NTCA plans to take up economic survey of 10 more tiger reserves

Nagpur: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body monitoring tiger reserves, will conduct an economic valuation of 10 more tiger reserves in the country.
NTCA member-secretary SP Yadav told TOI, “We will take a call on identifying the reserves soon. We have sought a proposal from the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal.”

This will be the third phase of the study on ‘Economic valuation of tiger reserves in India: A value+ approach’ executed by the IIFM with the support of NTCA.
The Phase-I of the first-of-its-kind study, not only in the country but across the world, was conducted in 2015 in six tiger reserves — Corbett, Kanha, Kaziranga, Periyar, Ranthambore, and Sundarbans. The economic value of these reserves ranged from ₹830 crore to ₹1,760 crore annually.
In the second phase in 2019, 10 tiger reserves – Anamalai, Bandipur, Dudhwa, Melghat, Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam, Pakke, Palamau, Panna, Similipal, and Valmiki — were studied. Their economic value was between ₹5,095 crore and ₹16,202 crore.
Today there are 53 reserves, but economic evaluation of only 16 tiger reserves has been done. Experts say the evaluation is necessary as these reserves also provide a range of associated economic, social, cultural, and spiritual benefits, which are also termed ecosystem services.
Madhu Verma, a former professor with IIFM who was the principal investigator of the exercise, too said NTCA has plans to take up further evaluation of reserves.
Verma, who is a senior economic advisor to World Resources Institute (WRI), said, “Tiger reserves support human life by providing cheap, clean drinking and irrigation water from forests. They not only help mitigate natural disasters such as floods and cyclonic storms, but the genetic material is also a source of many medicines. These are important drivers of tourism, supporting local earnings and employment.”
Aakash Lamba, a researcher at Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, Singapore, said, “It is crucial that evaluations of the benefits from India’s 53 tiger reserves are conducted to ensure investments in protecting and maintaining these natural resources.”