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Contents
Source: The post is based on the article “‘Cap tiger numbers at 4k, don’t make them a pest’” published in The Times of India on 21st April 2023.
Syllabus: GS – 3: Environment and Bio-diversity Conservation.
Relevance: About tiger population.
News: Recently, the government released the 5th cycle of India’s Tiger Census. Based on the survey, the tiger population in India has grown from 1,411 in 1972 to 3,167 in 2022.
What are the key findings of India’s tiger census?
| Read here: India is home to 75% of global tigers; count rises above 3,000 |
What are the government initiatives that led to an increase in the tiger population?
| Read here: Increasing tiger population in India and government initiatives – Explained, pointwise |
What are the challenges India faces with the increased tiger population?
India nearing the inherent ecological carrying capacity: India’s present reserves do not have the environmental capacity to support more than 4000 tigers. Reaching 10,000 tiger populations might create landscape transformations.
Few state governments have issued ‘shoot at sight’ orders to eliminate tigers.
Note: The standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) have deal with various conditions including killing tigers.
| Read here: Burning bright – India must balance conservation efforts with the rights of forest dwellers” and Celebrate the rise in tiger population, but look beyond the numbers |
What are the advantages of India’s tiger conservation plans?
Reserve-specific tiger conservation plans: India’s tiger conservation plan was reserve-specific. The plan has better preventive and control measures like day-to-day monitoring, kill monitoring, deployment of Rapid Response Teams and timely compensating depredations. This deals with human-tiger conflicts.
Help other countries: The good practices under Project Tiger can help other tiger range countries strengthen their tiger efforts. India has already formalised its engagement with Cambodia for tiger revival, including translocation. This effort is very important for the South-East Asian region.
What should be done?
India needs sustainable tiger populations with viable tiger porosity between tiger source areas. For that, India needs a) A 24×7 surveillance of human-wildlife interface linked to a control room based on gainful community stewardship, b) Technology for preventive and control measures, c) A vibrant landscape approach for engaging with all stakeholders monitored by the state-level steering committee, d) regulation of agriculture/ cash crop cover and related actions.
