Help Save the Tiger!
TIGERS ARE ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION! If we don't act now they will be gone by 2020!
Tigers are on the threshold of extinction. According to WWF, Tigers are amongst the ten most endangered species in the world. Over the last century more than 95% of the Tiger population has been wiped out & three sub-species are already extinct. Less than 3500 tigers remain in the wild today with around 50% in
Initial results from the Wildlife Institute of India Tiger census (released on 24 May 2007) are warning that India India
WHY SHOULD WE SAVE TIGER?
Saving the tiger means saving mankind..
Not only is tiger a beautiful animal but it is also the indicator of the forest's health. Saving the tiger means we save the forest since tiger cannot live in places where trees have vanished and in turn secure food and water for all.
If we make sure tigers live, we have to make sure that deer, antelope and all other animals that the tiger eats (its prey base) live. To make sure that these herbivores live, we must make sure that all the trees, grass and other plants that these prey animals need for food are protected. In this way, the whole forest gets saved! Saving the tiger means saving its entire forest kingdom with all the other animals in it.
Also forests catch and help store rainwater and protect soils. In this way we protect our rivers and recharge groundwater sources. Areas with less trees lead to floods, killing people and destroying homes. It takes away the precious soil, leaving behind a wasteland. The soil jams up our lakes and dams, reducing their ability to store water. By destroying the tiger's home, we not only harm tigers, but also ourselves.
The tiger thus becomes the symbol for the protection of all species on our earth since it is at the top of the foodchain. This is why we sometimes call the tiger, an apex predator, an indicator of our ecosystem's health.
If we make sure tigers live, we have to make sure that deer, antelope and all other animals that the tiger eats (its prey base) live. To make sure that these herbivores live, we must make sure that all the trees, grass and other plants that these prey animals need for food are protected. In this way, the whole forest gets saved! Saving the tiger means saving its entire forest kingdom with all the other animals in it.
Also forests catch and help store rainwater and protect soils. In this way we protect our rivers and recharge groundwater sources. Areas with less trees lead to floods, killing people and destroying homes. It takes away the precious soil, leaving behind a wasteland. The soil jams up our lakes and dams, reducing their ability to store water. By destroying the tiger's home, we not only harm tigers, but also ourselves.
The tiger thus becomes the symbol for the protection of all species on our earth since it is at the top of the foodchain. This is why we sometimes call the tiger, an apex predator, an indicator of our ecosystem's health.
Project Tiger - India
Past
Project Tiger: Project Tiger, launched in 1973-74, is one of our most successful conservation ventures in the recent times. The project aims at tiger conservation in specially constituted 'tiger reserves', which are representative of various bio-geographical regions falling within our country. It strives to maintain a viable tiger population in the natural environment.
An estimate of the tiger population inIndia India Delhi
The project was launched in 1973, and various tiger reserves were created in the country on a 'core-buffer' strategy. The core areas were freed from all sorts of human activities and the buffer areas were subjected to 'conservation oriented land use'. Management plans were drawn up for each tiger reserve, based on the principles outlined below:
1. Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and biotic disturbance from the core area and rationalization of activities in the buffer zone.
2. Restricting the habitat management only to repair the damages done to the eco-system by human and other interferences, so as to facilitate recovery of the eco-system to its natural state.
3. Monitoring the faunal and floral changes over time and carrying out research about wildlife.
Initially, 9 tiger reserves were established in different States during the period 1973-74, by pooling the resources available with the Central and State Governments. These nine reserves covered an area of about 13,017sq.km-viz Manas (Assam), Palamau (Bihar), Similipal (Orissa), Corbett (U.P.), Kanha (M.P.), Melghat (Maharashtra), Bandipur (Karnataka), Ranthambhore (Rajasthan) and Sunderbans (West Bengal).
The project started as a 'Central Sector Scheme' with the full assistance of Central Government till 1979-80: later, it become a 'centrally Sponsored Scheme' from 1980-81, with equal sharing of expenditure between the center and the states.
The W.W.F. has given an assistance of US $ 1 million in the form of equipments, expertise and literature. The various States are also bearing the loss on account of giving up the forestry operations in the reserves.
