bi-monthly outreach journal of national tiger...

LA

ND

MA

RK

S

EV

ALU

AT

ION

AC

HIE

VEM

EN

TS

INIT

IAT

IVES

ST

RA

TEG

IES

PER

SPEC

TIV

ES

BI-MONTHLY OUTREACH JOURNAL OF NATIONAL TIGER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

Volume 3 Issue 4 May-June 2012

EXCERPTS FROM THE MINISTER’S SPEECH

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE TO REVIEW IMPLEMENTATIONOF GLOBAL TIGER RECOVERY PROGRAMME

It is indeed a very pleasant task for me toinaugurate this First Stock Taking Meetingof senior officials and experts who are

reviewing implementation of the Global TigerRecovery Programme. India has been partici-pating in the Global Tiger Initiative platformsince its launch. The International TigerForum held in Russia during November 2010culminated in the St Petersburg Declaration. AGlobal Tiger Recovery Programme (GTRP) wasalso adopted by the tiger range countries,with the national priorities being spelt out intheir respective National Tiger RecoveryProgrammes (NTRP).

It is almost one and a half years since thenand there is a need for stocktaking to knowthe progress relating to the implementation ofNTRPs and the GTRP.

I am glad that the platform providedby the GTI is facilitating representa-tives from governments, donors,experts and conservationists to joinhands for the important commoncause of tiger conservation.

The status of wild tiger continuesto remain endangered world over. Aswe all know, threats to wild tiger andits habitat are due to several factors likepoaching, illegal trade catering to demand forbody parts and derivatives of tiger, loss ofhabitat due to extractive industries, infra-structure and revenge killings. This list is notexhaustive. There are country-specific, area-specific issues which also affect tigers.Hence, the situation calls for adaptive as wellas active management.

India's commitment for saving the tiger iswell known. Wild tigers thrive in 17 of ourstates. We have the maximum number oftigers and their source areas.

Project Tiger has all long been a learningexercise. Our experience has highlighted theneed for enlisting local public support, whichis crucial for tiger conservation to succeed.The ‘exclusive’ tiger agenda of the core, com-plemented by the ‘inclusive’ multiple usestrategy in the surrounding buffer areas havestrengthened wild tiger conservation. Thus,

the ‘people agenda’ ranks prominently in our‘tiger agenda’. While we do not imagine anycoexistence in the inviolate core areas, aviable inclusive agenda involving local peopleis fostered in the surrounding buffer.

Since last year, after taking over as theMinister for Environment and Forests, I have fur-ther sharpened the focus on tiger. The CentrallySponsored Scheme of Project Tiger was revisedin August, 2011. Its allotment was stepped up toRs. 1216.86 crores, especially to support theStates for securing inviolate space for tigers.Several additional components have also beenincluded: (i) Change in the funding pattern inrespect of North Eastern States (90:10), (ii) rais-ing compensation for man-animal conflict to Rs2 lakh, (iii) acquisition of private land for mak-ing the core/critical tiger habitat inviolate, (iv)

establishment of Tiger Safari, interpreta-tion/ awareness centres under the exist-

ing component of ‘co-existence agendain buffer/fringe areas’, and manage-ment of such centres through therespective Panchayati Raj Institutions,and (v) re-introduction of the cheetah.

Another important initiative is the'M-STrIPES'. This consists of field

based protocols for patrolling and eco-logical monitoring, complemented by a cus-tomized software for storage, retrieval, analy-sis and reporting. The Phase-IV tiger reservelevel monitoring has also been launchedrecently. This would enable reserve levelmonitoring of tiger population, its prey andhabitat on an annual basis.

We are faced with several challenges aswell. We need to consolidate the inviolatespace for tiger in core areas of tiger reserves,besides actively restoring the connecting habi-tats in tiger landscapes. The tiger concernshave to be factored in sectors where tiger con-servation is not the goal.

I see this meeting as a great opportunity tolearn from one another. Our experiences mayvary but the goal is common. Your presenceindicates the commitment for the cause whichis praise worthy.

— May 15, 2012, New Delhi

THE Corbett landscape is well knownand fabled for its tiger richness. The for-est divisions surrounding the tigerreserve also have tiger source popula-tions. The NTCA has provided a specialgrant to ensure day-to-day monitoring in

the areas. This issue has a status report on the tigerand its prey along the southern boundary road ofCorbett, which is subjected to considerable humanpressure and man-tiger conflicts. The Ramnagar-Kalagarh-Kotdwar road is around 95km, of which22km goes through the national park (core) while25km passes through the buffer. The study indicatesa high density of tiger and its prey in this area.Hence, upgrade of this road would be deleterious totigers in the landscape.

An international meeting on the Global TigerRecovery Programme Implementation was held inNew Delhi during 15-17 May, 2012. This was attend-ed by representatives from all tiger range countriesapart from field officials, experts and NGOs. India

highlighted its country report which, interalia,included policy and institutional arrangements, habi-tat management, controlling tiger poaching and ille-gal trade, transboundary collaboration, tiger-humanconflict, capacity building, scientific monitoring,achievements and challenges.

Manas is one of the first nine tiger reserves in thecountry, and a world heritage site. This preciousecosystem is slowly reviving complemented by suc-cessful reintroduction of rhinos. However, the battleis far from won, given biotic and other pressures.

The Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary of Andhra is the lat-est addition to Project Tiger. It forms a crucial link-age with the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve ofMaharashtra and Indravati of Chhattisgarh.

During the first week of May 2012, a country levelmeeting of Field Directors and Chief Wildlife Wardensof tiger States was held. The reserve-wise salientissues are highlighted.

Dr Rajesh Gopal Member-Secretary, NTCA

EDITOR Dr Rajesh Gopal

EDITORIALCOORDINATORS P YADAV

CONTENTCOORDINATORInder MS Kathuria

FEEDBACK Annexe No 5 Bikaner HouseShahjahan Road New Delhi

[email protected]

Cover photo Udaishringi 9810315003

n o t e f r o m t h e e d i t o r

Volume 3Issue 4

May-June2012

CorbettStatus oftiger & preyspecies along southernboundaryroadPg 4

New TigerReserve A rapid

appraisalreport of

Kawal tigerreserve

P15

GTRP rolloutCountryreport: IndiaPg 9

InteractionSummaryrecord ofFDs’ meet Pg 16

CooperationIndo-Nepaldialogue on biodiversityconservationPg 8

ManasRecoveryRevival ofrhinos inManas tigerreservePg 12

BI-MONTHLY OUTREACH JOURNAL OF NATIONAL TIGER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

4 | May-June 2012 | STRIPES

Astretch of 47 km of the 95 km Ramnagar-Kalagarh-Kotdwar road cuts through

the southern region of CorbettTiger Reserve. Part of this road (22 km) passes through thenational park and the remaining25 km stretch passes through thebuffer zone of the tiger reserve.This stretch of 47 km road cur-rently exists as a dirt road withminimal traffic. An upgrade planof this road threatens to frag-ment and induce edge effects tothis invaluable source site fortigers in Indian Terai ArcLandscape. To assess the currentstatus of tiger and ungulate preyuse of this road, we collatedinformation and carried out addi-tional field work in gap areasalong the southern extent ofCorbett Tiger Reserve.

