India evicts natives to save tigers:400 thousand out of the house

In India, authorities are evicting native Adivasi populations to make room for nature reserves to protect endangered tigers.They don't fit:"It's illegal, we didn't give consent:they are invaders"

ROME – Save tigers from extinction or allow tens of thousands of people to remain in their ancestral lands?There is a clash in India between the authorities in New Delhi and the surrounding 400 thousand natives of the Adivasi community, hit by an eviction order.This was reported by Down to Earth, a publication based in New Delhi, produced by the Indian research institute Center for Science and Environment, according to which protests were held in the main tiger reserves to Nagarhole, towards the southern tip of Kerala, passing through the central-eastern reserves of Udanti-Sitanadi, Rajaji and Indravati, up to that of Kaziranga, in the state of Assam in the far north-east.

IN INDIA 56 THOUSAND FAMILIES 'DRIVEN' OUT OF THE HOME TO PROTECT TIGERS

The newspaper highlights how the equation usually holds true according to which there is a tendency to entrust the care of the territories identified as sanctuaries for biodiversity to the native communities, since their lifestyle over the centuries has naturally been able to develop not only in such a way as not to compromise the life of flora and fauna, but also to ensure greater preservation.India, however, would represent an exception:it is not at all uncommon for natives to be chased away: since 1972, 56,247 families from 751 villages have been forced to abandon their homes in around fifty reserves intended for the protection of tigers, an animal in danger of extinction which remains today approximately 3 thousand specimens.
In total, the largest feline on the planet, which can weigh up to 300 kilos and is three and a half meters long, today enjoys 75 thousand square kilometers of Indian forests, according to data from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

The Adivasi activist JK Thimma, quoted in a note by the NGO for the protection of native communities Survival, declared during the protests:“The creation of tiger reserves in our lands is a violation of the law because we did not give our consent, nor were we consulted in the process.Now they have put signs on our lands declaring them national parks or tiger reserves.Those at the NTCA are gods invaders“.
The activist then reported it a "racist" policy on the part of the institutions, which would treat Adivasis as "second-class citizens", and has also called for legal action against animal protection NGOs such as WWF, accusing them of supporting this policy.
The WWF has been working for years to save various animal species from extinction.As regards tigers, the organization identifies man as the main enemy, denouncing the construction of illegal traps, the commercialization of skins and other parts of the animal, but also "anthropic activities such as deforestation", at the origin of the loss of territory, which would have been "reduced by 95%".This would also cause direct clashes with residents:“If the tiger, as is happening, loses its habitat, it inevitably approaches human settlements, thus coming into conflict with local communities.”