The main achievements of this project are excellent recovery of the habitat and consequent increase in the tiger population in the reserve areas, from a mere 268 in 9 reserves in 1972 to 1576 in 27 reserves in 2003. Tiger, being at the apex of the food chain, can be considered as the indicator of the stability of the eco-system. For a viable tiger population, a habitat should possess a good prey base, which in turn will depend on an undisturbed forest vegetation. Thus, 'Project Tiger', is basically the conservation of the entire eco-system and apart from tigers, all other wild animals also have increased in number in the project areas. In the subsequent 'Five Year Plans', the main thrust was to enlarge the core and buffer zones in certain reserves, intensification of protection and ecodevelopment in the buffer zones of existing tiger reserves, creation of additional tiger reserves and strengthening of the research activities.
The management strategy was to identify the limiting factors and to mitigate them by suitable management. The damages done to the habitat were to be rectified, so as to facilitate the recovery of eco-system to the maximum possible extent. Management practices which tend to push the wildlife populations beyond the carrying capacity of the habitat were carefully avoided. A minimum core of 300 sq. km. with a sizeable buffer was recommended for each project area. The overall administration of the project is monitored by a 'Steering Committee'. The execution of the project is done by the respective State Governments. A 'Field Director' is appointed for each reserve, who is assisted by the field and technical personnel. The Chief Wildlife warden in various States are responsible for the field execution. At the Centre, a full-fledged 'Director' of the project coordinates the work for the country.
Present
Wireless communication system and outstation patrol camps have been developed within the tiger reserves, due to which poaching has declined considerably. Fire protection is effectively done by suitable preventive and control measureVoluntory Village
Future
a) Use of Information and Communication technology in Wildlife Protection and Crime Risk Management in Tiger reserves.
Wildlife protection and crime risk management in the present scenario requires a widely distributed Information Network, using the state-of-art Information and Communication Technology. This becomes all the more important to ensure the desired level of protection in field formations to safeguard the impressive gains of a focused project like 'Project Tiger'. The important elements in Wildlife protection and control are: Mapping/plotting the relative spatial abundance of wild animals, identification of risk factors, proximity to risk factors, sensitivity categorization, crime mapping and immediate action for apprehending the offenders based on effective networking and communication. Space technology has shown the interconnectivity of natural and anthropogenic phenomena occurring anywhere on earth. Several Tiger Reserves are being linked with the Project Tiger Directorate in the GIS domain for Wildlife Crime Risk Management.
b) GIS based digitized database and MIS development/networking in Tiger Reserves:
With the advanced IT tools, a wide gamut of software solutions are available to improve wildlife related information capture process, its analysis and informed decision making. Geographic Information System is the most relevant of these technologies for natural resource management projects, including wildlife management. The mandate of project tiger is to conserve tigers in a holistic manner. The GIS based database at PTHQ is being linked with the microcomputers in the Tiger Reserves, so that a dynamic linkage for rapid information flow is established using Arc IMS facility.
c) Tiger Habitat & Population Evaluation System for the Indian Sub Continent
A 'Tiger Atlas of India' and a 'Tiger Habitat & Population Evaluation System for the country is being developed using the state- of - the - art technology.
This involves:
1. Mapping , data acquisition and GIS modeling
2. Field data collection and validation
3. Data Maintenance , Dissemination and Use
The following potential tiger habitats in the country are being covered:
>Shivalik-Terai Conservation Unit(Uttaranchal, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Nepal)
>Nort east Conservation Unit
>Sunderbans Conservation Unit
>Central Indian Conservation Unit
>Eastern Ghat Conservation Unit
>Western Ghat Conservation Unit
Satellite data is being used and classified into vegetation and land use maps on a 1:50,000 scale, with digitized data relating to contour , villages, roads , drainage , administrative boundaries and soil . The spatial layers would be attached with attribute data , viz. human population , livestock population , meteorological data, agricultural information and field data pertaining to wildlife, habitat for evolving regional protocols to monitor tiger and its habitat.
