(a) the efforts made by the Government during the last five years for the conservation and increase in tiger population in the country;
(b) the number of tigers in the country before 2014;
(c) the method being adopted for the census of tigers; and
(d) the number of tigers as per the latest census along with the increase in number of tigers registered during the last three years?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)
(a) The efforts made by the Government of India through the National Tiger Conservation Authority during the last five years for the conservation and increase in tiger population in the country are at Annexure-I.
(b) As per the quadrennial All India tiger estimation, tiger estimates during the 2006 and 2010 assessments are as follows:
2006 2010
1411
(1165-1657) 1706
(1520-1909)
(c) The All India Tiger Estimation uses a double sampling approach for estimating tigers details of which are at Annexure-II.
(d) As per the quadrennial All India Tiger Estimation, tiger numbers over the last 4 cycles are at Annexure-III.
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Annexure-I
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4536 ON CENSUS OF TIGERS DUE FOR REPLY ON 20.03.2020
Efforts made by the Government of India through the National Tiger Conservation Authority during the last five years for the conservation and increase in tiger population in the country are as under:-
(i) Adoption of M-STrIPES, an android application for smart patrolling and collection of ecological data from the field.
(ii) Completion of fourth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation using refined methodology with following subtle modifications.
(a) adoption of a 2 sq. km. grid instead of 4 sq. kms. to improve precision of accuracy of the results.
(b) Collection of data using M-STrIPES application.
(iii) Completion of Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves in 2018 cycle wherein 21 tiger reserves have been rated in ‘Very Good’ category, followed by 17 tiger reserves rated in ‘Good’ category and 12 tiger reserves rated in ‘Fair’ category.
(iv) Economic valuation of 10 more tiger reserves has been completed.
(v) Four new tiger reserves namely, the Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand, the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh, the Orang Tiger Reserve in Assam and the Kamlang Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh, have been notified which has taken the coverage of Project Tiger to 2.21% of the country’s geographical area.
(vi) Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) have been amended in parts based on recent field experiences.
(vii) After pilot testing unmanned aerial vehicles at the Panna Tiger Reserve, the use of Drones/ Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for surveillance and monitoring is being carried out in 13 tiger landscapes and first set up equipment has been handed over to Panna Tiger Reserve Authorities. A technical manual has also been published in this regard.
(viii) A framework for conducting security audit has been prepared, validated and was used for assessing security apparatus across 25 tiger reserves in Phase-I.
(ix) The third Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation was successfully held at New Delhi from April 12-14, 2016, wherein the Hon’ble Prime Minister impressed upon all participants that Tiger Conservation is not a choice but an imperative. The conference concluded with the New Delhi Resolution on Tiger Conservation.
(x) To ensure success of tiger conservation efforts, financial and technical inputs are being provided to tiger bearing forests outside tiger reserves which are assessed for quality of management interventions through the Conservation Assured | Tiger Standard (CA|TS) framework. Till date the Lansdowne and Ramnagar Divisions in Uttarakhand have been CA|TS accredited.
(xi) Sensitization workshops held for agencies such as the Railways, National Highway Authority of India, EIA assessors of the MoEF&CC besides IRTS probationers to ensure that tiger is not seen as a drag on development. Further, Technical advise has been provided on formulating mitigating strategies for linear infrastructure with the WII, Dehradun which has been advised to the State.
(xii) On the international front, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Myanmar has been signed for Combating Timber Trafficking, and Conservation of Tigers and other Wildlife. Further, a tripartite MoU between the National Tiger Conservation Authority, Wildlife Institute of India and A.N. Severstov Institute of Ecology & Evaluation was agreed upon and signed on 4.12.2018.
(xiii) During the 18th CoP held at Geneva in August 2019, based on an intervention from India, a slew of decisions were adopted to intervene in territories which had facilities for keeping big cats as a reinforcement of decision 14.69.
(xiv) Frontline forest staff is being encouraged for their work through an award of Rs. 1.00 lakh.
(xv) Interstate landscape level meetings for the field officers of adjacent tiger reserves and tiger bearing divisions have been initiated for capacity building and coordination, since 2018.
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