We used the information gen-erated from the All India TigerPopulation Estimation Exercise todetermine the extent of tiger useof the 22 km stretch of road,which passes through theNational Park, between Kalagarhand Laldhang. We also gatheredinformation from a studydesigned to look at tiger occu-pancy in Indian Terai ArcLandscape and determined thetiger occupancy of Corbett TigerReserve as well as the prey densi-ty along its southern extent. Wecarried out primary sampling(camera trapping) along the 25km stretch of the road, whichpasses through the buffer zoneof Corbett Tiger Reserve, duringJuly-September 2011. During thisperiod we also collated the infor-mation on traffic volume on thisroad as well as extent of humantiger conflict in the region.

Our results clearly indicatethat Corbett Tiger Reserve is themost important high density

tiger area in the entire landscape.Our surveys in the area clearlyindicate high predator and preyuse in the region along the 47 kmforest road from Laldhang toPakhro. Tiger and leopard signsare frequently encountered onthis stretch of road as well as theforest surrounding the road.Seventy individual tigers werephotographed within a 5 kmbuffer of the 47 km stretch of

forest road. Tiger density alongthis road varied from 14.59 (±2.06)/100 sqkm in the 22 kmstretch that passes through theNational Park to 4.52 (±1.17)/100 sqkm in the 25 kmstretch that passes though thebuffer zone of the tiger reserve.Results of our occupancy andcamera trapping surveys clearlyindicate high tiger use of theroad as well as its adjoining area.

STATUS REPORTBivash Pandav & A Harihar,

Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun

Corbett | Status of tiger & prey species along southern boundary road

N S Dungariyal

STRIPES | May-June 2012 | 5

Besides tiger, the study also doc-umented frequent use by ele-phant, prey species, namely spotted deer, barking deer, sam-bar and wild pig; leopard; smallcats, namely rusty spotted, leop-ard and jungle; and other smallcarnivores, namely jackal, com-mon palm civet, small Indiancivet and grey mongoose both onthe existing forest road as well asits adjoining areas.

Tiger captures on the roadwere considerably high in placeswith contiguous habitat on thesouthern part of the road con-necting to Bijnor forest divisionof Uttar Pradesh. Any plan toupgrade this forest road will negatively affect the wildlife useof this area. Thoughtful planningkeeping in mind the biologicalneeds of threatened species suchas tiger and elephant is requiredto realign the existing road out-side the boundary of CorbettTiger Reserve.

In relation to the entire land-scape, our results indicate thatCTR is the most important highdensity tiger area in the land-scape. Our surveys in the areahave indicated that both predatorand prey use in the region alongthe road and adjoining forestsfrom Dhela to Pakhro is high.Tiger signs were more frequentlyencountered (80%) in the forestssurrounding the road than alongthe road (44%). However, in con-trast, leopard signs were morefrequently encountered along theroad (87%) than in the surround-ing forests (45%). Wild preyspecies (sambar, chital, nilgaiand wild pig) and elephants arealso encountered frequently inthe region. In addition, wild preydensities estimated using stan-dard distance based methodologyindicates that the overall preydensities in the region along theroad and adjoining forests fromDhela to Pakhro are high.

During a 328 day period from8 October 2010 to 31 August

2011, a total of 4028 vehicleswere recorded using the road. Amajority of these vehicles werelight motored vehicles (72.8%;2933). Although the daily average(±SD) of LMVs was 8.94 (7.5) andHMVs was 3.33 (3.8), we recordedpatterns in the weekly totals ofvehicles plying on the road.

TIGER DENSITIES ALONG THEFORESTS SURROUNDING THEROAD (DHELA TO KALAGARH)

Fifty-eight individual tigerswere photographed on 103 occasions following an effort of4,441 trap nights as part of theAll India Tiger PopulationEstimation exercise in Corbett TR

during 2010-11. Tiger densitywas estimated through spatialcapture-recapture method usingthe DENSITY (Efford 2009).Estimated density of tigers in thestretch of road between Dhela toKalagarh was 14.59 (SD; 2.06).

TIGER DENSITIES ALONG THEFORESTS SURROUNDING THEROAD (PAKHRO TO KALAGARH)

We photographed 12 tigers on60 occasions (7 females, 3 males,1 cub and 1 unclassifiable) fol-

lowing an effort of 1,423 trapnights (21 July to 16 Sep 2011)across the survey area. While atotal of 12individuals were pho-tographed, only 9 adult tigers (6 females, 3 males) were con-firmed unambiguously.

Of the 12 tigers captured dur-ing the sampling period, 7 werefrequently photographed on thecamera trap stations placed on /in close proximity to the 25 kmroad between Pakhro andKalagarh. In total, 37 photographsof these 7 tigers were obtainedfrom these trap stations.

For the analysis of populationsize, we only considered the 8 dif-ferent adult tigers photographedduring the period from 15thAugust to 15 September 2011.During this period, 43 captures ofthe 8 individuals were obtained.The results of the closure test sup-ported the assumption that thesampled population within theselected 32 day period (Z=1.25,P=0.89) was closed. We employedspatial capture-recapture methodsusing the DENSITY (Efford 2009).The estimated density of tigers (D)in the sampled area was 4.52 (SD; 1.17)/100 sq km.

ASSESSMENT OF CONFLICTWe surveyed the nine gujjar

settlements as well as the smallvillage located at Neem Sotbetween Pakhro and Kalagarh toassess the level of conflict andattitude of forest dwellers.

During the period of our study(21 July-16 September 2011), werecorded three instances of con-flict with tigers. Two livestockwere killed during August in theDhaulkhand and Judi sot areasand three were injured duringthe first week of September atKilavali.

Although the 47 km stretch ofKotdwar-Ramnagar road runsalong the southern boundary ofCorbett Tiger Reserve, findingsof this study clearly indicate thatthe tiger use of this entire

Thoughtful planningkeeping in mind thebiological needs ofthreatened speciessuch as tiger and ele-phant is required torealign the existingroad outside theboundary of Corbettreserve. Our surveysindicate predator andprey use in the regionalong the road andadjoining forests fromDhela to Pakhro is high

stretch is very high. Tiger densi-ty in the immediate vicinity ofthis road varies from 4.5/100 sqkm in the buffer area betweenPakhro-Kalagarh to 14.6/100 sqkm in the core zone betweenKalagarh and Laldhang. Resultsof this study clearly indicate thatthe existing forest road is beingintensively used by tigers. Thefact that nine out of ten cameratraps placed on the road betweenPakhro and Kalagarh resulted inmultiple captures of tigers dur-ing the study period itself provesthe high intensity of tiger use ofthe existing forest road. The signsurvey data conducted in thewinter of 2010-11 also corrobo-rates this finding. Both theresults of our occupancy andcamera trapping surveys clearlyindicate high tiger use of theroad as well as its adjoining area.

