Poachers turn Conservationists in SUNDERBANS

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080229-ecotourism-video-ap.html
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This video cites the example of couple of poachers, in west bengal, Kolkata, who have given up the unethical and risky business of poaching wild animals in Sunderbans tiger reserve and have chosen to live an ethical and a satisfying livelihood as naturalists instead.

The Tiger reserve and the tourists benefit from the detailed knowledge of these poacher turned naturalists, resulting in a win-win situation for the wildlife, reserve and tourists.

As of now, these are one-off cases where the impoverished individuals have had a change of heart and have resorted to a legal occupation instead of illegal ways to earn money through tiger trade. But these select few good samaritans also serve as an excellent role model, an opportunity for the Govt., where they can identify poachers and urge them to give up poaching, by promising them a sustainable and a civil life as a park guide or naturalist in the same reserve/ forest.

The poachers' expertise in animal trapping and their knowledge of the topography can also be utilized in conservation exercises.

They don't say it for nothing...Where there is a will, there is a way.

India to spend $13 million to protect tigers...Govt. wakes up FINALLY!!!

The Indian government plans to spend more than $13 million establishing a special ranger force to protect the country's endangered tigers, following pressure from international conservationists to save the Great Indian Tiger from extinction.

The funding proposed on Friday during the union budget session by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram follows the announcement just weeks ago of a $153 million program to create new tiger reserves, underscoring renewed efforts by India's government to protect the big cats.

New estimates suggest India's wild tiger population has dropped from nearly 3,600 five years ago to about 1,411, the government-run Tiger Project said last month.

"The number 1,411 should ring the alarm bells ... The tiger is under grave threat," Chidambaram told Parliament during his budget presentation for 2008-2009.

Chidambaram said the National Tiger Conservation Authority would be granted about $13.15 million to "raise, arm and deploy" a Tiger Protection Force. While the budget is just a proposal at this stage, Parliament is widely expected to pass it without opposition later this month.

Protection from poachers
Conservationists welcomed the government's proposal, saying a new force would need to be specially trained and armed to protect tigers from poachers.

"They are finally addressing a very important problem — poaching," Belinda Wright, director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, said Saturday. "I would imagine that much of the existing system would be improved by the injection of the funds."

The Tiger Project plans to create eight new reserves to protect the tigers, covering an area of more than 11,900 square miles at a cost about $153 million. Private groups will contribute extra funding.

Some 250 villages, or an estimated 200,000 people, will be relocated under the plan. The government has promised each relocated family about $25,600.

The population of tigers in Asia is estimated at around 3,500 today compared to nearly 5,000 in 1997, according to Wright.

Unless the government drastically improves enforcement steps against poachers and illegal wildlife traders, the number of tigers will continue to dwindle, Wright said.