Leaving the forest: village relocation

By the time we reached the lookout point the sun had nearly set, but I was able to watch its last play of light across the vast forest canopy — a breathtaking introduction to Anshi Dandeli Tiger Reserve. Encompassing more than 875 sq. km. of dense jungle in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, the park is eco-rich for its biodiversity of plants and wildlife. Human settlements are also here — some date back a few decades; others, generations.

I visited the park in late February to learn about the Government of India’s relocation program, a voluntary, benefits-based, key component of tiger conservation that aims to move people living inside tiger reserves to new homes outside. The guiding logic is that moving families will protect the forest from degradation by human activities while reducing conflict with wildlife and giving people access to amenities such as water, electricity, schools and hospitals. The process is complex and often controversial. Some don’t want to leave; their livelihood and traditions are bound to the forest. Others are ready to go; it’s a hard life. People inside subsist on farming and what the forest provides. Many homes are isolated in remote locations, especially during monsoon season when roads are inaccessible for months at a time. And conflict with wildlife is common and often devastating, such as loss of livestock and human lives to leopards and tigers, and destruction of crops by elephants and ungulates.

Anshi-Dandeli Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr. Srinivasalu, along with forest officers and members of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), a Bangalore-based NGO providing general advocacy to families in transition, introduced me to beneficiaries of the program (in this case villagers, not tribals), and took me to visit new and old homes both inside and outside the forest. Unlike the relocation efforts of 40+ years ago when dams and other developments displaced people from their homes and there was little oversight or consistency in compensation, Srinivasalu relayed that the current program operates with greater transparency, input from families, and the coordinated efforts of government and non-governmental organizations such as WCS to ensure that all transactions are legal, timely and beneficial for homeowners involved.

Ramachandra and his family are among those who opted to leave the forest. They purchased property approx. 90 km. outside the forest with 30 lakh in benefit money — ten lakh for Ramachandra as head of the household and ten for each of his two sons over the age of 18. Their new homestead is situated in a valley with rice paddies, betel, coconut and banana trees, a deep well and an irrigation stream. Ramachandra’s family now has the resources to sustain a good livelihood. They can continue to farm as they did before but without the worry of run-ins with tigers or other wild animals, and the nearby town of Manchikeri provides a range of goods and services. An added boon is that the oldest son will soon be married. The son had previously not been able to find a woman willing to marry and move to the forest — a common lament among eligible young men inside the reserve. The family is happy for their change in circumstance.