Across Karnataka’s most ecologically sensitive forest regions — including Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, the forests surrounding Sringeri, and the Western Ghats areas of Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga — unregulated tourism is pushing wildlife to the brink.

Over the past few years, illegal resorts, homestays, night parties, loud music bands, and late-night traffic have dangerously disrupted the ecological balance of these regions. 

These activities disturb wildlife movement, destroy natural habitats, and increase human-wildlife conflict.

As forests lose their natural quiet zones, elephants, tigers, and other wildlife are being forced out of their home ranges and pushed towards farmlands and villages.

The result:

Crops destroyed
Property damaged
People injured or killed
Animals tranquilized, captured, and relocated to rehabilitation centres where their natural lives are permanently affected

 

Both human communities and animals are suffering, while private commercial interests continue to profit.

This must stop.

We therefore demand that the Central Government of India and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) take urgent intervention measures to protect these fragile ecosystems.

Our Key Demands:

•  Ban all forms of commercial tourism activities in core forest zones, buffer areas, and designated wildlife corridors in Nagarahole, Bandipur, and Western Ghats regions.
• Immediate closure of illegal resorts and homestays operating in and around protected forest landscapes.
  Strict enforcement of noise and vehicle movement restrictions, especially after dusk.
• Creation of a transparent monitoring mechanism, involving forest department officials, conservation experts, and local communities.
  Protection of wildlife rights by ending the routine capture and relocation of elephants, tigers and other species into captivity or rehabilitation centres, except in genuine medical emergencies.
• Why This Matters:
  The forests of Karnataka are global biodiversity hotspots.
  They support:

Endangered tiger and elephant populations
Hundreds of endemic plant and bird species
The ecological stability of Southern India through rainfall, rivers, and soil health
If we fail to protect these forests today, we lose not only wildlife, but also our cultural heritage, environmental stability, and the future security of local communities.

We Call Upon:
The Government of India
The Government of Karnataka
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)
The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau
to act immediately and decisively.

 
Our forests are not entertainment zones.
They are living ecosystems that must be preserved.