The traffic volume on this dirtroad is low at the moment withnegligible amount during themonsoon. Extremely low level ofdisturbance due to minimumflow of traffic is actually facilitat-ing the high tiger use of thisarea. Up gradation of this dirtroad will certainly result in anincreased year round flow of traf-fic and will alter the tiger use ofthis road as well as its adjoiningarea. During the course of thisstudy, a tiger cub was foundkilled due to collision with avehicle on the metalled stretch ofthis road near Dhela on the 30thJuly 2011. Considering the highintensity of tiger use of this area,as evident from this study, withthe up gradation of the dirt roadsuch possibility of road hits willcertainly increase.

Across tiger’s range, recentstudies have documented thedeleterious effects of roads ontiger populations (Kerley et al.2002; Linkie et al. 2006). Theconstruction of a road throughhigh-quality tiger habitat inRussia was found to reduce asource population to a sink, thatno longer provided supplemen-

tary tigers to neighbouring areas(Kerley et al. 2002), while inSumatra, the presence of publicroads were found to negativelyinfluence abundances of tigers(Linkie et al. 2006). More recent-ly, studies in southern India(Hosmat & Gubbi 2010) highlightthe effect of primary roads onwildlife populations and suggestmitigatory measures to minimisethe negative effects of roadexpansions in high quality tigerhabitats.

Information on human tigerconflict was made available to usby the gujjars after lot of persua-sion. Considerable amount of livestock depredation does takeplace in the buffer zone (betweenKalagarh and Pakhro) and mostof these conflicts go unreported.This is a matter of concern andneeds to be addressed on a prior-ity basis as repeated conflict maylead to poisoning of the carcass-es there by leading to unnaturaldeath of tigers. During our sur-veys, all the gujjars betweenKalagarh and Pakhro showedkeen interest in a voluntary relo-

cation program in the line ofRajaji National Park.

Lack of education for the chil-dren was the main reason citedby the gujjars to move out of theforest. Relocation of human set-tlements from the core area(Dhara, Jhirna and Kothi Rau) ofCorbett Tiger Reserve has trans-formed the area in to the highesttiger density area across Asia.

The Sonanadi WildlifeSanctuary in Corbett TigerReserve holds similar potential ofharbouring very high tiger densi-ty like that of the core area pro-vided gujjars are relocated fromthis area. Recovery of tiger popu-lation following the voluntaryresettlement of gujjars has beenwell documented in the ChillaRange of Rajaji NP (Harihar et al.2009). Photographic evidences ofbreeding tigers in this studyhighlights the importance of thearea thereby necessitating con-solidation of prime tiger habitatthrough voluntary resettlementof gujjars in Sonanadi WLS andother parts of Kalagarh TigerReserve Division to ensure long


S P Yadav

term viability of tiger populationin Rajaji-Corbett complex.

Besides tiger, the study alsodocumented frequent use of ele-phant, prey species (spotteddeer, barking deer, sambar, andwild pig), co-predators (leopard),small cats (rusty spotted, leopardand jungle cats) and other smallcarnivores (jackal, common palmcivet, small Indian civet, greymongoose) both on the existingforest road as well as its adjoin-ing areas (Appendix 4). In fact,two photographs of rusty spottedcat obtained at a trap station onthe road near Morghati ForestRest House are the first recordfor Corbett Tiger Reserve. Thisstudy has clearly demonstratedthe heavy wildlife use of theexisting road and its adjoiningforests. As revealed by our study,tiger captures on the road wereconsiderably high in places withcontiguous habitat on the south-ern part of the road connectingto Bijnor Forest Division of UttarPradesh (Appendix 2). Any planto upgrade this forest road willnegatively affect the wildlife useof this area.

Thoughtful planning keepingin mind the biological needs ofthreatened species such as tiger

and elephant is required torealign the existing road outsidethe boundary of Corbett TigerReserve.

Limitations of the study:The camera trapping exercise

between Kalagarh and Pakhrowas carried out during peak mon-soon period. Unpublished datafrom Rajaji National Park indi-cates that there is considerableseasonal variation in tiger cap-ture rates, resulting in low esti-mates of density in monsoon incomparison to that of winter.Besides, many of the trails used

for camera trapping were underdense vegetation cover, makingdeployment of traps difficult forus. Heavy rains all through thestudy restricted our mobilityaffecting daily monitoring ofmany trap sites.

High moisture content alsoaffected the sensitivity of cam-eras, thereby resulting in loss ofcaptures. The camera trapping(between Kalagarh and Pakhro) ifconducted in winter could yield ahigher density estimate for tigersusing this part of Corbett TigerReserve.


All gujjars between Kalagarh and Pakhroshowed keen interest in a voluntary relocationprogram on the lines of Rajaji National Park. Lack of education for the children was the mainreason cited by the gujjars to move out of theforest. Relocation of human settlements fromthe core area (Dhara, Jhirna and Kothi Rau) ofCorbett has transformed it in to the highesttiger density area across Asia. The SonanadiWildlife Sanctuary in Corbett Tiger Reserveholds similar potential of harbouring very hightiger density


The first stock taking conference of senior offi-cials and experts to Review

the Implementation of the GlobalTiger Recovery Programme wasorganised between 15-17 May2012, at Vigyan Bhawan in NewDelhi. This conference was host-ed by the National TigerConservation Authority, Ministryof Environment and Forests,Government of India and co-organized and co-sponsored bythe Global Tiger Initiative (GTI)and Global Tiger Forum (GTF),and the World Bank.

During the conference, latestbest practices and technology fortiger habitat conservation,wildlife crime enforcement,reducing demand for wildlifederivatives and sustainabledevelopment were discussed.This occasion was also utilizedto sign the joint resolutionbetween Nepal and India.

In pursuance of the resolutionsmade in the earlier consultativemeetings, the representatives ofthe two sides, while expressingconcern on the increasing threatsto biodiversity caused by variousfactors and realizing the urgentneed for an effective strategy toaddress the problem confrontingthe biodiversity conservation andecological security in the trans-boundary region, resolved to:

Formalise the draft MoUbetween India and Nepal withdue consultation Expedite redressal of issuesrelating to seized material of RedSanders Provide funding support forcreation of a rescue centre atChitwan National Park, at anearly date through the GlobalTiger Forum (GTF). Facilitated regular trans-bound-ary meetings and informationsharing at central and field levelsand exchange visits of officialsof both the countries.

Undertake landscape levelassessment of tiger, rhino andelephant. Support mutual exchange ofscientific advancements relatingto innovative wildlife research,scientific studies, assess-ment and monitoringincluding source-sinkpopulations. Identify and establish towards restoration of wildlifecorridors and connectivity betweenIndia and Nepal. Conduct activities to improvelivelihoods of local communitiesaround habitats.

Foster education and capacitybuilding using existing facilitieslike Wildlife Institute of India Facilitate functioning of theSouth Asia Wildlife EnforcementNetwork (SAWEN).

Identify areas of jointactions namely illegal

wildlife trade, corresponding traderoutes and informa-tion sharing. Implement provi-

sions of CITES on issues of mutual

concern with a focus on control of trans-border smug-gling of Red Sanders and otherCITES species.

