New Delhi, Apr 15 : Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh today said preliminary reports from the second nationwide tiger census, currently underway, were very encouraging and that Kaziranga in Assam could show an increase in tiger density.
Evidence of the endangered Indian tiger had been found even in the Naxal-dominated reserve areas, which he said was the most “unexpected good news.” India has an estimated tiger population of 1,400.
A non-government organisation (NGO), Aranyak, had recently estimated the tiger density in Kaziranga at 32 tigers per 100 square kilometre. Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand and the Kanha tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh were, so far, believed to be areas of highest tiger density. The estimated tiger density in Corbett is 20 tigers per 100 square km.
While briefing the media on a new software for collecting all field information on tigers, Ramesh said reports of tiger cub sightings and other marks of their presence had been received even from the Naxal-dominated reserve areas of Indravati in Chhattisgarh, Nagarjunasagar in Andhra Pradesh and Palamau in Jharkhand. In the buffer areas of Indravati, tiger faecal matter has been found.
The tiger census is expected to be completed by November.
However, the minister tempered this early enthusiasm by adding a cautious note that based on these observations, the ministry was not in a position to say what would be the final results. “Does it mean that the number of tigers is more than 1,400? I don’t know,” he added, bringing in a cautious note.
Data collection for Phase-I of the tiger census has been completed across the country, except in two states – Orissa and Arunachal Pradesh, the ministry said. Around 3.5 lakh square km of forest areas is being covered in this phase. Phase-II of this project, which involves data collection through satellite is also underway. In the third phase, the Wildlife Institute of India would use the collected data for camera trapping sessions.
The tiger population in India has been steadily going down. At the turn of the nineteenth century, some estimates suggest there were 45,000 tigers in India. The struggle to save the Indian tiger remains an uphill task as an international demand for tiger parts creates a lucrative trade and poaching of the endangered animal is hard to check . There is an enormous demand for tiger parts in several East Asian countries and especially China.
The ministry today launched a new software, M Stripes, which, he said, would be a valuable tool for forest directors to get field level information and track all surveillance.
Ramesh said the system will make it impossible to “doctor” any information and provide transparency. “We will have more reliable information on the extent to which patrolling is being done,” he said.
Unregulated tourism as bad as poaching: Ramesh
Environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said unregulated tourism is as big a threat to tiger population as poaching and poisoning.
He objected to the way tourist lodges were constructed around the Corbett and other national parks. The issue had been discussed at the Wildlife Board and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has written to the chief minister of Uttaranchal.
The chief minister, he said, has said that he would take action, “but the pressure on Corbett continues,” he added.
Ramesh said the ministry is in discussions with the state governments to take eco-tourism more seriously. Karnataka and Kerala were already doing this.
The system, which will also equip forest guards with GPS, will record field visits and capture detailed information on wildlife crimes such as poaching and poisoning of tigers. It is also expected to provide forecasting of poaching or habitat degradation, Y V Jhala, a scientist at Wildlife Institute of India, said.
The pilot project is proposed to be implemented within the next two months at six tiger reserves, which include Corbett, Kanha and Ranthambore.
Special efforts will also be made for a tiger census in the Sunderbans area, which is a difficult area to survey being a sea-based ecosystem.