Vision For the Future
The dynamics of forest management and wildlife conservation have been distorted due to need for income, lack of awareness, lack of landuse policy and population pressure. Since the traditional use systems of people are neither static nor benign, these should not be overlooked.
A regional development approach in landscapes having Tiger Reserves is of utmost importance in our country. It should be viewed as a mosaic of different landuse patterns, viz, tiger conservation / preservation, forestry, sustainable use and development, besides socio-economic growth.
Tiger habitats exist in environments of thousands of indigenous communities which depend on them. Therefore we cannot view these protected areas in isolation from the surrounding socio-economic realities and developmental priorities of the Govt. This calls for a cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary approach.
Tigers now need a "preservationist" approach. Regional planning is important around Tiger Reserves to foster ecological connectivity between protected areas through restorative inputs with integrated landuse planning. The management plan of a Tiger Reserve, therefore, needs to be integrated in larger regional management plans.
Here are some simple things you can do to help ensure our children and grandchildren live in a world where tigers still roam freely in the wild.
Project Tiger: Project Tiger, launched in 1973-74, is one of our most successful conservation ventures in the recent times. The project aims at tiger conservation in specially constituted 'tiger reserves', which are representative of various bio-geographical regions falling within our country. It strives to maintain a viable tiger population in the natural environment.
An estimate of the tiger population in
The project was launched in 1973, and various tiger reserves were created in the country on a 'core-buffer' strategy. The core areas were freed from all sorts of human activities and the buffer areas were subjected to 'conservation oriented land use'. Management plans were drawn up for each tiger reserve, based on the principles outlined below:
1. Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and biotic disturbance from the core area and rationalization of activities in the buffer zone.
2. Restricting the habitat management only to repair the damages done to the eco-system by human and other interferences, so as to facilitate recovery of the eco-system to its natural state.
3. Monitoring the faunal and floral changes over time and carrying out research about wildlife.
Initially, 9 tiger reserves were established in different States during the period 1973-74, by pooling the resources available with the Central and State Governments. These nine reserves covered an area of about 13,017sq.km-viz Manas (Assam), Palamau (Bihar), Similipal (Orissa), Corbett (U.P.), Kanha (M.P.), Melghat (Maharashtra), Bandipur (Karnataka), Ranthambhore (Rajasthan) and Sunderbans (West Bengal).
The project started as a 'Central Sector Scheme' with the full assistance of Central Government till 1979-80: later, it become a 'centrally Sponsored Scheme' from 1980-81, with equal sharing of expenditure between the center and the states.
The W.W.F. has given an assistance of US $ 1 million in the form of equipments, expertise and literature. The various States are also bearing the loss on account of giving up the forestry operations in the reserves.
The main achievements of this project are excellent recovery of the habitat and consequent increase in the tiger population in the reserve areas, from a mere 268 in 9 reserves in 1972 to 1576 in 27 reserves in 2003. Tiger, being at the apex of the food chain, can be considered as the indicator of the stability of the eco-system. For a viable tiger population, a habitat should possess a good prey base, which in turn will depend on an undisturbed forest vegetation. Thus, 'Project Tiger', is basically the conservation of the entire eco-system and apart from tigers, all other wild animals also have increased in number in the project areas. In the subsequent 'Five Year Plans', the main thrust was to enlarge the core and buffer zones in certain reserves, intensification of protection and ecodevelopment in the buffer zones of existing tiger reserves, creation of additional tiger reserves and strengthening of the research activities.
The management strategy was to identify the limiting factors and to mitigate them by suitable management. The damages done to the habitat were to be rectified, so as to facilitate the recovery of eco-system to the maximum possible extent. Management practices which tend to push the wildlife populations beyond the carrying capacity of the habitat were carefully avoided. A minimum core of 300 sq. km. with a sizeable buffer was recommended for each project area. The overall administration of the project is monitored by a 'Steering Committee'. The execution of the project is done by the respective State Governments. A 'Field Director' is appointed for each reserve, who is assisted by the field and technical personnel. The Chief Wildlife warden in various States are responsible for the field execution. At the Centre, a full-fledged 'Director' of the project coordinates the work for the country.