DIALOGUE

Indo-NepalconsultationsFifth Meet On Challenges Confronting ConservationAnd Ecological Security In Trans-Boundary Region

NTCA member secretary Rajesh Gopal with DG, National Parks ofNepal Krishna Acharya


POLICY AND INSTITUTIONSThe ‘in-principle’ approval hasbeen accorded by the NationalTiger Conservation Authority forcreation of five new tigerreserves, and the sites are:,Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), Ratapani(Madhya Pradesh), Sunabeda(Orissa) and Mukundara Hills(including Darrah, Jawahar Sagarand Chambal WildlifeSanctuaries) (Rajasthan) andSathyamangalam (Tamil Nadu). Final approval has been accordedto Kudremukh (Karnataka) fordeclaring as a Tiger Reserve. Besides, the States have beenadvised to send proposals fordeclaring the following areas astiger reserves: (i) Bor(Maharashtra), (ii) Suhelwa (UttarPradesh), (iii) Nagzira-Navegaon(Maharashtra), (iv) Guru GhasidasNational Park (Chhattisgarh), (v)Mhadei Sanctuary (Goa) and (vi)Srivilliputhur Grizzled Giant

Squirrel / Megamalai WildlifeSanctuaries / Varushanadu Valley(Tamil Nadu). The total areaunder tiger reserves standsincreased to 53366.36091 sq km.

HABITAT MANAGEMENTThe country level assessment oftiger, co-predators, prey andhabitat has been done in the GISdomain by the NTCA / ProjectTiger in collaboration with tigerStates and experts in 2010. Thisis the second round of suchsnapshot assessment after 2006.Six major tiger landscapes havebeen recognized with tigersource areas alongwith their cor-ridor connectivity.

The source areas for tiger(core/critical tiger habitats) arebeing made inviolate through anenhanced, voluntary relocationpackage of Rs. 10 lakhs per fami-ly vis-à-vis the provisions of theWildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

read with the Scheduled Tribesand Other Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights)Act, 2006.

Guidelines have been issuedfor corridor restorative plans andaction has been taken by stateslike Madhya Pradesh for develop-ing such plans. The Governmentof India has provisions to fundsuch areas (outside tigerreserve/protected area system)for wildlife conservation.

The buffer zones of tigerreserves are being managed asmultiple use areas with ProjectTiger support for social bufferingto reduce dependency of localpeople on forests, besides secur-ing habitat supplement with thesupport of local people for tigerand other wild animals.

CONTROLLING PREY & TIGER POACHINGThirteen sensitive tiger reserves

Country report: IndiaGLOBAL TIGER RECOVERY PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

S P Yadav


have been identified and MOUhas been signed for raising, arm-ing and deploying the STPF.Funding support has been pro-vided to four tiger reservesbased on the MOU towardsdeploying STPF. Karnataka hasalready deployed the STPF.Besides, the local workforce isinvolved in a big way in all thetiger reserves in the form ofantipoaching squads to comple-ment the frontline staff. In manytiger reserves, ex-Army person-nel, homeguards are alsodeployed as antipoaching squadswith Project Tiger support.

CONTROLLING ILLEGAL TRADEAND REDUCING DEMANDThe surveillance system is beingrefined. A pilot initiative involv-ing intelligent thermal camerashas been launched at Corbett for24X7 surveillance.

M-STrIPES has been launched in7 tiger reserves to ensure effec-tive patrolling and reporting. Thetiger reserves have been support-ed for equipment, arms andammunition, vehicles, wirelesstowards antipoaching operations.

The capacity building of front-line staff has been supported toensure effective prosecution.

The Wildlife Crime ControlBureau has been created and iscollating wildlife related crimeinformation / intelligence etc.while disseminating the same toprosecuting agencies, besideskeeping check at exit points.

There is no indigenous demandin India for body parts and deriv-atives of tiger and other big cats.However, timely payment of com-pensation to local people for live-stock depredation is beingensured, besides enforcementagencies along the border havebeen collaborated in borderingreserves like Valmiki and Dudhwato check trafficking of wildlifebody parts. The Wildlife Instituteof India has also organized orien-tation courses in wildlife for such

enforcement agencies operatingalong borders.

TRANSBOUNDARYCOLLABORATIONA new bilateral protocol for con-servation of Royal Bengal Tigerhas been signed with Bangladeshin the context of Sundarbans in2011. A Joint Working Group hasbeen constituted by the Ministryin this regard. Two senior scien-tists from Wildlife Institute ofIndia participated in a roundtableat Bangladesh in April/May, 2012for tiger monitoring / estimationwithin the ambit of the said pro-tocol. Initiatives are also under-way for supporting Bangladeshfor capacity building of officers /staff in Wildlife Institute of India.

Within the ambit of a bilateralarrangement with Nepal, anIndian delegation visited Nepalfor further needful action.

Within the ambit of the Indo-Chinese protocol of tiger, anIndian delegation visited China inApril, 2011.

A sub-group on tiger / leopardhas been constituted within anexisting bilateral arrangementwith Russia and both the partiesmet in New Delhi while agreeingon the future course of action.

Initiatives have been taken forevolving bilateral arrangementstowards tiger conservation withBhutan and Myanmar.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ANDTIGER-HUMAN CONFLICTThe Wildlife (Protection) Act,1972 provides for creating coreand buffer zones within a tigerreserve. Based on the statutoryprovisions, the tiger reserves aresupported for addressing theman-tiger interface. The localcommunities are engaged in a bigway in tiger conservation. UnderProject Tiger, as many as 24 lakhmandays are generated in all thetiger reserves per annum to ben-efit local people who serve asworkforce. The ‘inclusive’ agen-da of managing the buffer zones

of tiger reserves is supportedunder Project Tiger with a focuson village level micro-planning,besides ensuring reciprocal com-mitment with them on a quid-pro-quo basis to conserve tigers.

The compensation for losses tolocal people is paid within theambit of citizens charter to elicitpublic support. This is support-ed under Project Tiger. Recently,the compensation amount hasbeen doubled as well. Advisorieshave been issued for adequateand timely payment of such com-pensation.

The NTCA has been strength-ened / decentralized with threeRegional Offices. There is a needfor strengthening the RegionalOffices of the NTCA at Nagpur,Guwahati and Bengaluru (AIGsposted at Nagpur and BengaluruRegional Offices. Process isunderway for posting IGFs in thethree Regional Offices, besidesan AIG at Guwahati).

The second round of inde-pendent assessment based onrefined criteria was done in2010-11 for 39 tiger reserves.This assessment is based on theglobally used framework, asadapted to Indian conditions.Five independent teams conduct-ed the evaluation using 30 indi-cators. The framework consistsof 6 elements: context, planning,inputs, process, outputs and out-comes. The 39 tiger reserveswere grouped in same landscapeclusters as done in tiger estima-tion. An additional categorycomprising of tigers in ‘red corri-dor’ has been included, besides aseparate category for reserveswhere tigers have gone locallyextinct. Out of 39 tiger reserves,15 were rated as ‘very good’, 12as ‘good’, 8 as ‘satisfactory’ and4 as ‘poor’. 28 tiger reserveswere compared with the MEE rat-ings of 2005-06. It is inferredthat the ‘very good’ categoryincreased by 4%, ‘good’ categoryincreased by 3% and ‘satisfacto-ry’ decreased by 7%.


INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTAND CAPACITY BUILDINGThe Project Tiger Scheme alloca-tion has been stepped up duringthe five year plan period endingin March, 2012 from the earlierRs. 650 crores to Rs. 1216.86crores.

A provision for acquisition ofprivate land for making the core/ critical tiger habitat inviolatehas been added in Project Tiger.A provision has been made in theProject Tiger Scheme for estab-lishment of interpretation/awareness centres in buffer /fringe areas, besides managingsuch centres through village levelinstitutions.

Funding support has been pro-vided to all tiger reserves forPhase-IV reserve level monitor-ing. Capacity building of officersand staff of tiger reserves hasbeen supported.

SCIENTIFIC MONITORING,SURVEYS, RESEARCHThe NTCA is supporting researchprojects for radio telemetry mon-itoring of tigers in some majortiger reserves, besides geneticstudies to ascertain the geneflow

from source areas. After completing the second

country level snapshot assess-ment of tiger, co-predators, preyand habitat in 2010, the reservelevel continuous intensive moni-toring has been launchedthrough camera traps, distancesampling and genetic analysis ofscats for minimum numbers.

A national repository of cam-era trap photo database is beingdeveloped.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTSAdded 2 new tiger reservesamounting to 2594 sq.km. mak-ing a total of 53366.36091 sq.km.of tiger habitat in the form of 41Tiger Reserves, representing a 5percent increase in tiger habitatunder protection. Five more tigerreserves (4,000 km2) are underestablishment and another six(4,500 km2) proposed.Collectively, these will increasethe tiger habitat under protectionby 24% since the Tiger Summit.

Nationwide tiger and prey esti-mations recorded modestincrease in tiger numbers; annualintensive monitoring of tigers,prey, and habitat initiated; trans-

parent and independent monitor-ing and evaluation of tigerreserves being done, wildlife cor-ridors connecting critical tigerbreeding areas identified andpublished.

US$20 million allocated forrelocation of villages from eightidentified tiger reserves to createinviolate core habitats; SpecialTiger Protection Force sanctionedin 13 tiger reserves.Held series of bilateral meetingswith Bangladesh, Bhutan, China,and Nepal on tiger conservationand signed a bilateral protocolwith Bangladesh for transbound-ary cooperation.

MAJOR CHALLENGESSustaining the integrity of coretiger habitats and corridors vis-à-vis development, $1 billion need-ed to relocate villages out of thecore areas. Maintaining tigeroccupancy in habitats outsidetiger reserves (20% decrease intiger occupancy observed inhabitats outside designated tigerreserves). Managing human-wildlife relationships (increasedtiger-human conflict in somelandscapes).

Udaishringi

The Indian Rhino Vision (IRV)2020 is a joint program of theAssam Forest Department, WorldWide Fund for Nature (WWF) andthe International RhinoFoundation (IRF), formulated bythe ‘Task Force for Translocationof Rhinos within Assam’ inNovember 2005. The aim was thelong-term conservation of therhinos in the state throughenhanced protection and rangeexpansion and the vision set wasto have 3,000 rhinos in the wild,spread over seven protectedareas by 2020.

The plan was to secure theexisting rhino population inKaziranga NP, Pobitora WLS andRajib Gandhi Orang National Parkand to re-introduce rhinos in thepotential habitats identified,namely Manas NP, DibruSaikhowa WLS, Laokhowa-BuraChapori WLS with a viable popu-lation of rhino through wild towild translocations fromKaziranga NP and Pobitora WLS.To assess the feasibility, special-ized teams for security and habi-tats were formed and field stud-ies undertaken in the identifiedpotential area.

From the reports received, thetaskforce decided to select ManasNP as the first site to re-intro-duce the rhinos after correctivemeasures as per suggestionsmade in the reports. These pro-active efforts received accept-ance globally and support, bothfinancial and technical weremade available by internationalorganisations and donors as wellas the local government, theBodoland Territorial Council.

Manas National Park with anarea of about 500 sqkm formsthe core of Manas Tiger Reserveand is situated on the northern

bank of the Brahmaputra Riveralong the Indo-Bhutan interna-tional boundary. Manas was oncehome to around 100 rhinos, butthe entire population was wipedout during ethnic unrest from1988 to 2001, and the rhino wasrendered locally extinct in thepark. Today, Manas has regainedits status of a world heritage site

as a result of the all-roundpreservation and conservationefforts undertaken in the park(UNESCO, June 2011). It

REVIVAL ACTIVITIES IN MANASProtection is a key factor in theconservation of rhinos in anypark and re-introduction of rhi-nos in Manas was a huge chal-


Manas recoveryREVIVAL

By Anindya Swargowari, Amit Sharma, Deba Kr Dutta & Jayanta Das

lenge as the park was not in anyshape from the security point ofview though its habitat wasfound suitable. As per assess-ments made by the security teamin 2005, the main constraintswere shortage of manpower andinfrastructure. It was found thatthe vacancy was in excess of 100in the park; only 16 camps exist-ed of which only a few weremanned and fully functional, thearterial patrolling roads were notfully functional and there was ahuge gap in terms of capacity(vehicles, wireless, trainings, etc).

As per the suggestions,rebuilding of the park started forthe first time after the return ofpeace in the area. Financial andtechnical assistance came fromall partners of the program, espe-cially World Wildlife Fund,International Rhino Foundation,US Fish and Wildlife Service andalso from the BodolandTerritorial Council.

It was identified that at least12 camps under Basbari andBhuyapara Range. The first twocamps were started in Kuribeel(Basbari) and Dhanbeel(Bhuyapara). Twelve base stationsand 50 handsets were backed upby 50 additional batteries, 12solar charging units and two gen-erator sets. Four rubber boatsand six country boats were alsointroduced, as were 80 bicycles,four motorcycles and two four-wheel drive vehicles for monitor-ing. The roads were alsoimproved and the arterial roadswere made motorable.

The staff was trained on vari-ous aspects of rhino conserva-tion, especially monitoring usingtelemetry equipment. They weregiven field gear for performingtheir duties efficiently. Manpowerstrength was also boosted by pro-viding support for engaging 50armed home guards and 50 con-servation volunteers. The 50 con-servation volunteers were select-ed from the fringe villages as theyouths were found to be pro-con-

servation and also to providedirect livelihood support, therebyhelping forge a direct linkbetween conservation and thelocal community and generatesupport towards the program. Inaddition awareness programswere organized among the fringecommunities and local NGOs.

RHINOS IN MANASBased on multiple assessmentsby the security group and theprogress on the ground, it wasdecided to move four rhinos intothe park, starting in 2008, afterobtaining necessary permissionsfrom the Government of India.Plans were made to translocate20 rhinos to Manas as thefounder population fromPobitora WLS and Kaziranga NP.

