Reserves for tigers, wildlife crime control fight in 2008

Times of India , Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Correspondent : PTI
NEW DELHI: The tiger census released early this year indicating a drastic decline in the big cat's population was a wake-up call enough for the government to initiate a string of measures to boost its count and save it from extinction.

Reintroduction of the stripped animals in the Sariska Tiger reserve, an increased budget allocation, framing of a tiger conservation plan besides a special tiger force were some of the major measures undertaken which reflected the government's seriousness to protect tigers.

In one of the biggest conservation measures, a stripped big cat couple -- first a male followed by female -- were successfully airlifted from Ranthambore and introduced in Sariska reserve in Rajasthan where tigers were lost to poaching in 2005.

The effort is being seen as the first step towards successful re-establishment in any reserve paving way for more such initiatives to boost the tiger population whose numbers have plunged by half to 1,411 tigers in three years in 2008, according to a Wildlife Institute of India (WII) report released early this year.

The new method involves actual tiger sightings using camera traps, as well as pugmarks and faeces, which give accurate results.

The study spurred the government to not only announce creation of more tiger reserves but also allocate Rs 600 crore for the 'Project Tiger' scheme under the 11th plan in the 2008-09 budget.

Of this a major portion Rs 500 crore has been proposed to be spent for the rehabilitation and relocation of the villagers who will now get enhanced financial package from Rs 1 lakh to a staggering Rs 10 lakhs to move out from the parks and ensure inviolate areas for the stripped cat.

Presently, families in the 273 villages staying in core or critical areas in 28 tiger reserves in 17 states need to be relocated, a process to be monitored by a high-level committee.

Five new sanctuaries namely Sunabeda Tiger Reserve in Orissa, Shahyadri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh and Ratapani Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh were cleared by the government taking the total number of parks to over 35 in the country.

To ensure protection to these animals, work on creation of the Special Task Protection Force (STPF) has begun with the NTCA sending the proposal to the finance ministry for clearance.

However, a tough task remains ahead for the government with poachers and destruction of habitat remaining a threat for the animal as at least over ten tiger deaths were reported from inside and outside the reserves in the country due to various reasons, particularly in Sunderban in Bengal where a case of tiger poaching was reported for the first time in the last two decades.

Endangered leopards too became a victim of man-animal conflicts and wildlife criminals.

Another major decision that hogged the limelight enactment of "The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 aiming to extend rights to Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers to own forest land, bringing the differences among wildlife experts and tribal activists to the fore.

Several wildlife groups have questioned the legislation on the ground that it would pose a serious threat to the already depleting forest cover, flora and fauna.

If the relocation plan of two male wild Indian rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) were translocated to Manas National Park in Assam brought a ray of hope among conservationists, a global wildlife body, IUCN's decision to exclude the animal from endangered category was a matter of concern.

The painful death of an ageing elephant, Arundathi last year in Uttarakhand which roused sentiments of animal lover across the world, prompted the government to formulate guidelines for mercy killing of elephants suffering from debilitating injury in a bid to releive them from agony.

Despite a skeletal staff at its disposal, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) set up at the behest of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also got into action during the year by strengtheing intelligence and seizing wildlife items including busting of a racket and recovering 20 kg tiger bones and a large number of traps from Gurgaon.

The year also witnessed a first of its kind case in the wildlife crime with as many as twenty people being sentenced to three years imprisonment and fined for poaching endangered lions in the Gir Forest and trading in their parts.

Today, the only living representatives of the Asiatic lions occur in and around the Gir Forest, the only home of the last surviving natural gene pool of the endangered species.

Widening its ambit for animal conservation, the CZA has identified two zoos from where genetically pure endangered species will be introduced in Kuno wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh aiming to spread over the lion population.

The identification has been done after intensive scientific investigation of samples at Laboratories for Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCones) of DNA of lions from various zoos across the country.

Mass death of 93 ghariyals in Chambal river in Uttar Pradesh in merely two months since December last year in a mysterious circumstanes could not be solved even as the state government adopted hi-tech mode of keeping track of the endangered animals in the region.

Concerned at the poor status of animal in the wild, the Central Zoo Authority has stepped in to chalk out a plan to ensure that the zoos must have atleast 100 (target of 250 in captivity in world of which 100 must be in India) animals of endangered species.

To this effect the autonomous body of the environment ministry initiated in-situ and ex-situ conservation to protect the endangered species of as many as 68 endangered species in various zoos.

Asiatic lion, Bengal Tiger, snow leopard, clouded leopard, wild dong, long tailed monkey, Blue sheep, mouse deer, swamp deer, thamin deer, chiru, pygmy hog, Himalayan Monal, Blood Pheasant are some of the species which are being taken up for the planned coordinated conservation breeding.

A joint report by IUCN and Traffic released during the year painted a bleak picture of medicinal plants found in India stating that key species have declined due to over -collection to supply domestic and foreign medicinal markets.

During the year for the first time, a nexus between herb smugglers and poachers was also exposed as WccB sleuths arrested a wildlife items trader for allegedly smuggling an aphrodisiac fungus Yarsa Gumba, found in upper reaches of Uttarakhand to China via Nepal.

 
SOURCE : Wednesday, 24 December 2008
 


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