Introduction
The Soliga tribe of Karnataka's Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve—an ecological corridor linking the Western and Eastern Ghats—embodies harmonious human-nature coexistence. Through generations of lived experience, the Soligas have developed sophisticated biocultural practices that challenge conventional exclusionary preservation paradigms and advance participatory forest governance.
Custodians of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge
The Soligas possess deep ethno-ecological wisdom that sustains forest dynamics and biodiversity:
- Ecological Fire Regimes (Taragu Benki): The Soligas traditionally practiced controlled, low-intensity ground fires (leaf-litter fires) during early winter. These fires checked invasive species like Lantana camara, controlled parasitic weeds such as Loranthus on wild amla trees, and prevented severe crown blazes in dry summer months.
- Sustainable Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) Harvesting: Traditional gathering practices ensure ecological regeneration. For instance, while extracting wild honey from cliffs and trees, Soligas deliberately leave brood combs intact to allow bee colonies to reproduce.
- Biocultural Ethos and Peaceful Coexistence: Soligas worship the tiger as an ancestral deity called Huli Veerappa. This spiritual veneration fosters high cultural tolerance toward apex predators, virtually eliminating retaliatory killings and human-wildlife conflict.
Guardianship and Community-Led Conservation
Soliga community guardianship has defied the conventional model of fortress conservation:
- Challenging Exclusionary Conservation: Contrary to predictions that tribal settlement inside protected areas degrades biodiversity, tiger numbers in BRT doubled from approximately 35 to 68 alongside indigenous habitation, proving that local communities act as ecological stewards rather than threats.
- Democratic Habitat Governance: The Soliga Gram Sabhas actively formulate participatory forest management plans, monitoring illegal logging, poaching, and forest degradation.
Historic Recognition under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006
The legal empowerment of the Soliga community represents a landmark in India's conservation history:
- First CFR Rights in a Tiger Reserve Core: In 2011, the Soligas became the first indigenous community in India to be granted legally recognised Community Forest Rights (CFR) inside the core area of a Tiger Reserve under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
- Institutional Empowerment of Gram Sabhas: Section 3(1)(i) and Section 5 of the FRA legally endowed Soliga Gram Sabhas with the power to protect, regenerate, and conserve community forest resources for sustainable use, securing both ecological integrity and tribal livelihood tenure.
Conclusion
The Soliga model successfully operationalises Target 22 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, demonstrating that recognising indigenous tenure rights does not compromise biodiversity conservation. Moving away from exclusionary 'fortress conservation' toward indigenous rights-based co-management is essential for long-term ecological resilience.