India's top court bans tourism in tiger parks
Source: Agencies |
July 25, 2012, Wednesday
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INDIA'S top court banned tourism in tiger reserves across the country yesterday in a ruling that aims to protect the endangered big cats but may disrupt travel plans for droves of tourists who booked stays at the many hotels that have sprung up inside the forests.
The Supreme Court also announced stiff penalties on Indian states that have not created buffer zones around tiger habitats, said Wasim Kadri, a lawyer with the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
The court fined six states for failing to declare buffer zones around tiger reserve forests and gave officials three weeks to act on its orders.
India is home to more than half of the world's estimated 3,200 tigers, with most of them living in wildlife reserves set up since the 1970s. Hundreds of hotels and shops operate inside the tiger reserves to cater to wildlife-watching tourists.
The court said the ban was temporary, pending its final ruling on a case filed by a wildlife activist demanding that all commercial activity be banned from the core area of the reserve forests where the tigers live. Conservationist Ajay Dube had complained to the court that authorities in several states had allowed the construction of hotels, wildlife resorts and shops in the core areas of the forest reserves.
The ban on tourism in the "core" tiger habitat areas of the reserves set off protests from tour and travel operators who say stopping tourism will encourage illegal wildlife trafficking as poachers will not be hindered by the presence of tourists.
The Supreme Court also announced stiff penalties on Indian states that have not created buffer zones around tiger habitats, said Wasim Kadri, a lawyer with the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
The court fined six states for failing to declare buffer zones around tiger reserve forests and gave officials three weeks to act on its orders.
India is home to more than half of the world's estimated 3,200 tigers, with most of them living in wildlife reserves set up since the 1970s. Hundreds of hotels and shops operate inside the tiger reserves to cater to wildlife-watching tourists.
The court said the ban was temporary, pending its final ruling on a case filed by a wildlife activist demanding that all commercial activity be banned from the core area of the reserve forests where the tigers live. Conservationist Ajay Dube had complained to the court that authorities in several states had allowed the construction of hotels, wildlife resorts and shops in the core areas of the forest reserves.
The ban on tourism in the "core" tiger habitat areas of the reserves set off protests from tour and travel operators who say stopping tourism will encourage illegal wildlife trafficking as poachers will not be hindered by the presence of tourists.
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