Context:
All India Tiger Estimation 2022 Report was released on International Tiger Day (29th July).
Key Highlights:
- Number of tigers increased from 2018 to 2022 (approx. 3682), an annual rise of about 6%.
- India harbors almost 75% of world’s wild tiger population.
- Increase in tiger population – Central India and Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains [Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra]
- Decline in tiger population – Western Ghats
- Highest tiger population –
- States: Madhya Pradesh > Karnataka >Uttarakhand
- Reserves: Jim Corbett >Bandipur>Nagarhole
- Reserves with no tigers: Dampa (Mizoram), Kamlang (Arunachal Pradesh), Kawal (Telangana), Satkosia (Odisha), Sahyadri (Maharashtra).
About Management Effectiveness Evaluation:
- A 5th cycle report on Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) of tiger reserves was released.
- It is the assessment of how well protected areas such as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves, community reserves and tiger reserves are being managed.
- Adopted based on the framework of IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.
- Conducted by – NTCA and Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
- 4 categories: Excellent, Very Good, Good and Fair
M-STrIPES (Monitoring System For Tigers-Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) app was developed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India in 2010.
About International Tiger Day:
- Established in 2010
- During Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit by nations that are home to tigers.
- Created Tx2 – the global goal to double the number of wild tigers by the year 2022.
- Global Tiger Forum (GTF) –
- Representatives from all 13 tiger range countries.
- Includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Tiger – Basic Points:
- Largest cat species.
- Recognised 8 subspecies – Bengal Tigers, Caspian tiger (extinct), Amur tiger, Javan tiger (extinct), South China tiger, Bali tiger (extinct), Sumatran tiger, Indo-Chinese tiger
- Protection Status –
- Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
- IUCN Red List: Endangered.
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix I
- Tiger Reserves in India –
- Total Number: 53Largest: Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (Andhra Pradesh)
- Smallest: Bor Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra)
Project Tiger is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change launched in 1973 to provide central assistance to the tiger States for tiger conservation in designated tiger reserves in India. The project is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Source: Indian Express
Previous year question
The term ‘M-STRIPES’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of:
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2017 Prelims]
(a) Captive breeding of Wild Fauna
(b) Maintenance of Tiger Reserves
(c) Indigenous Satellite Navigation System
(d) Security of National Highways
Practice question
