Saving
the Tiger
The country level tiger population, estimated once in every four years
using the refined methodology, has shown an increasing trend with a population
estimate of 1706, lower and upper limits being 1520 and 1909 respectively in
the recent all India estimation (2010), as compared to the last country level
estimation of 2006, with an estimate of 1411, lower and upper limits being 1165
and 1657 respectively.
Initiatives Taken by the Government
Legal Steps
· Amendment of the Wild Life
(Protection) Act, 1972 for providing enabling provisions towards constituting
the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Tiger and Other Endangered
Species Crime Control Bureau.
· Enhancement of punishment in cases of
offence relating to a tiger reserve or its core area.
Administrative Steps
· Strengthening of antipoaching activities, including special strategy
for monsoon patrolling, by providing funding support to Tiger Reserve States,
as proposed by them, for deployment of antipoaching squads
involving ex-army personnel/home guards, apart from workforce comprising of
local people, in addition to strengthening of communication / wireless
facilities.
Constitution of the National
Tiger Conservation Authority with effect from 4.09.2006, for strengthening
tiger conservation by, interalia, ensuring normative standards in tiger reserve
management, preparation of reserve specific tiger conservation plan, laying
down annual audit report before Parliament, constituting State level Steering
Committees under the Chairmanship of Chief Ministers and establishment of Tiger
Conservation Foundation.
· Constitution of a multidisciplinary
Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau (Wildlife Crime Control
Bureau) with effect from 6.6.2007 to effectively control illegal trade in
wildlife.
The in-principle approval has been accorded by the National Tiger
Conservation Authority for creation of five new tiger reserves, and the sites
are:, Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), Ratapani (Madhya Pradesh), Sunabeda (Orissa)
and Mukundara Hills (including Darrah, JawaharSagar and Chambal Wildlife Sanctuaries)
(Rajasthan) and Satyamangalam (Tamil
Nadu). Final approval has
been accorded toKudremukh (Karnataka) for declaring as a Tiger
Reserve. Besides, the
States have been advised to send proposals for declaring the following areas as
Tiger Reserves: (i) Bor (Maharashtra),
(ii) Suhelwa (Uttar Pradesh), (iii) Nagzira-Navegaon (Maharashtra), (iv) GuruGhasidas National
Park (Chhattisgarh), (v) Mhadei Sanctuary
(Goa) and (vi) Srivilliputhur Grizzled
Giant Squirrel / Megamalai Wildlife
Sanctuaries / Varushanadu Valley (Tamil Nadu).
The revised Project Tiger guidelines have been issued to States for
strengthening tiger conservation, which apart from ongoing activities, interalia,
include funding support to States for enhanced village
relocation/rehabilitation package for people living in core or critical tiger
habitats (from Rs. 1 lakh/family to Rs. 10 lakhs/family), rehabilitation/resettlement of communities
involved in traditional hunting, mainstreaming livelihood and wildlife concerns
in forests outside tiger reserves and fostering corridor conservation through
restorative strategy to arrest habitat fragmentation.
A scientific methodology for estimating tiger (including co-predators,
prey animals and assessment of habitat status) has been evolved and
mainstreamed. The findings
of this estimation/assessment are bench marks for future tiger conservation
strategy.
An area of 34070.46 sq. km. has been notified by 17
Tiger States as core or critical
tiger habitat under section 38V
of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006.
Financial Steps
Financial and technical help is provided to the States under various
Centrally Sponsored Schemes, viz. Project Tiger and Integrated Development of
Wildlife Habitats for enhancing the capacity and infrastructure of the States
for providing effective protection to wild animals.
International Cooperation
· A protocol has been signed in
September, 2011 with Bangladesh
· A sub-group on tiger/leopard
conservation has been constituted for cooperation with the Russian Federation
· A Global Tiger Forum of Tiger Range
Countries has been created for addressing international issues related to tiger
conservation.
· During
the 14th meeting of
the Conference of Parties to CITES, which was held from 3rd to 15th June, 2007 at The Hague, India
introduced a resolution along with China, Nepal and the Russian Federation,
with directions to Parties with operations breeding tigers on a commercial
scale, for restricting such captive populations to a level supportive only to
conserving wild tigers. The
resolution was adopted as a decision with minor amendments. Further, India made an intervention appealing to China
· Based on India’s strong intervention
during the 58th meeting
of the Standing Committee of the CITES at Geneva from 6th to 10thJuly, 2009, the
CITES Secretariat has issued a notification to Parties to submit reports
relating to compliance of Decisions 14.69 and 14.65 within 90 days with effect
from 20.10.2009 (Progress made on restricting captive breeding operations of
tigers etc.).
Reintroduction of Tigers
· As a part of active management to
rebuild Sariska and Panna Tiger
Reserves where tigers have become locally extinct, reintroduction of tigers /
tigresses have been done.
· Special advisories issued for in-situ
build up of prey base and tiger population through active management in tiger
reserves having low population status of tiger and its prey.
