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Introduction

Palamau Tiger Reserve was notified in 1974. Having a well laid out tradition of wildlife management, the reserve was among the first lot when the ‘Project Tiger’ was launched in India. It covers an area of 1129.93 sqkm in the district of Latehar, Jharkhand. It has a core/ critical tiger habitat of 414.08 sqkm and a buffer area of 715.85 sqkm. It forms part of Greater Central Indian Tiger Landscape that includes Sanjay Dubri TR (MP), Bandhavgarh TR (MP), Badalkhol WLS (Chhattisgrh), Achanakmar TR (Chhattisgarh) and Kanha TR (MP).

The Sal forests of Palamau have a management history that dates back to 1864. It is a pristine forest that grows on the Plateau of Chota Nagpur which is regarded as the oldest hill formation in India of Pre Cambrian time (>600 Million years), even older than Aravallis. The reserve has 191 villages in and around its area out of which 8 are located in the Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH). The topography is largely plain with southern part rises into rounded hills. Since 1994, the reserve has had a spate of Naxal activity resulting into neglect and deterioration of wildlife management. The constraints are severe and limitation of access to large parts has brought a decline and local extinction of some small mammals which are hunted by locals for meat. Interactions were held with the CRPF personnel and other stakeholders in order to understand their point of view towards wildlife conservation and local threats to forest/wildlife conservation.

Management Strengths:

Large and expansive forest area (1144 km²) with a rich floral and faunal biodiversity. Connectivity with adjoining forest blocks within and outside the state, for example, Chhatisgarh (Guru Ghasidas National Park) and Madhya Pradesh in the west, Odisha and Singhbhum Forests in the south, and the Gautam Buddha Sanctuary, Hazaribagh Sanctuary, Kodarma Sanctuary and Lawalong Sanctuary in the east. The TR has a comprehensive and relevant TCP, duly approved by the NTCA.
It is home to more than 800 different species of plant including rare species such as Begonia picta, Cassytha filiformis, Chenopodium murale, Clematis gouriana and Drosera burmannii. It is also home to many endangered species of fauna including the Odonata.
The area of the tiger reserve is compact, with a good tiger habitat. The tree cover is intact with over 75% categorized as Very Dense Forests and 25% as Moderately Dense Forests. The scenic beauty of the tiger reserve has immense potential to attract visitors.
The Field Director has unified control of the core and the buffer of the tiger reserve.
It is the source of origin of the Burha River, a major tributary of the North Koel River, and the water availability is well distributed and mostly perennial.
The newly recruited frontline staff, being young, can be trained in field craft and protection.
In view of the above, small but focused actions can contribute towards improving the status of the tiger and other wildlife.
Attention is being given to increasing the area under grasslands, under the expert guidance of Dr. Gajanan Muratkar from Maharashtra.
There is a relatively low level of human–wildlife conflict in spite of a good population of elephants.
Though the human presence in the core and the fringe areas is high at present, around 24 villages out of 34 are willing to get rehabilitated. This would help in creating a large inviolate area and help in reducing the biotic interference to a great extent.
Historically the Betla area has been a tourist attraction and continues to be so, along with newer attractions like the Lodh Waterfalls, Maromar Camp, Mirchaiya Waterfalls, Netarhat Hill Station and Palamau Fort, which has resulted in opening up of eco-tourism possibilities with the engagement of the local eco-development committees. Palamau Fort was the seat of the Chero Kings, including King Medini Ray (Rai), and thus has immense cultural value.
Many 11 kW electrical lines have been covered with aerial bundled cables across the area of the tiger reserve at the expense of the power supply department.
The funding support from the state government is fairly good.
The extent affected by left-wing extremism has reduced (almost 15%), and consequently the area available for executing protection and habitat improvement measures has increased especially in view of the good network of fair weather roads in the interiors.
The pucca watch towers have the potential to act as very good anti-poaching camps with a little modification. 92 such structures have been already identified, and the process of modification has been initiated.

Management Weaknesses:

The increasing extent of invasive alien species like Parthenium and Lantana is affecting the regeneration of the local species and thus the browse availability for the herbivores.
The virtual absence of the sambar in the tiger reserve is a cause of concern. The chital and gaur populations outside Betla Range are also deficient.
Linear intrusions in the form of a state highway and a railway line pose dangers to the wild animals and also lead to fragmentation.
The vacancies in the posts of Range Forest Officers (only 3/8 filled) and Assistant Conservators of Forest (all three posts vacant), Foresters (only 4/29 filled) and Forest Guards (only 113/175 filled) are a serious cause of concern.
The frontline staff as well as the officers are not trained in wildlife management except for some exposure during the forestry induction training or a few exposure visits.
Only about 10 watch towers are being used as makeshift anti-poaching camps, thus impacting the staff presence in the interior and affecting the effective use of M-StriPES.
Very few EDC’s are functioning well except for those handling tourism activities and stray livelihood activities.
The grasslands are sparsely distributed and hardly cover about 1000 ha.
The zone of influence has about 200 villages and impacts the habitat through NTFP collection, firewood and small timber collection, grazing leading to spread of fires, weed infestation and poaching of small animals.
The rehabilitation of villages from the core, though at advanced stages of planning, has not started at least as far as two villages are concerned. As many other Villages are willing, the success of this rehabilitation will spur the others on to follow suit.
The in-house veterinary capability, animal rescue and rehabilitation facilities and protocols continue to be inadequate.
LWE is still prevalent in some areas, putting constraints on the access available to the field staff.
The internal revenue earning capacity through gate collections or CSR funding is very low.

