Tiger Reserves are not just all about tigers and wildlife conservation, but have immense economic values as well. A recent study conducted by the Centre for Ecological Services Management in Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), with support from National Tiger Conservation Authority of India has highlighted economic, social, cultural and spiritual benefits offered by tiger reserves to common man. This includes clean drinking water, employment opportunities, mitigation of climate change amongst others.
The study was conducted in six tiger reserves in India — Corbett, Kanha, Kaziranga, Periyar, Ranthambore and Sundarbans, symbolising different landscapes in the country.
According to Dr Madhu Verma from IIFM, who led the study team, forests in the tiger reserves are potential sources of clean drinking water. It has been found that nearly 300 rivers originate from 48 tiger reserves across the country. Most of them are perennial and its water pure as the forest floor of the reserves serve to filter the impurities while retaining the minerals.
Further, reserves as Sunderban and Kanha are potential sources of fishery, undertaken by the local communities. In Sunderban for instance the elaborate root system of mangroves acts as nurseries for juvenile fish.
The forests are also rich storehouses of gene pools of rare flora, which have immense medicinal properties. “They are important sources of many medicines and drugs on which not only local communities but also large pharmaceutical companies depend”, says the study.
As per the study, the tiger reserves generate more than 25 lakh man-days in terms of employment. The monetary values of benefits emanating from selected tiger reserves range from `830 to 1,760 crore every year. In terms of unit area, this translates into `50,000 to `190,000 per hectare annually. In the context of money spent on management of these tiger reserves, every rupee spent on management costs leads to benefits worth `200 to `530 in these tiger reserves.
“The tiger reserves also help in climate mitigation”, pointed out Dr Verma. Trees as mangroves not only help in carbon sequestration but also as carbon reserves. The forests are thus answers to global warming and erratic weather conditions. Mangroves for instance in Sunderban act as eco barricades against tidal storms and tsunamis, she added.
The study pointed out that tiger reserves are also important for the revival of other endangered species, e.g. Hard Ground Barasingha in Kanha. This is an offshoot of what tiger conservation. In the process, other endangered species have been revived which have their own intrinsic value in avoiding or mitigating future ecological disasters.
