Outsiders at home

From coexistence to a conservation choice. The lush forests of Biligere Ranganatha Temple (BRT) sanctuary of southern Karnataka, recently given the status of a tiger reserve (in-principle), has a poignant dilemma at hand: whom will the forest nurture, the tigers or the Soligas (tribals of the region)?

Ever since the Centre approved the state's proposal to turn the park into a tiger reserve in September, the 1500-odd Soliga families have been living with the insecurity that they will any day be urged to leave the core area and be relocated outside the forest. The proposal received a further boost, with the tiger census this year giving clear indications of a "healthy presence". In fact, the estimation has revealed 16 direct sightings.

The forest department is determined that the forests are made inviolate. Relocation from the core area will be a voluntary option, but the department cites success stories like Bhadra where ungulate and, in turn, tiger population had increased considerably after the relocation of tribals, to press its case.

"We are not planning to drive anyone out. We will be taking their consent for any relocation and the department is offering a good package of Rs 10 lakh. They will not be relocated to distant places, only to fringe areas. We don't see why concerns should arise," says principal chief conservator of forests B K Singh.

Power and water lines in the park will have to be removed and those who choose to stay back will face problems in the days to come, says Singh. School and healthcare facilities will become much more inaccessible once the tiger reserve is notified.

According to Singh, the rights of around 1,100 families have been recognized as per the Forest Rights Act; the remaining are in the process.

The rollout, however, does not appear to be all that simple. There are as many as 22 podus (tribal colonies) in the core area of this 540sqkm sanctuary and the life of the Soligas has been intrinsically linked to the ways of the forest for centuries.

There are around 40,000 Soligas in the Chamrajnagar district of southern Karnataka. As many as 42 of the podus are in the fringe areas of BRT forest. Before the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 came into force, they were practising shifting cultivation and collecting non-timber forest produce (NTFP) such as fruits, honey, lichen, soap berry and others. However, since the act was implemented two years later, their right over the produce was gradually curbed. And in 2004, NTFP collection was completely banned.

"Even with the last deputy conservator of forests, we argued and told them how closely our lives are linked to the collection of non-timber produce. We showed him documents from Sunabeda sanctuary in Orissa were the tribals' rights to collect such produce were restored. The DCF temporarily allowed us to collect honey and broomstick. We also submitted a petition to Rahul Gandhi when he came here. But now, we have a more serious problem at hand," says Madegowda C of the Jilla Budakattu Girijana Abhivruddi Sangha.

As far as the gritty Soligas are concerned, they will not evacuate the core area of the forest, irrespective of the compensation offered. While it is apparent that their lifestyles have become modernized and one can no longer expect to see them in tribal clothes, they claim their lives are still entwined with the forest.

"I will not go out, no matter what," says Hanumegowda, a senior Soliga leader who is now a coffee planter. His wife, Pangamma cuts in, "Tell them we will not move even if they give us Rs 50 lakh."

Many tribal leaders also feel that the forest department is able to do its job only with Soliga help. Since they know the forest better and understand animal behaviour, they have been helping the skeletal department staff patrol the area.

"Tribal knowledge says there are at the most 15 to 20 tigers and not 34 tigers as the staff has estimated. Many of us work as watchers for the forest department," says Soliga leader J Bommaiah. "What trouble are we giving to the forest? If they have to relocate us, they have to relocate Lord Biligere himself, who had married a Soliga girl, Kusumale."

Adds Chari Madegowda, a senior leader of the podus: "We have been living with the animals for all these years. They sleep on that side and we on this side. Have we given trouble to each other? We eat fruits and tubers from the forest on a daily basis. If we are taken out, we will be like fish out of water."

Other tribals have a different take. They feel it will be easier for poachers to strike once the Soligas are moved out and the zone is declared a tiger reserve. "Soligas were like wild monkeys. You could not differentiate between them and the wild animals. Even today, tourism puts much more pressure on the ecosystem here than us," says Achugegowda. "The forest department staff are scared of poachers. It is we who have been protecting the forests."

The forest animals, indeed, are worshipped, points out Madegowda. "We worship Huliveerappa, the tiger god. Many clans worship other animals. We have around 487 sacred sites inside the forest where we worship. We have a very deep emotional and cultural relationship with the forest that cannot be overlooked," he says.

Member of the Karnataka State Wildlife Board and a researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Society-India, Sanjay Gubbi, feels a middle ground needs to be struck. "If a sanctuary is declared a tiger reserve, it does not mean people will be forcibly relocated. But if a solution is worked out and accepted by forest dwelling communities, that would benefit both people and tigers," he says.


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