India’s tiger population which was originally over a lakh has severely dropped in the last hundred years. Only about thousand tigers exist currently. Being India’s National animal there is wide spread cry to protect the species whose fate is quite uncertain. Illegal poaching, habitat destruction and killing tigers for personal interest are key factors behind the decline.
Population of tiger – the key endogenous variable and its variation:
The variation in tiger population over the past century or further beyond, typifies the current problem. It is the key endogenous variable that is being affected in the system which in turn has forced the Government to take measures to regulate its causative factors. Hence came the ban on hunting tigers in 1970 and the subsequent launch of Project Tiger in 1973-74, a Government initiative, that aimed at tiger conservation in order to maintain a viable population in the country.
The 1972 tiger census increased the Government’s concerns as it showed that only 1827 tigers remained alive. The situation improved with Project Tiger and by 1989, the numbers increased to over 4000. Over the next decade the population dropped to an average 3600 owing to illegal poaching, habit destruction for land use and consequent depletion in prey base. These factors were supposedly beyond boundaries of the Government’s mental model behind Project Tiger. The negative trend continued and by 2008 the population fell to a mere 1411. But the recent 2011 tiger census showed an addition of 295 tigers to previous results thus signifying the intensifications in tiger conservation. Currently there are 1706 tigers alive.
So a year versus population graph will show a negative slope characterizing depletion in tiger population up to the 1970s, followed by a positive slope characterizing significant improvements owing to Project Tiger up to 1989 and then a pothole between 1990 and 2011 characterizing the negative impacts and subsequent efforts to intensify conservation efforts.
Systems view of the problem:
From a systems perspective, tiger population in India has several important variables that are affecting it. They take separate feedback loops that are commonly influenced by the Government’s policy. The variables include
· Illegal tiger poaching
· Revenge killings and killing for personal safety
· Destruction of habitat and subsequent prey depletion
· Research on tiger habits and habitat
Explanation of feedback loops involving these variables:
Tigers have been illegally poached mainly for their body parts. These are used for their medicinal value in Chinese medicines and hence they have a good price in the illegal trade market. So the locals with their indigenous knowledge are encouraged by foreign traders to hunt down tigers for good money thus affecting the population. Government policy checks this by improving the reserve guard forest security and by setting up anti-poaching units.
Personal safety and revenge killings are another reason. Land use, agriculture and livestock farming around core tiger habitats make them stray from their territory as they are attracted towards the livestock which eventually fall prey. People resort to killing the animal in self-defense or to avenge their loss. Government policy checks this by expanding the buffer areas around the core areas to avoid tigers straying away.
Destruction of Forest habitat for land use and development in turn depletes the available prey base and thus can result in deaths due to starvation. Destruction of habitat can also increase stray tigers. Hence habitat is a common causal variable between deaths due to hunger and killings for safety or revenge.
Tiger conservation can be made more effective by a better understanding of their behavior and habitat. Research will help in demarcating areas that need to be safeguarded more or around which land use and development need to be avoided. It is an important variable that influences the feedback loops affecting the tiger population. It also supports other variables like Public and media awareness that aid tiger conservation.
Hard and soft system elements:
Hard elements of the system include tiger population, tiger density, area of tiger reserve, Government funding for conservation, poaching incidences, forest security personnel, habitat destruction in terms of area, population of prey animals, etc. Soft elements include public pressure, Government efforts, public and media awareness, research, effectiveness of conservation, etc.
Current tiger conservation measures in India have taken into account all the above factors and its benefits have been visible in the past five years.
References:
NO NO and third time NO to Chinese medicines...
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