India court lifts ban on tourism in tiger core habitat India's
Supreme Court has lifted its ban on tourism in "core zones" of
more than 40 government-run tiger reserves. The court order came
after the National Tiger Conservation Authority announced fresh
guidelines to protect the tiger. Under the new rules, no new
tourism infrastructure would be created and all permanent
structures would be gradually removed from the core tiger
habitat. The ban came in July after complaints that commercial
activity was having an impact the tiger population. In its
ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court said the states were free
to challenge the new guidelines if they did not agree with them.
Tiger numbers have shrunk alarmingly in India in recent decades.
A 2011 census counted about 1,700 tigers in the wild. A century
ago there were estimated to be 100,000 tigers in India.
Conservationists say poaching and conflicts between the tigers
and people living in and on the periphery of the tiger reserves
pose a major threat to the ani