BENGALURU: With criticism building on the tiger census data, scientists call upon the government to be more open and transparent and make available the raw tiger data for review and monitoring of census methods. Noted tiger scientist and Director, Centre for Wildlife Studies, Dr Ullas Karanth, says the government has been stonewalling the issue and has not involved any peer scientific review as also honest ecological auditing.
According to wildlife scientists and experts, India’s tiger census method does not bode well for the country’s tiger success story due to lack of transparency on data and analysis.
In July, the government came out with its data (collated and analyzed by Wildlife Institute of India) and said the tiger population has shown a whopping rise of 33 per cent in the last four years. The tiger numbers touched 2,967 with Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka taking the lead with more than 500 tigers each. If the rise in tiger population was 21 per cent during 2006-10, it was 30 per cent during 2010-14.
However, government’s euphoria on tiger data has not cut much ice with scientists. Publicly funded tiger survey data and analyses, based on which government’s results rest, have been hidden from any peer review by qualified scientists, says Dr Ullas Karanth.
Ullas Karanth adds, “I have scientifically critiqued India’s current official tiger monitoring methods since 2005 when they were introduced, after earlier ‘Pugmark Census’ was abandoned following scientific critiques and the Sariska tiger extinction debacle. The official reaction has been to claim that whatever we have recommended is already in place or that current tiger survey methods used by the government are superior to what has been suggested.”
Through the years, this government’s monopoly over tiger research monitoring has become nearly total, he adds. “Many scientific critiques of the methodology published have not been responded formally by Ministry if Environment and Forests officials/scientists, defying normal scientific practice. I hope the government, Global Tiger Initiative and other agencies will take action which will lead to more honest ecological audits of India’s massive tiger conservation efforts funded by taxpayers,” he says.
Another scientist, preferring anonymity with his research project on in one of India’s 50 tiger reserves says, “Lets us crown our tiger success story with openness and sharing of data with non-government organizations and universities. With more tiger reserves being added now, there is need for transparency and partnership in the coming days.”
Further, Nature, a prestigious scientific journal has stated in its editorial that the Indian government should encourage research and monitoring by non-governmental scientists.
Verification is essential to knowing whether conservation measures are working. It could also allow scientists to project population trends over time, and estimate birth and death rates. These measures would help officials in the forest department to assess populations more accurately and act quickly if they foresee a risk of local extinction, the journal outlines.