At 1,706, India's tiger count up 12 percent

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, who released the All India Tiger Estimation Exercise for 2010, said that "the mid-point range" of tigers in the country is 1706.

The previous census in 2006 did not cover Sundarbans.

"...That is why I am comparing 2006 and 2010.... When you compare the like with the like, 1411 in 2006 increases to 1636 in 2010. But if you include 70 estimated population in Sundarban, the total estimated population--there is a lower limit and there is an upper limit--the mid-point range is 1706 tigers," the Minister said.

Ramesh said when the Sundarban figure is excluded, the total estimated tiger population figure stands at 1636.

"This figure at 1636 is a 12 per cent increase of 1411 and is welcome news," Ramesh said.

Admitting that there have been higher than normal tiger mortality figures in 2009 and 2010, he said, "But we don't report tiger fertility.

"Tiger mortality is headlines. But when it comes to tiger fertility nobody bothers about it. And remember, this camera trap method has captured 615 photographs of tigers which are more than one-and-a-half years old," Ramesh said.

He said tiger occupancy has fallen in tiger reserves in Central India especially in northern Andhra Pradesh and in part of Madhya Pradesh corridor.

"The most positive news has been reported from Naxal-affected Nagarjuna Sagar Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh. We have estimated the number of tigers there to be 60," the Minister said.

He also said there is positive news from other Naxal-affected reserves including Indravati (Chattisgarh), Simlipal (Orissa), Valmiki (Bihar), Palamau (Jharkhand).

The census, which was the most comprehensive and scientifically conducted exercise so far, used cameras installed at strategic points like water bodies in forests, as also in respective territories of big cats.

Computers were used to analyse and collate the data.The 2006 Census had shown a sharp fall in the number of tigers in ‘protected areas’ - reserves, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries - in 19 states across the country

Source: Deccan Herald, 28-3-2011

To save straying tigers, NTCA chief for enforcing Sec 144 CrPC

NEW DELHI: In view of increasing cases of tigers straying from protected areas, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) chief Rajesh Gopal has suggested restricting the movement of people by imposing Section 144 CrPC on such tracts to avoid lethal man-animal encounters.

Lawyers handling wildlife cases have given a thumbs-up to the "pro-conservation advisory" but doubted if it could be smoothly implemented as the Section, which also allows for preventive detention, is usually enforced as a precautionary measure against untoward incidents like riots or protests.

The suggestion came in the wake of increasing cases of tiger straying particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra where due to a mob frenzy either the locals get killed by the straying animal or vice-versa, threatening the conservation efforts.

Lamenting that such moving tigers get "branded" as "man-eaters" and eventually land in 'zoos' or get eliminated, Gopal stressed on a need to address the issue actively at the ground level with enforcement of Section 144 CrPc being one of the solution.

With only 1,411 big cats left in the forests, NTCA member secretary said every tiger is precious to us.

"An instance of a straying big cat or leopard should be treated on a par with any other situation involving violence, and adequate deployment of local police and state armed force needs to be done, besides sensitising the local people," he said.

He said, perhaps, to avoid lethal encounters, it is advisable to impose Section 144 of the CrPC in such areas.

Saurabh Sharma, a lawyer with Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), was all for the implementation of the Section but had a word of caution. "Administratively it is a difficult proposition. At times straying of the animal becomes a major incident especially when a mob is involved.

"Nevertheless, it can be experimented with to ascertain its success. Its a good pro-conservation advisory." he added.

Advocate Avinash Baskar from Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) led by tiger expert Belinda Wright too echoed similar views saying the Section is an enabling provision for the state in such cases.

"But at the ground level due to practical reasons it has to be looked into if there is sufficient time for machinery to move in to execute the measure," Baskar said.

Besides advising enforcement of Section 144 CrPc, Gopal also underlined the need for mapping the traditional movement path of tigers for restoration inputs and encouraging the people to make the areas inviolate by offering them incentives.

Source: Times of India, 6-12-2010

10-year conservation plan for tiger reserve

KATTAPPANA: The Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) is preparing a 10-year conservation plan that focuses on conservation of wildlife and ecology and sustained growth of ecotourism in support of the local tribal community.

The draft of the project, Tiger Conservation Plan (TCP), has been prepared by the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi, in association with the Periyar Foundation.

A three-day seminar of senior forest officials and conservation experts held at Thekkady in September had drawn up the framework for the plan, before the preparation of the draft. Senior officials of the PTR are now conducting field studies to make modifications in the plan before submitting it to the Tiger Conservation Authority under the Union government for implementation.

The PTR became an internationally acclaimed reserve for tiger after the Project Tiger was implemented. Sustained conservation efforts have been launched here with the participation of local communities under an ecotourism development plan.

Sanjayan Kumar, Deputy Director, PTR, told The Hindu on Friday that it is a long-term conservation plan and field studies are being conducted to take local factors into account.

Local tribespeople will be included in the eco-tourism plan under the TCP to reduce their dependence on the forest. At present, tribespeople work as watchers and guides for various tourism packages of the PTR.

Mr. Sanjayan Kumar said that some of the tourism packages, though exclusive to the PTR, are less attractive and the draft focusses on their modification to make them attractive. The draft demarcates the PTR area where further protection is needed and focusses on local participation in conservation efforts and ecological upgradation. The draft has detailed action plans for veterinary care, nature protection, habitat management, conservation of water sources and wildlife protection.

Mr. Sanjayan Kumar said that eco-development would be clubbed to tourism packages to strengthen public participation in conservation efforts.

Wildlife protection and forest preservation became a success in the PTR after those people who had once connived with smugglers and anti-social elements were included in the task of protecting the forest wealth and wildlife after absorbing them as forest watchers. This ensured a regular source of income for them.

