India: Ranthambhore Project Tiger

by Harsh Vardhan

Suggestions (Tourism)

Been to Ranthambhor Tiger Park?
Yes.
How was it?
On?.Problems?.?.!

Nine out of ten visitors to this park can retort,
'Ranthambhor is probably the most unfriendly park in the world.'

2. Summary

Ranthambhor Tiger Park rests on past laurels. Its future in uncertain. It suffers from lack of timely decisions. They can be : managing tourism, growth of new hotels, permitting less number of vehicles etc.

Suggestions are footed : a moratorium on new hotels, levy a fee per visitor, introduce a new model for park management, create a corpus fund, include additional destinations in tourism-product-mix, initiate audit of park and local hotels, ban film shooting, enhance human resource through training etc.

At a time the Government of Rajasthan today claims new examples having been set for better governance, Ranthambhor Tiger Park continues to sulk. The problems are of own origin. The Park has indescribable future to offer to Rajasthan a new brand-equity.

3. Eco-tourism

The Eco-tourism nomenclature needs to be properly defined :

It is a sustainable form of natural resource based tourism that focuses primarily on experiencing and learning about nature and which is ethically managed to be a low impact, non consumptive and local oriented - it should contribute to the conservation of areas visited.

The Quebec Declaration ((UNEP/WTO 2002) outlines following five objectives to this kind of tourism :

1. (Be) Nature-based product.
2. (Should be) Minimal impact management.
3. (Provide) Environmental education.
4. (Should) Contribute to conservation of the product.
5. (Should) Support the local economy.

A. PRESENT SCENARIO

1. Ranthambhor Project Tiger

Established during 1973-74 as one of the (then 9) Project Tigers in India, the 392 sq. km park has carved a niche for tiger conservation, that too in face of continuing contrasts, strange paradoxes, and strong challenges posed by the village community that surrounds the park, and to an extent by visitors - number of both pressure-groups being on the increase, ironically.

Several factors (VIP visits, overseas films etc) have additionally contributed to its popularity drawing increasing number of visitors to the park. The growth of tourism is somewhat imbalanced and unplanned and often the park management is put to blame --- largely due to inappropriate decisions.

2. Visitors

The total number of visitors to the Park was 92 lakh in 2003-04, yielding revenue of about Rs 1.65 crores. It increased to about 1.25 lakh in 2004-05, increasing the revenue to about Rs 2 crores (from entry fee, vehicle fee and driver fee). Of these, nearly 50% are overseas visitors. The number of domestic visitors is on the rise.

The park management has received an average about Rs 1-crore (+) annually as its budgetary allocation from the government. Visitor community is contributing almost 100% more annually which is deposited with the State's Finance Department and is not released to the park in the light of what it has generated through tourism.

3. Tourism Turnover

All the hotels at Sawai Madhopur are surprisingly somewhat shy to share their annual receipts. It is estimated (this author) that annual turnover (the park remains open for 9 months) of tourism at Ranthambhore should have exceeded Rs 20-crore (2004-05).

It brings to the fore the glaring fact that Ranthambhore (receiving about Rs 1-crore annually from the government) generates 20-times more revenue.

There is perceptible scope for managing this portfolio better so as to benefit (a) park management, including its personnel (b) park's biodiversity, and (c) economy of the communities that surround the park and who basically thrive upon its resources/bio-benefits.

4. Regulation

Ever since beginning, the tourism portfolio had been regulated through Department of Forest. The Department of Tourism took over this job since October 2004.

ENTRY NORMS : It is by way of (a) booking vehicles (jeeps and canter trucks), (b) issuing entry to each visitor and vehicle (entry fee, driver's fee, guide's fee and vehicles' fee), (c) allotting separate routes to vehicles (aimed at dispersal of vehicles all over the park), (d) receiving suggestions/comments from visitors.

The regulation has not gone beyond these basic features.

CEILING ON VEHICLES : The Forest Department (Management Plan) has fixed an upper limit of vehicles into the park for each safari (am and pm), each lasts for about 3-4 hrs : total 35 vehicles -- 20 jeeps and 15 canters. All of them can accommodate about 400 persons during one safari (4 persons in a jeep and about 20 in a canter). The norm is being practised by the Department as a "guideline" from the Ministry of Environment & Forest.

5. Accommodation

The number of hotels is increasing at Sawai Madhopur. Most of them are dotting the Ranthambhor Road. Some are located close by the park boundary. The Forest Department has no role to check the growth of hotel industry, nor has any mechanism to administer their functioning so as to induct better conduct for Eco-tourism.

