Measures to save the tigers in India
Measures to save the tigers in India
Question - Tiger Poaching in India has seriously impacted the probability of survival of tigers in India. What are the measures taken by the government to reduce the poaching of tigers in India.
-Poaching – It is defined as the illegal hunting, killing or attacking the animals for the purpose of selling animal products, ivory, horn, teeth and born.
-Tiger poaching in India – In India, illegal poaching is a major threat to the tigers. The Bengal Tiger is the most common subspecies of tiger and there are around 1706 Bengal tigers that exist today.
Tiger poaching in India has increased in the past eight years. In 2005, India recorded 46 cases of poaching whereas, in 2006, 37 tigers were poached. These two years recorded the largest number of poaching. About 3000 wild tigers survive today, out of which 1700 are Bengal tigers.
Measures to control the tiger poaching
The Government of India has taken certain measures to tackle the issue of tiger poaching in India.
-Project Tiger – The program was launched in 1973 by the Government of India to protect the Bengal tigers from extinction. The program provides central assistance to states that have adopted the scheme of Project Tiger for tiger reserves. It is the famous wildlife conservation project in India. After the launch of the project, there has been a increase in the number of tigers to about 2226 from around 1657.
-National Tiger Conservation Authority – It is a statutory body formed in 2005 under the Ministry of Environment, forests and climate change. It ensures protective measures and tries to reduce the dependency of local communities on the tiger reserves. The NTCA is responsible for implementing the “Project Tiger” plan in order to protect the endangered tiger species.
-Wildlife Protection Society of India – It was founded in 1994 by Belinda Wright. The WPSI has implemented a successful conservation campaign around the tiger reserve areas in Central India. The campaign was launched in April 2011.
WPSI also organizes a Secret Information Reward Scheme to collect the poaching and the wildlife crime information around the Tiger reserves in Central India. The scheme is in collaboration with the Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh governments.
The WPSI conducts Wildlife Law Enforcement Workshops which organizes highly active sessions and involves the active participation of everyone.
-Valmiki Tiger Conservation Project – The Wildlife Trust of India in collaboration with the Bihar Forest Department initiated the Valmiki Tiger Conservation Project in the year 2003. The aim of the project was to bring back the interest in conservation of Valmiki and to facilitate the recovery of the area as a possible tiger habitat.
-Tiger Corridor Protection program – It concentrates on the areas which covers the state of Madhya Pradesh. The program aims to collect the data related to the poaching pressure, prey base etc. They also conduct a socio-economic survey of the people living near the tiger reserve areas.
-The Corbett Foundation – TCF is a non government charitable trust founded by Mr. Dilip Dharamsey Khatau, chairman of the Khatau Group of industries. It began to function on 22 April. The foundation aims to protect the Bengal tigers and also gives compensation to the nearby people whose livestocks are destroyed by the tigers.
Facts and Figures
- India holds over half the world's tiger population.
- 95 cases of tiger poaching came into light in 1994, whereas 23 cases of tiger poaching were reported in 2014.
- The Bengal Tiger is the most common subspecies of tiger and it constitutes around 80% of the entire tiger population.
- About 3000 wild tigers survive today, out of which 1700 are Bengal tigers.
- A single skin cell of the tiger can cost up to 6.5 million in China.
- Project Tiger was launched in 1973 by the Government of India.
