Every year on July 29, International Tiger Day aims to raise awareness and support the conservation of wild tigers, whose global population has dropped by 97% during the 20th century. So powerful and yet so threatened, the tiger is our emblem. Member of 1% FOR THE PLANET, ALL TIGERS donates 1% of all its annual sales to the French association Poh Kao which works for the preservation of the last tigers of Rajashtan, in the Sariska reserve.

For the past 12 months, Poh Kao and his local partner KRAPAVIS have been working with the communities of the villages of the Sariska reserve, who are stakeholders in the conservation of tigers, including a role as sentinels of the local ecosystem. Currently, the tiger population in Sariska is 24 individuals (11 females, 7 males and 6 cubs), a tiger has not been sighted for over 6 months. Another tiger should be transferred soon from the Ranthambore reserve.

The importance of local communities

Local communities play an important role in protecting Sariska's tigers. The association's mission is to increase the participation of villagers in conservation, with an approach of coexistence between man and wildlife. The Sariska region is affected by endemic droughts, which affect the entire ecosystem, on which the tiger, by its position at the end of the food chain, is totally dependent. In the past, the planting of trees and the construction of water reservoirs were part of the essential actions of the populations to allow the development and protection of wildlife, the prey of the tiger. This is a key point: according to a government study, 77% of tigers in Sariska consume livestock raised by communities, so the dynamics of the ecosystem are crucial.

The local people are vegetarians, they do not have the right to cultivate the land in the reserve, so their diet is based on dairy products from livestock (buffaloes, goats, cows and sheep) and on the resale of part of this production in the markets , in particular for the purchase of flour intended to manufacture pancakes. There is also picking in the nearby forests. Global warming and regular droughts, which affect the natural resources of the reserve, and the pandemic which has reduced the mobility of villagers, have weakened people's livelihoods. To ensure that coexistence with the tiger is as favorable as possible, the association regularly provides training dedicated to improving the living conditions of local populations.

At the end of 2021, the association organized a training and a workshop on the subject "Conservation, Livelihoods and Women in the Sariska Tiger Reserve", to help communities affirm their traditional resource management and livelihoods. More than 30 women, representing different villages in the Sariska Tiger Reserve, participated in the training, as the livelihoods of local communities have been severely affected by COVID-19. In 2022, the association also organized a two-day residential training session, with 30 community members, on the theme “Dairy and animal health in the Sariska Tiger Reserve”, in March. Finally, the association organized vaccination and animal health camps for livestock in several villages in Sariska, including deworming campaigns, vaccination against bird flu, foot and mouth disease and other local diseases covered by the vaccination campaign in 5 villages in Sariska.

The teams of Poh Kao and its partner thank all those who, through ALL TIGERS, support the activities carried out for the communities and the protection of the tigers in Sariska. Happy International Tiger Day !

To find previous episodes: 

- ALL TIGERS supports the preservation of the Tiger in India (2021)

- ALL TIGERS is committed to the tigers in Rajasthan (2019)

- Interview with Véronique Audibert, founder of Poh Kao (2019)

If you want to support Poh Kao in a very direct way, you can contact Veronique via email: audibert.pohkao@pohkao.com or go to Poh Kao's website. Individuals can make a direct donation and receive a tax receipt.