RAMNAGAR (Uttarakhand) : Minister of state for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh has said the great demand for tiger and leopard parts in China is a serious threat to conservation.
Ramesh said the traditional 'Year of the Tiger' being observed in China this year is of particular concern, as it would induce poaching due to lucrative returns.
"Poaching is a very serious problem in front of us because from here smuggling takes place to Myanmar, Thailand and goes upto China. There is a high demand for tiger and leopard parts there," said Ramesh.
"2010 has been declared as the year of the Tiger in China, so this will have an adverse affect on our tigers as well. So, we are trying to strengthen our provisions for their security," he added during his visit to the famed Corbett Tiger Reserve here on Saturday.
Ramesh said as per the 2009 Tiger census, almost 65 of them died due to poaching, as compared to 30-35 poached annually, adding that the Central Government has formulated the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau to check poaching.
"I want to make one thing very clear that we cannot attain success solely by increasing the police action. The collective steps by the government and the local communities would help curb the menace," said Ramesh.
"Till the time we get the support of the locals; if the local communities will not offer their support to us in this matter, we will not be able to curb the tiger deaths," he added.