Immediate Actionable Points:

There are 34 villages in the core area and around 200 villages in the zone of influence of PTR, causing anthropogenic disturbances in the reserve. Urgent steps must be taken for speeding up the process of voluntary rehabilitation of the 34 villages from the core area in a time-bound manner.
There is an urgent need to strengthen the security measures in PTR. At present, only 10 out of 92 watch towers are being used by the patrolling staff. Only about 65% of the area of the reserve is covered by the wireless network. A protection audit should be conducted to reassess the need for patrolling camps and the requirement of additional wireless towers and hand held/stationary sets. M-StriPES needs to be used effectively and extensively.
The core and buffer of the PTR have been extensively invaded by invasive alien species such as Lantana camara and Parthenium species. The grassland area in the PTR is only around 1000 ha. A detailed 5-year plan for the eradication of invasive alien species and grassland management should be prepared, implemented and monitored. The capacity of the staff should also be developed for the management of the grasslands.
The Wildlife Recovery Plan being prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India should be completed urgently so that the recommendations therein for the restocking of the chital and sambar populations and the reintroduction of the tiger can be implemented on priority.
Highways and rail lines passing through the core and buffer of the PTR are a serious concern for the conservation of wildlife. The traffic volume in and around the PTR is estimated to increase in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to commission a study to identify the critical stretches for long-term mitigation and retrofitting measures to keep the landscape permeable and connected, allowing safe wildlife movements.
The inadequacy of the staff continues to remain a major management problem for PTR. Steps necessary to fill the existing vacancies should be taken. Redeployment of frontline staff as well as ACFs and RFOs from adjoining territorial divisions should also be done if the herbivore and carnivore populations have to be restocked. It needs to be noted that PTR was amongst the first nine tiger reserves to be notified when Project Tiger was launched.
The newly recruited frontline staff should be urgently trained in special wildlife conservation courses. The Training Need Assessment (TNA) of the key stakeholders should be conducted periodically to set learning objectives for future training courses and preparation of the Annual Training Plan.
The current pandemic has brought wider recognition of the problems posed by the diseases caused by multi-host pathogens (MHP). Hence, continuous health monitoring and surveillance of wild animals, proper diagnosis and timely veterinary interventions are essential for effective conservation of wild animals and control of zoonoses. An adequate number of trained wildlife health professionals are required for wildlife health management and disease monitoring and surveillance to prevent spilling over of MHP to humans and domestic animals. As per the recommendation of the National Wildlife Action Plan (2017–31), the tiger reserves were expected to establish a well-equipped wildlife rehabilitation cum disease surveillance centre supervised by trained wildlife veterinarians by 2023. Efforts should be made to establish the centre in PTR and create posts for a veterinary doctor and a compounder.
The present TCP (2013–14 to 2022–23) has been approved by the NTCA. The preparation of the TCP for the next 10 years is underway. The plan for the core area is expected to be completed in October 2022. The preparation of plans for the buffer and corridor has not started. Effective community consultation is necessary for the preparation of the plan for the buffer and corridor. Steps should be taken to ensure adequate community consultation in the preparation of plans.
The eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of PTR has been notified. However, neither have committees been constituted nor has the Zonal Master Plan been prepared. Expeditious steps should be taken to constitute committees and prepare the Zonal Master Plan for the ESZ.
The website of PTR should be altered to ensure compliance with the latest edition of the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites prepared by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). The research/studies reports and learning resources of the reserve should be uploaded on the website.
There are wide variations among states in their compensation policies for depredation by wild animals. An amount of Rs.20 lakhs is paid on account of the death of a human being in Maharashtra as against Rs.4 lakhs in Jharkhand. It would be appropriate for the state government to periodically review the compensation policy while taking into cognizance changes made in other states.
The headquarters of the Field Director, Deputy Director (North Division), and Deputy Director (South Division) are in Daltonganj. The entire area under the jurisdiction of the DD (South Division) is in Latehar District. The nearest administrative boundary of South Division from Latehar is 23.5 km whereas the nearest administrative boundary from Daltonganj is 44 km. The average distance of the range headquarters will reduce by around 10 km by shifting the headquarters of the DD (South Division) to Latehar and it will also help improve the coordination of PTR with the district administration. Therefore, the state government may consider shifting the headquarters of the DD (South Division) from Daltonganj to Latehar.
PTR should collaborate with reputed research/academic institutions to promote research activities as this would help in periodically assessing the various values of the reserve and filling the gaps in knowledge.
PTR, in collaboration with the district administration and civil society organizations, should actively support EDCs to promote livelihoods and eradicate multi-dimensional poverty in the zone of influence. PTR should develop more routes for tourism so that the tourist pressure on the Betla route could be brought down. It should also take necessary steps to improve the participation of local tribal communities in eco-tourism.
Regular follow-up to get CSR funding as well as to explore means to improve the corpus of the Tiger Conservation Foundation is required.
Mahuadaur Wolf Sanctuary, located in PTR, is the only wolf sanctuary in India. An Indian grey wolf population of 79 has been reported in the latest estimate (2021–22) of PTR. More focused efforts are required for conserving the wolves and habitats in PTR.
Measures to strengthen the corridors and monitor them on a regular basis should be taken up. This would need regular interactions of the Field Director with the Regional CFs/CCFs and interstate coordination.

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Palamau Tiger Reserve

Introduction

Management Strengths:

Management Weaknesses:

Immediate Actionable Points:

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