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Presentation on Presented by: Conservation:NIDHI GOYAL

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. Tigers occupy the pinnacle of the foodchain and a healthy tiger population isan indicator of the well being of thewhole forest.. With the number of herbivores undercontrol, but not depleted, the forestvegetation is likely to thrive providedhumans do not over exploit it.. Species at the top of the food chainare generally larger and require morespace than other animals, particularly ifthey are territorial .. Conserving such species in the wildprotects as well as safeguards theessential ecological processes such aswater and nutrient cycling. Thus thetiger as the guardian of many othercreatures.

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The National Tiger Conservation Authority was established in December 2005following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force constituted by the Prime Ministerof India for reorganized management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Reserves inIndia.•Tiger conservation:. In June 2007, a detailed survey by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), which usedaccurate camera traps for counting tigers rather than the more traditional method ofcounting footprints, reported that previous estimates of tiger numbers in India may behugely optimistic..The landmark report, Status of the Tigers, Co-predators, and Prey in India, published bythe National Tiger Conservation Authority, estimates only 1411 adult tigers in existencein India (plus uncensused tigers in the Sundarbans).. For example, in the 16 reserves of Madhya Pradesh , Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh theremay be only 490 tigers – a 60% reduction from the 1,233 tigers previously estimated forthese areas in 2002. Indeed, the same 2002 survey had claimed that in total, India had3,500 tigers, whilst the new survey claims that just 1,400 remain.

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• Although India does have good laws governing tiger conservation, there is frustration amongst those working in tiger conservation that these laws are not being adequately implemented. However, initiatives such as Born Free’s community and education work in India are getting good results.• Translocating villagers out of tiger reserves can be effective too, if sensitively done. The tigers prey flourishes in the absence of disturbance, and poachers’ activities are harder to disguise.• Nevertheless, farmers seem quite open about the fact that tigers are killed so their body parts can be used for Traditional Medicine.• The most recent audit of wild tigers by the Authority (in early 2008) has estimated the number at 1411 wild tigers – 1165 - 1657 allowing for statistical error - a drop of 60% in the past decade.

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Organization: The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 was been amended to provide for constituting of the National Tiger Conservation Authority responsible for implementation of the Project Tiger plan to protect endangered tigers. The National Tiger Conservation Authority is set up under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Environment and Forests. The Inspector General of Forests, in charge of project Tiger, will be ex-officio Member Secretary. The Authority, interalia, would lay down normative standards, guidelines for tiger conservation in the Tiger Reserves, apart from National Parks and Sanctuaries. It would provide information on protection measures including future conservation plan, tiger estimation, disease surveillance, mortality survey, patrolling, report on untoward happenings and such other management aspects as it may deem fit, including future plan for conservation.

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 The Tiger Conservation Authority would be required to prepare an Annual Report, which would be laid in the Parliament along with the Audit Report. A provision has been made for the State Governments to prepare a Tiger Conservation Plan, which would include staff development, their deployment to ensure protection of tiger reserves and its development, while ensuring compatible forestry operations in adjoining areas. Further, safeguards have been provided for ensuring the agricultural, livelihood, developmental and other interests of the people living inside a forest or in and around a tiger reserve. The core as well as buffer areas have been explicitly explained to avoid ambiguity. Provision will be made for the States to establish a Tiger Conservation Foundation, based on the good practices emanating from some tiger reserves. The proposed Foundation is a Trust, which would be constituted as per the appropriate statutory provisions in vogue in the State.

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National tiger conservation authority for ban on tourism in core areas of tigerreserve:BHOPAL: The national tiger conservation authority (NTCA) has recommended to bantourism activities from the core areas of tiger reserves of the country and to limit them tobuffer areas for the benefit of the local communities.The authority has filed its recommendation in the Supreme Court. The recommendationswere submitted after the apex courts orders while hearing a petition filed by a Bhopal-based activist to ban tourism activities in the core areas of the parks. The petition pleaded the apex court to direct the governments to notify the buffer zones.In its recommendations, the NTCA has used the word "eco-tourism"- Guidelines for eco-tourism in and around protected areas"."There is a need to adhere with the amended provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act interms of the core/critical tiger habitat or critical wildlife habitat that have defined theneed to provide inviolate core and buffer areas (designed for co-existence) in tigerreserves", the recommendations stated.

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Habitat and prey loss:• Large-scale habitat destruction and decimation of prey populations are the major long-term threats to the existence of the dwindling tiger population in the country. Less than a hundred years ago, tigers prowled all across India and the sub-continent.• But growing human populations, particularly since the 1940s, have contracted and fragmented the tigers former range. Although extensive habitat is available in some landscapes, agriculture, clearing of forests for development - especially road networks, hydel projects are forcing tigers into small and scattered islands of remaining habitat.• Tigers need large territories. And along with habitat, tigers have also suffered a severe loss of natural prey populations – in particular ungulates such as deer and antelopes.Hunting, poaching and illegal trade:• For over thousand years, tigers have been hunted as status symbol, decorative item such as wall and floor covering, as souvenirs and curios, and for use in traditional Asian medicines.• Hunting for sport probably caused the greatest decline in tiger populations until the 1930s.• In the early 1990s, trade in tiger bone for traditional Chinese medicines threatened to drive tigers to extinction in the wild. Poaching is the largest immediate threat to the remaining tiger population.Conflict with humans• As tigers continue to lose their habitat and prey species, they are increasingly coming into conflict with humans as they attack domestic animals – and sometimes people. In retaliation, tigers are often killed by angry villagers.

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• There are very few people who understand the true importance of protecting the tiger. Most people feel it is only a matter of saving an animal that makes a beautiful sight to see.• This reason only makes up a fraction of why we need to save this incredible animal. The tiger is at the top of the food chain in the jungles that it roams. The following is a very basic description of the chaos that would ensue if the tiger became extinct. If this was to happen, the populations of prey species like Spotted deer and Sambhar would burst at the seams. This excessive population would then totally ravage its food source - vegetation. If the vegetation in the jungles was devastated, where and how would the insects survive. They may even shift to the crops in farmlands. If the plants in the jungles would be finished, what would refurbish the soil. If the soil was no longer fertile, new plants would not sprout. Over the years, this would probably mean the end of the jungles.• The end of jungles also means the end of the biggest suppliers of the oxygen filled air, which we take so much for granted.

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 This is a very simple layman description of what the result of tiger extinction could mean to our own survival. The truly scientific description is even more alarming and drastic. It isnt necessary for every one of us to take world-awakening steps. All we have to really do is influence those that are a part of our own lives. Obviously, anyone wanting to do more than that is another breath of fresh air for a dying tiger. There are many NGOs and other organisations that are totally dedicated to protecting the tiger. It is important to realise at the outset, if we are intending to help in this line, that protecting the tiger does not necessarily mean working in operations dealing directly with the tiger. It could easily mean working on assignments dealing completely with villages in Park buffer zones, other animal species, welfare of staff working in reserves, villagers, issues dealing with cattle grazing, etc. The one thing that is common with all these assignments is that they are all directly or indirectly aimed at protecting the jungle and its inhabitants, which obviously includes the tiger. The main thing that requires a mention here is that if you care for the tiger and want to do something about it - the time is NOW. Act - before its too late.