Topics Covered: Conservation related issues.
India’s Tiger Census sets a New Guinness Record
Context:
The fourth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2018, results of which were declared on Global Tiger Day last year has entered the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest camera trap wildlife survey.
- Camera traps were placed in 26,838 locations across 141 different sites and surveyed an effective area of 121,337 square kilometres.
Tigers in India:
The country now has an estimated 2967 tigers as per the latest census.
With this number, India is home to nearly 75% of the global tiger population.
It has already fulfilled its resolve of doubling tiger numbers, made at St. Petersburg in 2010, much before the target year of 2022.
4th cycle of all India Tiger Estimation- highlights:
- Highest number of tigers have found in Madhya Pradesh (526), after that Karnataka has 524 and Uttarakhand is accommodating 442 tigers.
- In five years, the number of protected areas increased from 692 to over 860, community reserves from 43 to over 100.
- While the 2014 census pegged the total number of striped big cats in the country at 2,226, the 2010 census put the figure at 1,706 and the 2006 version at 1,411, indicating that tiger numbers have been on the up.
- While Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of tigers, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu registered the “maximum improvement” since 2014.
- Chhattisgarh and Mizoram saw a decline in their tiger numbers while tiger numbers in Odisha remained constant. All other states witnessed a positive trend.
All India Tiger estimation:
The All India Tiger Estimation done quadrennially is steered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority with technical backstopping from the Wildlife Institute of India and implemented by State Forest Departments and partners.
Conservation efforts- National and Global:
- The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has launched the M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and Ecological Status), a mobile monitoring system for forest guards.
- At the Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010, leaders of 13 tiger range countries resolved to do more for the tiger and embarked on efforts to double its number in the wild, with a popular slogan ‘T X 2’.
- The Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) program of the World Bank, using its presence and convening ability, brought global partners together to strengthen the tiger agenda.
- Over the years, the initiative has institutionalised itself as a separate entity in the form of the Global Tiger Initiative Council (GTIC), with its two arms –the Global Tiger Forum and the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program.
- The Project Tiger, launched way back in 1973, has grown to more than 50 reserves amounting to almost 2.2% of the country’s geographical area.
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- Differences between National Parks, wildlife sanctuaries and biosphere reserves.
- Important Biosphere Reserves in India.
- M-STrIPES is related to?
- What is GTIC?
- When was project tiger launched?
- NTCA- composition and functions.
Sources: pib.