Expansion in accommodation has caused intense pressure on the park management. The number of visitors, staying in such hotels, is at times 50% to 90 % more than the capacity of all vehicles allowed during a safari. Ugly scenes are reported (knives whipped out!) amongst visitors, hoteliers, guides, drivers, entry regulators etc often calling for police interruption --- unpleasant side of tiger conservation based eco-tourism.

If not brought under control, such activities can assume threatening propositions, even turning violent and taking the shape of a movement that usurped the Manas Project Tiger in Assam, cornered the Balaghat forest division (extension of Kanha) in Madhya Pradesh, and caused a havoc in other Project Tiger reserves.

2. SUGGESTIONS :

1. Moratorium on New Hotels

There appears to be no mechanism (with the Forest and Tourism Department) to curb growth of hotels, which are assuming a threatening proposition around Ranthambhor Tiger Park. It is time the State Government applies a moratorium on construction of new hotels within certain km (can be 10 km) radius from the Park's boundary for at least ten years to. It will have salutary effect on park's ecosystem. Such measures will be much appreciated by the local stake holders of Sawai Madhopur. Such a decision will need to come from the political leadership as its senior ranks are reportedly involved in this industry around this tiger park (the previous political party in power was no exception).

Action : Govt., of Rajasthan (at the level of Chief Minister).

2. New Authority

Experience has taught that neither the Forest nor the Tourism Department has been able to administer the Park Entry System as per expectations of the user community; each has own inherent problems which appear difficult to be ironed out. There is perceived acceptance to a new organization to chip in as its own future is co-terminus with that of the park.

The Ranthambhor Park Staff Welfare Society, chaired by the Park's Deputy Director (DFO), can be authorized to administer a set of assignments (booking of vehicles, issue of entry tickets etc). A certain percentage can be levied on daily proceeds at the entry gate, to be passed on to the Society so that it can efficiently manage its jobs by recruiting educated and better versed personnel, essentially hailing from local villages or dependants of forest employees. Training and development are possible to be injected in the present set up of the Society (preferably through private sector initiative).

Action : Department of Forest (Park Director/CWLW/ PCCF) + local agencies.

3. Corpus Fund

A Ranthambhor Corpus Fund can be set up, listing out objectives such as effective tiger conservation, better patrolling, improving future of the park, facilitating forest staff, supporting stake holders, fashioning out local souvenirs-crafts to be sold at all local points etc. A new mechanism can be devised in which each visitor shall be obliged to remit a minimum fee while paying off the hotel bill. Each hotel can be made responsible to deposit the amount in question in the Corpus Fund; if Rs 20 are levied per visitor from domestic visitors and US Dollar 1 from overseas visitor, the annual collection can be sufficient to start up welfare programmes which have been the mere talk of conservation-leaders around the park so far. One shall be welcome to make any additional contribution, in cash or kind.

The Fund can be administered by the Ranthambhor Park Welfare Society, presently headed by the Park's Deputy Director (DFO). It is expected to provide to each visitor a sense of new pride for having contributed to a noble cause.

Action : Department of Finance, of Tourism, and of Forest + local agencies.

4. More Openings

There is need to disperse the present congestion of visitors' vehicles inside the park, and to meet this significant objective, more openings (entry and exit gates) are called for in the park eg at (a) Basso, (b) Khandar etc.

A new mechanism can be introduced for visitors to ensure that not all vehicles shall enter, and exit, through the present entry point (Misra Darra). The park management will be benefited as visitors, guides, and drivers will report, on a daily basis, about remote and newly opened pockets of the park. Illegal activities in the park can be curbed through such a gallup-reporting system.

Several
parks in the country are having more than one entry point eg Kaziranga, Kanha, Nagarhole, Bandipur, Periyar, Corbett, Rajaji, Sariska etc. The Forest Department will feel better off after taking such an initiative. The Kanha Report lists that sightings of wild life improved in the tourism zone and the park gained in various ways through multi-entry system.

Action : Forest Department (Park Director/CWLW/PCCF).

5. Visitor Centres

Small in size though rich in content, Visitor Centres (not the Interpretation Centres) can be set up at each entry point. There is vast scope for such a facility, not initiated so far. They need to be operated by local village community. Facilities can be offered like (a) clean toilet at a fee (b) education about the flora and fauna of the park (photos, maps, charts, writing etc over walls), (c) a snack counter (tea can be self made, biscuits, mineral water, cold drinks etc), (d) souvenir shop to sell park literature, gift items, which as a (rude) principle should be made by local craftsmen/women, artisans etc to give back revenue to local stake holders. Ranthambhor's conservation message can be easily marketed through such centres. It can be part of the eco development programmes.

Action : Forest Department (Park Director) + stake holder local representatives.

