The Government has taken number of measures  to increase the number of tigers after Wildlife Institute of India reported decline in the number of tigers in many tiger reserves including central India. Rehabilitation of  the tigers in Sariska is one of the major step in this direction. As per the recovery plan suggested by the Wildlife Institute of India, in all 5 tigers are required to be translocated to Sariska Tiger Reserve.  A male tiger and a tigress have been reintroduced in Sariska Tiger Reserve from the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve of Rajasthan in June/July 2008, based on the said recovery strategy. This is a collaborative initiative between the National Tiger Conservation Authority, Rajasthan Forest Department and the Wildlife Institute of India. 

            As per the findings of the recent all India estimation of tiger using the refined methodology, the total country-level population of tiger is 1411 (mid value); the lower and upper limits being 1165 and 1657 respectively.  The details are at Annexure-I.  The recent assessment of tiger population is based on determining spatial occupancy of tigers throughout potential tiger forests and sampling such forests using camera traps in a statistical framework.  This assessment is not comparable to the earlier total count using pugmarks owing to several shortcomings in the latter.  The new findings indicate a poor status of tiger population in areas outside tiger reserves and protected areas.  The tiger population, by and large, in tiger reserves and protected areas of such States are viable, while requiring ongoing conservation efforts.  The steps taken by Government of India to protect tigers are Annexure-II.

Annexure-I

Forest occupancy and population estimates of tiger as per the refined met

hodology

* Population estimates are based on possible density of tiger occupied landscape in the area, not assessed by double sampling.

** Data was not amenable to population estimation of tiger.  However, available information about the landscape indicates low densities of tiger in the area ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 per 100 km².

Annexure-II

Steps taken by the Government of India for protection and conservation of tigers

Legal steps

Amendment of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 for providing enabling provisions for constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau. The punishment in cases of offence within a tiger reserve has been enhanced.  The Act also provides for forfeiture of any equipment, vehicle or weapon that has been used for committing any wild life offence.

Administrative steps

2.         Strengthening of antipoaching activities, including special strategy for monsoon patrolling, by providing funding support to Tiger Reserve States, as proposed by them, for deployment of antipoaching squads involving ex-army personnel / home guards, apart from workforce comprising of local people, in addition to strengthening of communication / wireless facilities.

3.         100% Central Assistance provided to 17 Tiger Reserves as an additionality for deployment of Tiger Protection Force, comprising of ex-army personnel and local workforce.  

4.         Constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority with effect from 4.09.2006, for strengthening tiger conservation by, interalia, ensuring normative standards in tiger reserve management, preparation of reserve specific tiger conservation plan, laying down annual / audit report before Parliament, constituting State level Steering Committees under the Chairmanship of Chief Ministers and establishment of Tiger Conservation Foundation.

5.         Constitution of a multidisciplinary Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau) with effect from 6.6.2007 comprising of officers from Police, Forest, Customs and other enforcement agencies to effectively control illegal trade in wildlife.

6.                     Approval accorded for declaring eight new Tiger Reserves.

7.         The revised Project Tiger guidelines have been issued to States for strengthening tiger conservation, which apart from ongoing activities, interalia, include funding support to States for enhanced village relocation/rehabilitation package for people living in core or critical tiger habitats (from Rs. 1 lakh/family to Rs. 10 lakhs/family), rehabilitation/resettlement of communities involved in traditional hunting, mainstreaming livelihood and wildlife concerns in forests outside tiger reserves and fostering corridor conservation through restorative strategy to arrest habitat fragmentation.

8.         A scientific methodology for estimating tiger (including copredators, prey animals and assessment of habitat status) has been evolved and mainstreamed.  The findings of this estimation/assessment are bench marks for future tiger conservation strategy.

9.         An area of 26749.097 sq. km. has been notified by 14 Tiger States (out of 17) as core or critical tiger habitat under section 38V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006 (AP, Arunachal, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Jharkhand, MP, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Orissa and West Bengal).   Three tiger States (Bihar, Chhattisgarh and UP) have taken a decision for notifying the core or critical tiger habitats (4264.282 sq.km.).  The State of Madhya Pradesh has not identified / notified the core /critical tiger habitat in its newly constituted tiger reserve (Sanjay National Park and Sanjay Dubri Wildlife Sanctuary). 

10.        Memorandum of Understanding developed for better/concerted implementation of conservation inputs through tiger reserve States.

Financial steps

11.        Financial and technical help is provided to the States under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes, viz. Project Tiger and Integrated Development of Wildlife habitats for enhancing the capacity and infrastructure of the States for providing effective protection to wild animals. 

International Cooperation

12.        India has a Memorandum of Understanding with Nepal on controlling trans-boundary illegal trade in wildlife and conservation, apart from a protocol on tiger conservation with China.

13.        A Global Tiger Forum of Tiger Range Countries has been created for addressing international issues related to tiger conservation.

14.        During the 14^th meeting of the Conference of Parties to CITES, which was held from 3^rd to 15^th June, 2007 at The Hague, India introduced a resolution along with China, Nepal and the Russian Federation, with directions to Parties with operations breeding tigers on a commercial scale, for restricting such captive populations to a level supportive only to conserving wild tigers.  The resolution was adopted as a decision with minor amendments. Further, India made an intervention appealing to China to phase out tiger farming, and eliminate stockpiles of Asian big cats body parts and derivatives.  The importance of continuing the ban on trade of body parts of tigers was emphasized.

Creation of Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF)

15.        The policy initiatives announced by the Finance Minister in his Budget Speech of 29.2.2008, interalia, contains action points relating to tiger protection. Based on the one time grant of Rs. 50.00 crore provided to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for raising, arming and deploying a Special Tiger Protection Force, the proposal for the said force has been approved by the competent authority for 13 tiger reserves.  Advisory has been sent to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand for initiating steps for deploying in Dudhwa, Ranthambhore and Corbett tiger reserves, with 100% Central assistance during the current financial year.

Minister of State for the Ministry of Environment and Forests Shri S Regupathy replied in a written question by Shri Krishan Lal Balmik in  Rajya Sabha today.

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KP