Source: The Hindu, 4-12-2010

Tigers could be extinct in 12 years if unprotected

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia: Wild tigers could become extinct in 12 years if countries where they still roam fail to take quick action to protect their habitats and step up the fight against poaching, global wildlife experts told a ``tiger summit'' Sunday.

The World Wildlife Fund and other experts say only about 3,200 tigers remain in the wild, a dramatic plunge from an estimated 100,000 a century ago.

James Leape, director general of the World Wildlife Fund, told the meeting in St. Petersburg that if the proper protective measures aren't taken, tigers may disappear by 2022, the next Chinese calendar year of the tiger.

Their habitat is being destroyed by forest cutting and construction, and they are a valuable trophy for poachers who want their skins and body parts prized in Chinese traditional medicine.

The summit approved a wide-ranging program with the goal of doubling the world's tiger population in the wild by 2022 backed by governments of the 13 countries that still have tiger populations: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam and Russia.

The Global Tiger Recovery Program estimates the countries will need about $350 million in outside funding in the first five years of the 12-year plan. The summit will be seeking donor commitments to help governments finance conservation measures.

``For most people tigers are one of the wonders of the world,'' Leape told The Associated Press. ``In the end, the tigers are the inspiration and the flagship for much broader efforts to conserve forests and grasslands.''

The program aims to protect tiger habitats, eradicate poaching, smuggling, and illegal trade of tigers and their parts, and also create incentives for local communities to engage them in helping protect the big cats.

The summit, which runs through Wednesday, is hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has used encounters with tigers and other wild animals to bolster his image. It's driven by the Global Tiger Initiative which was launched two years ago by World Bank President Robert Zoellick.

Leape said that along with a stronger action against poaching, it's necessary to set up specialized reserves for tigers and restore and conserve forests outside them to let tigers expand.

``And you have to find a way to make it work for the local communities so that they would be partners in tigers conservation and benefit from them,'' Leape said.

``To save tigers you need to save the forests, grasslands and lots of other species,'' he added. ``But at the same time you are also conserving the foundations of the societies who live there. Their economy depends very much on the food, water and materials they get from those forests.''

About 30 percent of the program's cost would go toward suppressing the poaching of tigers and of the animals they prey on.

Russia's Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev said that Russia and China will create a protected area for tigers alongside their border and pool resources to combat poaching.

Leape said that for some of the nations involved outside financing would be essential to fulfill the goals.

``We need to see signficant commitment by the multilateral and bilateral indsitutions like the Global Environment Facility and the World Bank plus individual governments like the U.S. and Germany,'' Leape told the AP.

For advocates, saving tigers has implications far beyond the emotional appeal of preserving a graceful and majestic animal.

``Wild tigers are not only a symbol of all that is splendid, mystical and powerful about nature,'' the Global Tiger Initiative said in a statement. ``The loss of tigers and degradation of their ecosystems would inevitably result in a historic, cultural, spiritual, and environmental catastrophe for the tiger range countries.''

Three of the nine tiger subspecies _ the Bali, Javan, and Caspian _ already have become extinct in the past 70 years.

Much has been done recently to try to save tigers, but conservation groups say their numbers and habitats have continued to fall, by 40 percent in the past decade alone.

In part, that decline is because conservation efforts have been increasingly diverse and often aimed at improving habitats outside protected areas where tigers can breed, according to a study published in September in the Popular Library of Science Biology journal.

Putin has done much to draw attention to tigers' plight. During a visit to a wildlife preserve in 2008, he shot a female tiger with a tranquilizer gun and helped place a transmitter around her neck as part of a program to track the rare cats.

Later in the year, Putin was given a 2-month-old female Siberian tiger for his birthday. State television showed him at his home gently petting the cub, which was curled up in a wicker basket with a tiger-print cushion. The tiger now lives in a zoo in southern Russia.

Source: Times of India , 22-11-2010

Eight more tiger reserves likely in the country

NEW DELHI: “We are looking at setting up eight more reserves as part of the tiger conservation efforts,” Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said here on Friday. “The new reserves would include one in the Satyamangalam forests in Tamil Nadu, besides Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa."

The national tiger census report should also be available in within the next 15 days, he said speaking at a function held at WWF-India here, ahead of the International Tiger Forum, which is being hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at St. Petersburg from November 21 to 24.

The Minister introduced India's Youth Tiger Ambassadors who will represent the country at the International Youth Summit being held alongside the high-level government meeting on tiger conservation. The Forum will commit conservation and rehabilitation of tigers to global action.The Youth Summit will take place from November 19 to 24 at Vladivostok, home to the Amur Tiger. The involvement of youth at this important meeting is aimed at drawing attention to the importance of tiger conservation. WWF-India has selected students Anusha Shankar and Devanshu Sood to represent India at the summit.

They will be part of a delegation comprising representatives from all tiger ranges countries. The youth ambassadors will visit Siberian tiger trails and get a first-hand account of the state of wild tiger populations in Russia and measures being taken for their conservation. They will also develop a youth declaration on conservation, which will be presented to the Tiger Forum via videoconference between Vladivostok and St. Petersburg.

Before embarking on their journey to Russia, both tiger ambassadors signed a pledge, in the presence of Mr. Ramesh, of support to the cause of conservation. Anusha Shankar, a student of M.Sc Ecology and Environmental Science at Pondicherry University, said: “The natural world has always fascinated me. I decided long ago to pursue this passion professionally.

The Youth Tiger Summit is a great opportunity for me to contribute to tiger conservation.”

Source: The Hindu, 13-11-2010