HYDERABAD: Eco-tourism cannot come at the cost of our forests, said Telangana state forest officials. Environmental experts said that the pollution caused by eco-tourism cannot be ignored. They were speaking at a seminar conducted on tiger, wildlife and environment conservation to mark the World Wildlife Week celebrations.
Forest officials, directors of tiger reserves and environmental experts attended the seminar at Aranya Bhavan on Saturday. The decreasing number of tigers in reserves was addressed during the seminar. Officials said that residents living near reserve areas will have to be provided proper rehabilitation elsewhere to ensure that the area around the reserves can be maintained better.
Dr Ullas Karanth, tiger expert said, “There is a need to increase herbivores in the forest areas to increase the number of tigers. At least 15 to 20 herbivores must be present every square kilometre. Only if there are three tigers in a 100 sq. km area can it be called a balanced forest.” The directors of Ahmedabad and Kawal tiger reserves in Telangana state were instructed to ensure the safety of the existing tigers. More technology will be implemented in forests along with the constant monitoring of officials in forests and reserves.
