Delhi: Tiger is an incredible part of nature and the increased number of the big cats in India reflects equilibrium in nature.”, said the Union Environment Minister, Shri Prakash Javadekar at the release of the detailed report of Tiger Census on the eve of Global Tiger Day in New Delhi.
Shri Javadekar said Tigers and other wildlife are a kind of soft power, India has to show on the international front. The Minister said, despite several constraints such as less landmass, India has eight percent of bio-diversity because our country has a culture of saving and preserving the nature, trees, and wildlife. Noting that wildlife is our natural wealth, Shri Prakash said, it is praiseworthy that India has 70 percent of the world’s tiger population.
As per the tweet by PIB, the Union Environment Minister mentioned that India is tirelessly working with all 13 tiger range countries towards nurturing the tiger.
Shri Javadekar also announced that his Ministry is working on a programme in which efforts would be made to provide water and fodder to animals in the forest itself to deal with the challenge of human-animal conflict which is causing deaths of animals. For, this LIDAR based survey technology will be used for the first time. LIDAR is a method for measuring distances by illuminating the target with laser light and measuring the reflection with a sensor.
Highlighting the keystone nature of the tiger, a poster on the presence of small cats was also released by the Environment Minister. With the presence of nearly 30 percent of India’s tigers outside tiger reserves, India had embarked upon assessing management interventions through the globally developed Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS) framework, which will now be extended to all fifty tiger reserves across the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State of Environment, Shri Babul Supriyo said, human-animal conflict can be avoided but it cannot be ruled out in the country. He said, frontline officials, have done a commendable job in raising the numbers of the tiger in the country.
The detailed report of the 4th All India Tiger Estimation is unique in the following ways:-
- The abundance index of co-predators and other species has been carried out which hitherto was restricted only to occupancy.
- The sex ratio of tigers in all camera trap sites has been carried out for the first time.
- Anthropogenic effects on the tiger population have been elaborated in a detailed manner.
- Tiger abundance within pockets in tiger reserves has been demonstrated for the first time.