Country Snapshot - India
Draft for Public Consultations in Preparation for the "Global Tiger Workshop"
Submit your comments at the bottom of the page
Submit your comments at the bottom of the page
TCL - Tiger Conservation Landscapes
Status of National Tiger Action Plan
Available: Yes
Approval date: 2007
Approval authority: Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India
Key Tiger-Related Statistics
Estimated number of tigers: 1,200-1,650 *
* Estimated number of ADULT tigers, source: 2009 IUCN Red List http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/15955/0
Subspecies: Bengal Tiger
Number of Tiger Conservation Landscapes (TCLs) identified: 39
Area of TCL: 197,199 km2
Area of TCL under protection: 27,261 km2
Priority Issues and Actions
(from Existing National Tiger Action Plan and/
or Other Sources)
- Strengthening wildlife protection legislation
- Improve wildlife crime control
- Ameliorating human-wildlife conflicts
- Relocation of villages from core areas of Protected Areas (PAs)
- Establishment of forest connectivity
- PA infrastructure and equipment
- Augmentation of PA staff
- Management of forest fires
- Controlling land use change
- Habitat restoration for tigers and prey
- Averting threats from development infrastructure
- Public awareness of tiger trade bans
Key National Stakeholders
Main Government Agencies: National Tiger Conservation Authority (Ministry of Environment and Forests), Wildlife Institute of India
Main Non-governmental Groups: Wildlife Protection Society of India, Wildlife Trust of India, Ashoka Trust for Ecology & Environment, Nature Conservation Foundation, Aranyak, Envirosearch, World Wildlife Fund,Wildlife Conservation Society
Country Membership
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES): Yes
Global Tiger Forum: Yes
Opportunities for Early Action
- Enhancing capacity for detection of trade and trafficking
- Ecotourism development
- Habitat restoration for tigers and prey
- Improving PA infrastructure and equipment
Comment by Ann
February 4, 2010 @ 7:27 am
I believe; changes in attitudes, good effort and problem solving as well as funding can change many things for the better. When it comes to the case of Tiger conservation however, I see the ‘crash’ long before it is going to happen. It is so crucial that we don’t make it ALL about the wild cats and forget the local people.
Saving wildlife sounds so good in the public spot light, but honesty;
- how will you ‘relocate’ villages?
- how will you monitor the tigers from poaching?
-will you punnish the poachers?
-will you amend the law, employ new officers?
-how much will such measures cost and who will pay for it?
-what will happen if the local people refuse to cooperate?
There are a lot of very important yet unanswered questions hidden in the promises from the conference in Thailand January this year. Who will answer this questions, or who can?
I am for conserving these fantastic animals, and though this conference was the ‘birth’ for new ideas; I have a bitter-sweet taste in my mouth as the fine words of experts, politicians and conservation organisations seems to be vaguely or not at all backed up by clear objectives.
Give me some science, give me numbers, give me some proof that this project is doable.
HOW will you actually in PRACTICE carry out these promises/commitments you made in Thailand?
Kind Regards
Ann
Comment by Toby Diggens
January 13, 2010 @ 7:18 pm
We are still able to alter the course of these remarkable cats. There importance in competition terms for the entire Indian ecosytem has huge implications such as phase shifts and trophic cascades. Currently and thankfully the human population in rural areas remains sparse in terms of humans per sq km therefore it should be the duty of the governing body to emphasise the important realtionship which the Indian people share with this top predator. The struggle for more conserved land will always be a strong one but the idea of setting up corridors between these parks should be looked at, so not to introduce an Allee Effect into the species and chronic inbreeding! The larger their metapopulation and the larger the suitable habitat, the faster the recovery rate.