As a part of the training phase,two male rhinos were released inManas on April 12, 2008 trans-ported on trucks from Pobitoraby a special team. The rhinoswere radio collared and moni-tored on a daily basis to under-stand their ranging as well astheir behaviour and all theseindicated that the rhinos hadadapted well and the habitat wasquite favorable. Thereafter, 16 more rhinos havebeen translocated to the park in

batches — two rhinos werereleased in December 2010, fourin January 2011, two in January2012, four in February 2012 andfour more in March 2012. Tilldate, 18 rhinos have beenreleased in the park in batchesunder IRV2020 through wild towild translocations. The rhinosare fitted with radio collars andmonitored regularly using radiotelemetry as well as standard tra-ditional methods. The rhinos aredistributed in all the three rangesof the park and are adapting wellto the habitats as analysed fromthe data generated and main-tained on a GIS platform. Thepark also houses five rhinoswhich are under rehabilitationand in total there are now 22 rhi-nos in the park.

CONCLUSION Reintroduction of wild rhinos inManas is marked as a great con-servation success story as therhinos have adapted well. It hasalso provided the necessary ini-tial impetus for the revival of thepark, as tourists, locals and con-servationists appreciate seeingthe rhinos back in Manas. Theplan is to have a founder popula-tion of 20 rhinos in Manas andhopefully the target will beachieved during the current year.


Recently, Kawal WildlifeSanctuary in Adilabad dis-trict of Andhra Pradesh has

been declared as a tiger reserveby the Andhra Pradesh govern-ment. The sanctuary is rich in flo-ral and faunal diversity and alsoa potential habitat for tigers, hav-ing corridor connectivity with theTadoba Andhari tiger reserve ofMaharashtra and Indravati inChhattisgarh through theAdilabad territorial forest areas.

Though it was declared as agame sanctuary in 1965 and final-ly notified as wildlife sanctuary inthe year 1999, conservation hasnot been up to the desired leveldue to several problems. So NTCA(headquarters) directed a rapidappraisal of the tiger reserve byShivakumar C M, (AIGF, NTCA,Bangalore regional office) andJyotirmay Jena (WWF-India).

A field visit was made to thetiger reserve on April 14 and 15this year. This report comprisesobservations made during thefield visit after discussions withforest department officials andlocal people.

ADMINISTRATIVE SET-UP | Thetiger reserve spans two divisions,Janaram and Nirmal. Both DFOsreport to the conservator offorests (territorial) who is head-quartered at Adilabad. At circle level, the conservator offorest (territorial) is entrusted tosupervise and coordinate the ter-ritorial forest activities, so hemay not be giving much attentionto wildlife management activitiesof the tiger reserve and this isalso true with DFO of Nirmaldivision as he is managing bothterritorial and wildlife ranges.Again, in respect of buffer areamanagement, it becomes furthercomplicated as the buffer will fallunder the administrative controlof three territorial divisions —Adilabad, Bellampally and Nirmal.It is desirable to reorganize thedivisions and ranges that fall

under core and buffer for effec-tive management.

MANAGEMENT APPROACH | Theexisting management is mainlyfocused on protection of valuableteak trees and timber in thereserve. The management orien-tation of the field staff is to carryout traditional territorial forestactivities and they are not awareof handling wildlife protectionand management issues.

PROTECTION ISSUES | The entirearea of Kawal tiger reserve wasunder the influence of left-wingextremist groups for almost twoand a half decades i.e. from 1982to 2009, so in the past, effective

protection measures were nottaken up. The main protectionstrategy was aimed at protectingthe teak trees rather than wildlife.

Heavy anthropogenic pressure:There are around 37 recognizedvillages inside the core area and21 recognized villages in thebuffer. In addition to this, thereare around 35 illegal hamletslocated in the tiger reserve. Themajor tribes in the reserveinclude Gonds, Nayakpod, Kolam,Lambada and Banjaras. All thesepeople living in and around thereserve are heavily dependent onthe forests to meet their needs.The forest around many villages isdegraded to some extent because

Kawal: A rapidappraisal report


By Shivakumar C M, AIG (NTCA), Regional Office, Bangalore

S P Yadav

of pollarding of trees for fodderand fuel wood. Bamboo is beingheavily used by the local peoplefor their livelihood.

Fire management: As the forestis dominated by dry deciduousvegetation, majority of the area isprone to and affected by groundfires. Most of the fires areinduced by locals people for col-lection of NTFP, beedi leaves andmahua flowers.

Encroachments: Some 80-90sqkm of forest land in the corearea of the tiger reserve has beenencroached upon and most of therights have been recognizedunder Forest Rights Act, 2006.Unfortunately while issuing thetittles to the right holders, nodemarcation has been done onthe ground either with pillars orby digging trenches. So it is verydifficult for the field staff tocheck further encroachments inthe future in the absence ofdemarcation. This problem needsto be addressed at the earliest tominimize further encroachment.

Hunting and poaching: As thereserve is thickly inhabited bytraditional hunting tribes, hunt-ing and poaching of wild animalscannot be ruled out. It is suspect-ed that local people are poison-ing water bodies to kill animalsand fish. Local staff have beenadvised to regularly monitorwater bodies, especially duringthe lean period of the year. It isgathered that there are 37 pendingwildlife offence cases in the tigerreserve. In March this year, anincident of leopard poaching wasreported in the reserve.

Timber smuggling: Organizedgroups of smugglers are involvedin teak smuggling to Hyderabadand Secunderabad. In Jannaramdivision itself, around 565 illicitfelling cases have been com-pounded and Rs 37 lakh has beencollected as compensation.

Road network: There are twohighways of about 40km stretchthat pass through the reserve. Itis learned that majority of truckspass through the reserve to avoidpayment of toll on NH7 which,connects Nagpur and Hyderabad.Though traffic movement hasbeen regulated from 9pm-6am, itis learnt that there is lot of pres-sure on local forest officials toallow vehicles during that period.

Surveillance and intelligence: As such there is no systematicsecurity plan in place for surveil-lance and intelligence gathering,which needs to be developed.

Man-animal conflicts: One humandeath has been recorded inaround 30 cases reported so far.

Staff position: There are only afew vacancies in the reserve. Butgiven the protection issues, thereis an urgent need for a strikeforce to deal with encroachments,illicit felling and wildlife offences.

Communication & network:There is no wireless network.

Anti-poaching camps: Locally,the APCs are called base camps.There are 13 base camps in thereserve, which are basically openbamboo huts used for day camp-ing and which cannot be usedduring the rainy season. There isan urgent need to improve thecondition of existing base camps.The number of base camps alsoneeds to be increased consider-ably by in view of the existingproblems.

Habitat management initiatives: To protect grass patches insidethe tiger reserve from cattle graz-ing, cattle proof bamboo fencinghas been made. To meet waterscarcity during the lean period,few artificial water bodies havebeen created at many places.

Monitoring: As the core areafalls in two forest divisions it islearned that proper monitoringof tiger, co-predator & prey is notbeing done uniformly. For theproper monitoring as per thestandard protocol of NTCA, train-ing needs to be imparted to thefield staff.


