The Tiger Protection Awards Program
(Legal aid and law enforcement support) - India

In the face of rampant poaching of Bengal tigers, persistent and illegal habitat destruction, and an ineffective legal system, The Tiger Foundation and its Indian partner, Tiger Trust, propose to initiate an unprecedented law enforcement assistance program. Our objective is to provide highly qualified legal aid as well as financial and material support, as well as monetary awards to the park rangers and police officers that work on the front lines of India's war against wildlife poachers. Our initial target area is centered around the magnificent Bandhavgarh and Sanjay National Parks and the forest corridor that lies between them. This area is home to a uniquely diverse ecosystem and to one of the largest un-fragmented tiger populations on Earth. It is clearly one of the last and most promising sustainable tiger habitats that remains anywhere; a vast but threatened forest where wild tigers should be able to survive in perpetuity. (Beginning in 2001, initially across Madhya Pradesh State, India.) - Maiden 2001-2002 budget: US$209,000.