6. Village Visits

Village visits can be made integral part of the tourism-product-mix to offer visitors a novel opportunity to experience the local culture. It can be a process to educate visitors about how local community is benefited through tourism, park-conservation etc. Such a system runs well in Royal Chitwan National Park (Nepal) and a few overseas parks (Africa). It can be devised through private sources here as well.

Some new destinations can likewise be included for visitors eg Birdwatching (nearby lakes), Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary (showing the corridor relocation programme), Kuwalji, Temples, Rameshwaram, Chambal river etc. This move will assist in lessening visitor-pressure inside the park.

Action : Forest Department (Park Director) + local guides, drivers, hoteliers.

7. Audit

Concurrent audit of the park management as also of the service providers (prominently the local hotels) needs to be initiated through a well devised mechanism. It will assist the park management overcome certain handicaps and put the hotels under public scrutiny enabling them to raise the level of their services to hopefully meet the objectives of Eco-tourism. Ranthambhor can become a role model.

Action : Forest Department (Park Director/CWLW/PCCF) + NGos.

8. Participative Management

A model Park Management Committee can be set up to offer to the present management, some additional, much needed as it is, support from outside, to administer the park on lines expected by the user community, in particular (sensitive Eco-tourists). Its membership can be drawn from eg drivers, guides, hoteliers, villagers, tourism department, forest department, tour operators, crafts-men/women etc. Some outside experts can be co-opted.

The Management Committee is to be structured and made to function in a manner that it does not become shadow of the government.

Action : Forest Department (Park Director/CWLW/PCCF) + local agencies.

9. Films

There should be a moratorium introduced (for about five years), with exceptions for educational documentaries (screening the script through the Film Censor Board), on filming in the park by overseas organizations. The past films, shot in Ranthambhor (also in Kanha and Bandhavgarh), do not appear to be on record having contributed to park's, or Forest Department's, welfare. They did over-sell this park (as also Kanha and Bandhavgarh), and results are too obvious to be encountered; the films highlighted Tiger as a mega-hero and undermined the basic issues that confront the tiger conservation. The MoEF, which issues permission to such film producers, can be informed to this effect.

Action : Forest Department (Park Director/CWLW/PCCF).

10. Vehicles' Ceiling

In view of the pressure of visitors during peak season in the park, it is imperative to increase the present ceiling of 35 vehicles inside the park (each safari). Their entry will get better dispersed after the new openings to the park are effected. The issue whether jeep be permitted or only canter, which remains hanging fire, should necessarily be addressed once for ever; both types of vehicles can ply in the park offering varying degree of facilities.

The entry system (as suggested above) can be so modeled that the park will not face pressure of all vehicles in one area, and will also deflect the traffic, on a daily basis, to villages, Birding spots, Sawai Mansingh Snctuary etc. Certain areas of the park can be offered for full-day-long visits within the same entry fee structure (as in Kanha and Bandhavgarh).

Action : Forest Department (Park Director/CWLW/PCCF) + local agencies.


11. HR Development

Guides, Drivers, Forest Guards, Tourism facilitators (those who issue tickets), Souvenir sellers, Hotel workers and operators etc constitute the core strength of Ranthambhor Project Tiger. They have mushroomed in self-styled manner, and ironically remained bereft of adequate training.

There is need to design appropriate courses to such groups to enable them contribute their best towards improving the lot of tigers here. The private sector agencies have a role to play with appropriate tie up with forest and tourism authorities. Annual workshops and in-field sessions are possible to be organized.

12. Sariska A Lesson

It is about one year (2005) since Sariska Project Tiger has been declared as being shorn of its tiger population.

The first obvious impact is on the Sariska Palace Resort, located within the park. One time pride property and claiming high turnover with little marketing initiative, the palace resort today appears to be crest fallen. Half of its rooms are available on 'lease' at a song, as number of tourists to Sariska has touched a low.

Tiger causing setbacks!

Ranthambhor is ironically living on its past laurels and authorities, so also private agencies, are unmindful of the dark future it awaits if the corrective measures are not initiated soon. It shall go the Sariska way --- ungulates and forest shall thrive even at that stage but the hoteliers shall have to wind up their present show! It is the private sector that needs to take the initiative to which the government is unlikely to resist.

For whom the bell tolls? It tolls for 'three.'


*Harsh Vardhan
Hony. Secretary, TWSI
C 158A, Dayanand Marg, Tilak Nagar
Jaipur 302 004
Tel : (0141) 2621472 and 2624444
Fax : (0141) 2621129
Web: www.birdfair.org

Source: Harsh Vardhan
Author: Harsh Vardhan

Link: Focus on tribals to save tigers
Link: From a Childhood Ambition Comes a Quest to Save the Tiger
Link: Poaching pictures
Link: Save the Tiger Fund
Link: Smuggling is major factor


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