Urgent need to strengthenanti-poaching camps by provid-ing necessary manpower andbasic infrastructure. Number ofbase camps also needs to beincreased

Unified management controlover the core and buffer area ofthe reserve needed for betterhabitat management

Creation of strike force todeal with illicit felling,encroachment and wildlifeoffences

Demarcation of boundaries &preparation of maps needed.Coordinated efforts from

police, revenue and forestdepartment needed to handlelargescale encroachment

Dependency of local peopleon forest has to be reduced byproviding alternate livelihoodoptions through EDCs

Proper budgetary supporthas to be ensured to take up atprotection measures

Communication networkneeds to be improved

Standard protocol of NTCAfor monitoring of tigers, co-predator and prey needs to beadopted

ISSUES AND CONCERNS


Summary records of themeeting of field directors

The All India meeting of fielddirectors and chief wildlife war-dens was held on May 2-3, 2012at New Delhi. The meeting com-menced with a welcome addressby Dr Rajesh Gopal, PCCF &Member Secretary, National TigerConservation Authority (NTCA).He emphasized that tiger reservesin the red corridor deserved spe-cial attention. He added that theNTCA would send special teamsfor appraisal of Phase-IV monitor-ing, man-animal conflict manage-ment, XI Plan period implementa-tion of the Centrally SponsoredScheme of Project Tiger andaction taken vis-a-vis MEE recommendations.

This was followed by releaseof a book on WildlifeManagement authored by Dr Rajesh Gopal, MemberSecretary (NTCA), besides a com-pilation from 'Aranyak' and theKaziranga Tiger Reserve of camera trap records by the Hon Minister, MoEF, Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan.

The NTCA awards for excellencefor year 2010-11 were distributedby the minister to tiger reserves in11 thematic categories.

During the subsequent techni-cal session, the field directors ofthe 38 tiger reserves made elabo-rate presentations highlightingthe specific issues arising intheir reserves.

CORBETT | Progress on ‘24x7electronic surveillance’ (e-Eye),implementation of ‘M-STrIPES’.Declaration of a ‘silence zone’upto a radial distance of 500maround the tiger reserve borderand need for phasing out tourisminfrastructure from Dhikala.

DUDHWA | Poaching continues tobe a problem along Indo-Nepalborder and the entire Terai belt,trans-border cooperation lacking.As many as 183 offenders arrest-ed, 83 jailed last year.

RANTHAMBORE | Regularantipoaching operations, specialinitiatives taken to protect thehabitat from illegal livestockgrazing. Village relocation isongoing, 66.2% completed.

SARISKA | GPS based tiger track-ing/patrolling on, regular moni-toring protocol for reintroducedtigers being followed with fivededicated teams. Pressure fromthe local people for repairing thehighway passing through thetiger reserve.

PALAMAU | As much as 1/3rd ofreserve affected by left wingextremism, and the situation con-tinues to be alarming. Difficultiesin implementing MEE recommen-dations, such as left wingextremism, untimely release offunds by state and paucity offield staff.

SUNDARBANS | Land-basedcamps have been created forstrengthening protection. Tigermonitoring protocol developed,registration of boats initiated.

BUXA | Biotic pressure onaccount of 32 forest villagesbesides 42 peripheral villagesand nearby tea estates. Need toaddress issues relating to area ofconcern with Bhutan at govern-ment level.

BANDHAVGARH | Camera trapstowards Phase-IV will be

deployed once monitoringprocess in Kanha is completed.Twelve villages inside reserve,besides several others on theperiphery and beyond, leading toconflict situations. Need to regu-late tourism infrastructure in thearea, besides tourist visitationwithin the reserve.

PENCH | Buffer zone not undercontrol of the field director. Morefunds required to carry outPhase-IV monitoring. In contextof MEE observations, recruitmentprocess is under way for STPF.

PANNA | Reintroduction of tigersa success. Large number of road-kill in nearby highways.Independent research officerrequired. Need to improve corri-dor connectivity to facilitatemovement of wild animals.

SATPURA | Notification of bufferzone under way, village reloca-tion in progress. Shortage of for-est guards and field vehicles.

KANHA | Special grassland firingregime has been developed.Central assistance required forexpediting village relocation.

SANJAY | Corridor linkagesbetween Sanjay-Dubri,Bandhavgarh and AchanakmarTiger Reserves need restoration.

INDRAVATI | Problems due to leftwing extremism. Paucity of fieldstaff. Buffer not under unifiedcontrol of field director.

ACHANAKMAR | All cattle campsremoved from core area. Blackleopards have been reportedfrom the area.


UDANTI-SITANADI | Diamondmining ongoing outside corearea. Need for joint patrollingalong interstate border areas.

KAZIRANGA | Complaints regard-ing illegal mining and encroach-ment must be looked into.Unified control over buffershould be established.

MANAS | Reintroduction of rhinoin its historical range is beingdone as a part of ‘India RhinoVision-2020’. Illicit grazing amajor problem.

NAMERI | Prone to insurgencyproblems. Huge encroachment inwestern and eastern parts of thebuffer resulting in habitat loss.Buffer not under control of fielddirector. Delay in release of cen-tral assistance. Support requiredfor dealing with wild elephants

NAMDAPHA | Encroachment byLisus within the reserve is a seri-ous problem on account ofpoaching threat. Notification ofbuffer zone not done.

DAMPA | Poaching serious issuein border areas alongwith leftwing extremism.

MELGHAT | Two state highwayspass through the reserve, largenumber of villages in and aroundthe reserve. Delay in release ofcentral assistance.

PENCH (MAHARASHTRA) | Illegalfishing serious issue common toMaharashtra and MP portions ofPench. Only one village needs tobe relocated for which land isavailable but funds needed.

SAHYADRI | There are 11 villagesin Koyana and five in Chandoliwhich are due for relocation, but19 may remain in the core.Central assistance has not beenreleased by the state in full

TADOBA ANDHARI | Human-tiger

conflict serious issue in bufferarea. Buffer area has been hand-ed over to field director with par-tial control. Tiger protection forceinvolving local people is helpful.

SATKOSIA | Prone to illegal fish-ing, poaching and timber smug-gling. Administrative setuprequires correction and there isno unified control.

SIMILIPAL | ‘Akhand Shikar’ con-tinues to be big problem along-with left wing extremism. Fourvillages due for relocation.

NAGARAHOLE & BANDIPURSTPF including 27 people fromtribal community raised anddeployed. Elephant depredationhas been reduced.

BRT HILL | Training for Phase-IVmonitoring done. Tiger photo IDdatabase developed. Dailypatrolling log uploaded atweb.brt.gov.in.

BHADRA | M-STrIPES launched.Under Phase-IV monitoring, 120camera traps have been deployedwhich would be completed bythe end of May 2012.

NAGARJUNASAGAR SRISAILAM 94 camera traps have been pro-cured through state funds, NTCAsupport required. Most recom-mendations contained in MEEcomplied with.

