HAZARIBAGH, Jharkhand, India — As a new environmental consciousness becomes more entrenched, the focus for conserving the so-called "flagship species" such as the great predator tigers and bears, and also elephants, has shifted. When India's Project Tiger was started in the 1970s with the purpose of bringing the great cat back from the brink of extinction, it was implemented with an "island" type of mentality, creating tiger sanctuaries but neglecting to consider the forests in between them.
With India's booming economy and increasing population in the first years of the 21st century, the forested links between sanctuaries have become increasingly under pressure. The need to consider these so-called "wildlife corridors" has now come to the fore.
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The states of Jharkhand and Orissa in east-central India are sometimes called India's "Wild East" because of the rush by mining companies to exploit the mineral resources of the region. The state of Jharkhand, created in 2001, is home to rich mineral reserves, including uranium, iron ore and bauxite. However, it is the opencast coal mining that feeds India's insatiable need for power that causes the greatest challenges to wildlife.
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