Present
Wireless communication system and outstation patrol camps have been developed within the tiger reserves, due to which poaching has declined considerably. Fire protection is effectively done by suitable preventive and control measure
Future
a) Use of Information and Communication technology in Wildlife Protection and Crime Risk Management in Tiger reserves.
Wildlife protection and crime risk management in the present scenario requires a widely distributed Information Network, using the state-of-art Information and Communication Technology. This becomes all the more important to ensure the desired level of protection in field formations to safeguard the impressive gains of a focused project like 'Project Tiger'. The important elements in Wildlife protection and control are: Mapping/plotting the relative spatial abundance of wild animals, identification of risk factors, proximity to risk factors, sensitivity categorization, crime mapping and immediate action for apprehending the offenders based on effective networking and communication. Space technology has shown the interconnectivity of natural and anthropogenic phenomena occurring anywhere on earth. Several Tiger Reserves are being linked with the Project Tiger Directorate in the GIS domain for Wildlife Crime Risk Management.
b) GIS based digitized database and MIS development/networking in Tiger Reserves:
With the advanced IT tools, a wide gamut of software solutions are available to improve wildlife related information capture process, its analysis and informed decision making. Geographic Information System is the most relevant of these technologies for natural resource management projects, including wildlife management. The mandate of project tiger is to conserve tigers in a holistic manner. The GIS based database at PTHQ is being linked with the microcomputers in the Tiger Reserves, so that a dynamic linkage for rapid information flow is established using Arc IMS facility.
c) Tiger Habitat & Population Evaluation System for the Indian Sub Continent
A 'Tiger Atlas of India' and a 'Tiger Habitat & Population Evaluation System for the country is being developed using the state- of - the - art technology.
This involves:
1. Mapping , data acquisition and GIS modeling
2. Field data collection and validation
3. Data Maintenance , Dissemination and Use
The following potential tiger habitats in the country are being covered:
>Shivalik-Terai Conservation Unit(Uttaranchal, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Nepal)
>Nort east Conservation Unit
>Sunderbans Conservation Unit
>Central Indian Conservation Unit
>Eastern Ghat Conservation Unit
>Western Ghat Conservation Unit
Satellite data is being used and classified into vegetation and land use maps on a 1:50,000 scale, with digitized data relating to contour , villages, roads , drainage , administrative boundaries and soil . The spatial layers would be attached with attribute data , viz. human population , livestock population , meteorological data, agricultural information and field data pertaining to wildlife, habitat for evolving regional protocols to monitor tiger and its habitat.
Vision For the Future
The dynamics of forest management and wildlife conservation have been distorted due to need for income, lack of awareness, lack of landuse policy and population pressure. Since the traditional use systems of people are neither static nor benign, these should not be overlooked.
A regional development approach in landscapes having Tiger Reserves is of utmost importance in our country. It should be viewed as a mosaic of different landuse patterns, viz, tiger conservation / preservation, forestry, sustainable use and development, besides socio-economic growth.
Tiger habitats exist in environments of thousands of indigenous communities which depend on them. Therefore we cannot view these protected areas in isolation from the surrounding socio-economic realities and developmental priorities of the Govt. This calls for a cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary approach.
Tigers now need a "preservationist" approach. Regional planning is important around Tiger Reserves to foster ecological connectivity between protected areas through restorative inputs with integrated landuse planning. The management plan of a Tiger Reserve, therefore, needs to be integrated in larger regional management plans.
You can help save the tiger!
You can help too
No matter where you live, no matter how small your actions are, we ALL have a part to play in saving the tiger – and our planet as a whole.Here are some simple things you can do to help ensure our children and grandchildren live in a world where tigers still roam freely in the wild.
This is clearly an emergency: if nothing is done, tigers will disappear from the wild within the next decade.
The good news is that we can save the tiger.
We know what needs to be done, we know it will work... and what is more, tiger range countries, the World Bank and major NGOs have come together to achieve this!
We know what needs to be done, we know it will work... and what is more, tiger range countries, the World Bank and major NGOs have come together to achieve this!
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