PARAMBIKULAM | Twenty-sixantipoaching camps for protec-tion. Inadequate trained stafflimiting factor. Disturbance dueto road/reservoir.

PERIYAR | Gaanja cultivation andpoaching reported. Efforts underway to regulate tourism. Bufferzone has not been notified.

KALAKAD MUNDANTHURAIPoor road network affects anti-poaching operations. Pilgrim visi-tation is a problem.

MUDUMALAI | Tripartite meetingsbetween officials of Kerala,Karnataka and Tamil Nadu heldfor coordination. Tourism pres-sure controlled through declara-tion of eco-sensitive zone.

ANAMALAI | Tea estates have con-siderable human-wildlife con-flicts. 31 tribal settlements withthe reserve. Sandalwood smug-gling, ganja cultivation a problem.

In his concluding remarks, Dr Rajesh Gopal highlighted thefollowing:Anti-poaching operationsrequire topmost priority. Specialfortnightly drives should belaunched to sanitise the habitatfrom traps and snares. Annual plan of allocation(APO) proposal should judicious-ly reflect demand for only suchinterventions which are not sup-ported vis-a-vis the reserve-spe-cific Tiger Conservation Plan.The NTCA / Project Tiger iscommitted to support the newtiger reserves. Hence, indicativeplans should be sent at the earli-est to facilitate fund release fromProject Tiger. The Phase-IV monitoring pro-tocol should be followed by allthe reserves to ensure uniformity. The guidelines of ProjectTiger should be scrupulously followed along with provisions ofthe Wildlife (Protection) Act,1972, read with the ScheduledTribes and Other Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights)Act, 2006. The individual / uniquephoto captures of tiger should becollated for creating a databasewhich would be used in statelevel/national database.

DIG (NTCA) S P Yadav request-ed the participants for early sub-mission of annual plans of allo-cation with GPS locations of pro-posed activities, besides provid-ing the utilisation certificates forgrant received.

Iam pleased to be here amidstyou all for inaugurating thiscountry-level meeting of field

directors of tiger reserves andchief wildlife wardens of tigerstates. Our commitment for sav-ing the tiger is well known. Sincethe early 70s, the Government ofIndia and tiger states have collab-orated in implementing ProjectTiger. We have come a long wayfrom the formative years. Theproject coverage has expandedfrom 9 to 40 reserves, spread overalmost 46,388 sq.km. in 17 of ourStates.

Thanks to the vision of Smt.Indira Gandhi, we have the maxi-mum number of tigers and itssource areas amongst all the 13tiger range countries in the world.

Since last year, we have sharp-ened our focus on the tiger. TheCentrally Sponsored Scheme ofProject Tiger was revised inAugust 2011. Its allotment wasstepped up to Rs. 1216.86 crore,especially to support the statesfor securing inviolate space fortigers. Several additional compo-nents have also been included: (i)Change in the funding pattern inrespect of northeastern states(90:10), (ii) raising compensationfor man-animal conflict to Rs 2lakh (iii) acquisition of privateland for making the core/criticaltiger habitat inviolate, (iv) estab-lishment of Tiger Safari, interpre-tation/awareness centres underthe existing component of 'co-existence agenda in buffer/fringeareas', and management of suchcentres through the respectivePanchayati Raj Institutions, and

(v) re-introduction of the cheetah.Field protection continues to

remain very high on our tigeragenda. The states are supportedin a big way to deploy local work-force for protection. Besides, weare persuading the States to raise,arm and deploy of the SpecialTiger Protection Force (STPF). Thisneeds to be expedited by theStates. Despite, 100% centralassistance to four States (UttarPradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthanand Orissa), the deployment ofSTPF has not taken place. I amhappy that Karnataka hasemerged as the first state toimplement this.

The NTCA has supported a pilotinitiative in Corbett using infor-mation technology in combinationwith thermal cameras for 24X7surveillance. This, alongwith therecently launched ‘M-STrIPES’monitoring would strengthen sur-veillance and field monitoring.

Another important initiativetaken recently is the Phase-IVmonitoring. The protocol for thishas been finalized after muchconsultation with field officersand scientists. The idea behind isto build up the capacity in ourfield formations for scientificmonitoring. The NTCA would con-tinue to facilitate the States in thisregard.

Further, steps have also beentaken for setting up a nationalrepository of camera trap photodatabase of tigers. This wouldenable linkages with similarrepositories in states to keeptrack of our wild tigers.

In the recent past, we had rec-

ommended for notifying theKawal Wildlife Sanctuary inAndhra Pradesh as a TigerReserve. Further, 'in-principle'approval has also been accordedfor declaring the SathyamangalamWildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Naduas a tiger reserve. I am confidentthis would further strengthen ourtiger conservation efforts.

As you are aware, the 2010country-level snapshot assess-ment of the tiger and its habitathas registered an increase of 20%over the earlier such assessmentin 2006. However, the outcomehas highlighted the need forrestoring the fringe areas of tigerreserves and the connecting for-est linkages.

The independent ManagementEffectiveness Evaluation of tigerreserves has also underlined theactionable points. Both these find-ings should be factored in ourtiger conservation strategy byreflecting them in the TigerConservation Plans of tigerreserves.

Project Tiger is one of the mostimportant flagship programmes ofmy ministry. Soon after takingover as minister, I have beenaddressing chief ministers on var-ious issues, besides supportingnew initiatives to strengthen thecause...

Tiger conservation is a collec-tive responsibility between thegovernment of India, state govern-ments and civil society. I congrat-ulate the tiger reserves receivingthe awards for excellence, and Iam sure you will keep up thegood work.


Great strides, fresh focuson tiger conservation

Minister Jayanthi Natarajan’s Speech At The All India Meeting of FieldDirectors of Tiger Reserves and Chief Wildlife Wardens of Tiger States

NTCA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE FOR 2010-11

Anti-Poaching | Dudhwa (UP), Kaziranga (Assam),Pakke (Arunachal); Habitat Management | Kanha(MP); Village relocation and resettlement | Satpura(MP); Co-existence & Buffer Management |Kalakad Mundanthurai (TN); Tourism Regulation |Periyar (Kerala); Active Management | Panna (MP);Innovative Practices | Parambikulam (Kerala);

Management of Human-Tiger Conflict |Sundarbans (West Bengal); Effective HRManagement | Nagarjunasagar Srisailam (AndhraPradesh); Involvement of Local People & Eco-development | Mudumalai (TN); Use of ModernTechnology In Tiger Conservation/Protection |Corbett (Uttarakhand)

Udaishringi 9810315003

Published and printed by Inder Mohan Singh Kathuria on behalf of National Tiger Conservation Authority. Published at Annexe No 5, Bikaner House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi - 110011 and

printed at Astha Packaging, 122 DSISC Sheds, Okhla Phase I, New Delhi - 110020

DELENG/2009/30636STRIPES | BI-MONTHLY OUTREACH JOURNAL OF NATIONAL TIGER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY,A STATUTORY BODY UNDER MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

VOLUME THREE FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION ISSUE FOUR

bi-monthly outreach journal of national tiger...

Documents