgent remedy. We at BCRTI devote much of our time and energy to this conflict.

Project Pardus

When large anilams like elephants leave the forests and venture into buffer lands outside the forests, the villagers scream their ire. Many show their discontent by firing nails and ball bearings into these poor animals. Others electrocute them. Its only the leopard that moves freely within these conflict zones as a firm reminder to all players in the field of conservation that we need to accept wildlife as an integral part and parcel of humanity. At BCRTI we believe that at the same time, we should also accept humanity as an integral part of managing our forests and protected areas. Only by enforcing the villagers and making them believe they belong to the forest and the forest belong to them, will a healthy symbiosis prevail in the buffers. We are using the leopard as a flagship study to lead the way forward in this research.

The leopard, a family of big cats, was once known as an elusive feline that lingered only in the shadows, on penumbras of light, hunting mainly in the night. It’s for this reason that it never got its share of respect in the family of cats, which it truly deserved. Unlike the tiger that has been pushed back by humanity, the leopard has thrived on it. From the fringes of Bangalore, in the rocky outcrops of Ramnagar and Channapatna, through the corridor that connects Bannerghata to the Cauvery Wildlife Division, in buffer zones and in the deepest of forests thrives this amazing animal. It used to be difficult to spot but now it has become brazen and can be spotted with ease if one knows what he/she is looking for. It thrives of its natural prey in the jungles and off cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, chicken, rodents, porcupines and the odd human baby plucked from the clutches of an ever expanding mankind. The leopards’ adaptability and growing presence around human settlements, added to the man animal conflict, a dimension that could not be ignored. It was too close for comfort. Once we understood the ways of the bush, we at The Buffer Conflict Resolution Trust of India (BCRTI) establish one of our flagship projects known as ‘Project Pardus’; a project that aims to understand the leopard and the issues it faces.

Project Pardus studies the movement of leopards in both, the tourist zones inside the park and in the buffer zones on the periphery of the park. With exclusionary management policies in place that restrict free movement of people within so called ‘core zones’, making it difficult for more people to study animals with ease. In Nagarhole, one can only move within the 10-15% allowed for tourism within a certain time frame. Understanding that this restricts the footfall required to study leopard behavior within protected areas, we have established a flow of information between tourists on safari that allows pictures and information to be shared. We at BCRTI are limited with what we can do in the park, so we have closely monitored 12 different resident leopards and studied their behavior, individual characteristics, territories and whether they overlap into the buffer zones. We also organize photo competitions with prizes given by the trust and other such schemes to help us monitor photographically the presence of these individual cats within the parks.

Working outside the park is easier. In buffer areas, the terrain is ideal for a leopard. The scrub, bushy undergrowth and sugarcane fields provide the perfect abode for these cats. Out here, where no tiger dares to lurk, they are on top of the food chain. We regularly patrol the buffer at night with frequent drives to spot leopards and other animals in the area. We help push this spillover of wildlife, such as leopards, elephants, deer and boar, back into the park and away from mans crops. Over the past three decades, we have been in constant dialogue with the local people. Through the trust, we have worked hard to explain the importance of wildlife and how it can help the area and its economic growth. Creating an emotional connect was important and we featured many wildlife related movies and video presentations. The visual impact was immense. We also used locals to guide guests of BCRTI on walks and drives though the buffer.

With mutual respect and bonhomie working close together, we worked with the people and together we tried to understand the ways of the leopard as it moves amidst us. BCRTI set up multiple camera traps in revenue and private land bordering the forest that helped monitor patterns and predict movement in order to reduce the chance of an attack on livestock. Walking along these paths, searching for pugmarks and snares has brought us face to face with the leopard many a times.

After years of working closely with the people, Project Pardus identified and studied two resident leopards. One of them was a big male who we called Mr. Pardus and the project successfully documented the transition of how, from a dominant male in the forest, he became a village leopard who lurked in the cane. He lured a female out with him and together they share the land with man. Co-existence with humanity is crucial for their survival and the only way to co-exist is for people who know and respect these animals to create dialogue between the forest officials and the locals and help these locals understand the importance of wildlife. This intricate relationship between the wildlife, officials and the locals is the key to success and at BCRTI we work tirelessly to ensure harmony in all area.

Our love for the animal and the local people is infectious and has helped not just guests and participants of our conservation program understand this animal better, but have also encouraged the people of the area to participate in helping the leopard.