Creation of Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF)
The policy initiatives announced by the Finance Minister in the Budget
Speech of 29 February, 2008, interalia, contains action points relating to tiger
protection. Based on the one time grant of Rs. 50.00 crore provided to the National Tiger
Conservation Authority (NTCA) for raising, arming and deploying a Special Tiger
Protection Force, the proposal for the said force has been approved by the
competent authority for 13 tiger reserves. Rs. 93 lakhs each has been released to Corbett, Ranthambhore & Dudhwa Tiger Reserve for creation of STPF
during 2008-09. Since then, the
guidelines of the STPF have been revised for deploying forest personnel in
place of Police as an option-II, with scope for involving local people like the
Van Gujjars. During the year 2010-11 and 2011-12,
an amount of Rs. 270 lakhs has
been provided to the Similipal Tiger
Reserve for raising, arming and deploying the STPF. The States of Karnataka and Maharashtra have already deployed the STPF.
In collaboration with TRAFFIC-INDIA, an online tiger crime data base has
been launched, and Generic Guidelines for preparation of reserve specific
Security Plan has been evolved.
Recent Initiatives
· Implementing a tripartite MOU with tiger
States, linked to fund flows for effective implementation of tiger conservation
initiatives.
· Rapid assessment of tiger reserves
done.
· Special crack teams sent to tiger
reserves affected by left wing extremism and low population status of tiger and
its prey.
· Chief Ministers of States having
tiger reserves affected by left wing extremism and low population status of
tiger and its prey addressed for taking special initiatives.
· Steps taken for modernizing the
infrastructure and field protection, besides launching ‘M-STrIPES’ for effective field patrolling and
monitoring.
· Steps taken for involvement of
Non-Governmental Experts in the ongoing all India
· Initiatives taken for improving the
field delivery through capacity building of field officials, apart from
providing incentives.
· Action initiated for using Information
Technology to strengthen surveillance in tiger reserves.
· The second round of country level
tiger status assessment completed in 2010, with the findings indicating an
increase with a tiger population estimate of 1706, lower and upper limits being
1520 and 1909 respectively, as compared to the last country level estimation of
2006, with an estimate of 1411, lower and upper limits being 1165 and 1657
respectively.
· The second round of independent
assessment of Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves done in
2010-11 for 39 tiger reserves based on globally used framework.
Increase
in the allocation for Project Tiger with additional components.
· Providing special assistance for
mitigation of human-tiger conflicts in problematic areas.
· As an outcome of the fourth
Trans-border Consultative Group Meeting held in New Delhi ,
a joint resolution has been signed with Nepal
· Regional
Offices of the National Tiger Conservation Authority sanctioned at Nagpur
Launching of Phase-IV tiger
reserve level monitoring.
FUNDS RELEASED TO STATES UNDER THE
CENTRALLY SPONSORED SCHEME OF PROJECT TIGER DURING XI PLAN PERIOD AND 2012-13
|
Sl. No.
|
States
|
Release
2007-08
|
Release
2008-09
|
Release
2009 -10
|
Release
2010-11
|
Release
2011-12
|
Release
2012-13
(as on 29.8.2012)
|
|
1
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
73.9175
|
56.9830
|
138.2540
|
155.6450
|
154.4060
|
208.68
|
|
2
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
110.2542
|
246.1710
|
64.7100
|
226.7020
|
236.7857
|
405.9748
|
|
3
|
|
95.6140
|
1092.3790
|
194.2900
|
1509.4720
|
947.5088
|
101.208
|
|
4
|
|
98.3205
|
49.6730
|
8.8560
|
158.3550
|
172.1930
|
247.792
|
|
5
|
Chhattisgarh
|
35.2250
|
169.8700
|
1383.5020
|
1813.7250
|
702.7260
|
425.5284
|
|
6
|
Jharkhand
|
45.1600
|
115.3770
|
117.1386
|
130.6160
|
156.3465
|
78.38783
|
|
7
|
Karnataka
|
1159.7149
|
689.8390
|
657.0620
|
1660.0500
|
1830.6500
|
698.0085
|
|
8
|
Kerala
|
153.2449
|
267.0900
|
311.4200
|
323.4600
|
429.7700
|
411.868
|
|
9
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
2975.9411
|
6998.5420
|
2582.4762
|
3962.730
|
5352.710
|
4951.222
|
|
10
|
|
295.7191
|
411.1250
|
373.5170
|
2789.0600
|
3622.3420
|
513.941
|
|
11
|
Mizoram
|
82.9000
|
241.4500
|
2171.000
|
187.6900
|
225.2880
|
192.9848
|
|
12
|
Orissa
|
43.2800
|
625.9900
|
221.7400
|
815.2900
|
555.0761
|
142.956
|
|
13
|
Rajasthan
|
410.6800
|
2708.9500
|
10694.1700
|
2368.925
|
67.210
|
132.028
|
|
14
|
Tamil Nadu
|
45.0000
|
690.8060
|
258.3540
|
520.9450
|
605.9640
|
323.4878
|
|
15
|
Uttaranchal
|
202.0050
|
462.8500
|
246.2050
|
339.9450
|
399.7600
|
89.435
|
|
16
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
134.8900
|
417.5130
|
431.5170
|
407.4600
|
446.1258
|
234.508
|
|
17
|
|
308.6741
|
228.3940
|
298.7850
|
502.4800
|
157.6600
|
404.916
|
|
|
Total
|
6,270.5403
|
15,473.002
|
20,152.997
|
17,872.391
|
16,062.522
|
9,562.92613
|
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