NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on World Nature Conservation Day on Sunday
pitched for people’s participation in protecting forests and wildlife
and shared a few unique efforts of different states, including the
‘Kulhadi Band Panchayat’ campaign in Ranthambore in Rajasthan, to save
green cover and tigers. India has 70% of the world’s tiger population.
As
the world will celebrate International Tiger Day on Monday, Modi also
shared a few examples of community-led efforts that are not only
protecting big cats but also promoting eco-tourism.
Referring
to the ‘Kulhadi Band Panchayat’ campaign in his monthly radio programme
‘Mann Ki Baat’, Modi said, “Local communities themselves have taken an
oath that they will not go to the forest with axes and will not cut
trees. Due to this one decision, the forests there are becoming green
once again, and a better environment is being created for tigers.”
The
PM also gave examples of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra
where local communities, especially Gond and Mana tribes, have reduced
their dependence on the forest.
Similarly, he talked about efforts of
the ‘Chenchu’ tribe living on the Nallamala hills in Andhra Pradesh
where they as ‘tiger trackers’ are not only gathering every bit of
information on the movement of wild animals in the forest but also
keeping a close watch on illegal activities in the area.
The
‘Baagh Mitra Karyakram’ (tiger friends programme) of Pilibhit in Uttar
Pradesh also caught Modi’s attention. “Under this, local people are
trained to work as ‘tiger friends’. These ‘tiger friends’ strictly
ensure that there is no conflict between tigers and humans,” he said,
underlining that community-driven efforts have been very useful in tiger
conservation and led to an increase in the big cat population.
India has 54 tiger reserves, covering over 78,000 sq km which accounts for over 2.3% of the country’s geographical area.
On
the occasion of 50 years of Project Tiger in April last year, Modi had
launched a multi-agency coalition, International Big Cat Alliance, of 96
range countries for conservation of seven big cats — tiger, lion,
leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar and cheetah. Except puma and jaguar,
the other five are found in India.
3 deadly attacks by encroachers on forest employees in a year at Chhattisgarh tiger reserveIn
the past year, forest employees faced increasing attacks from
encroachers in Chhattisgarh's Udanti Sitanadi Tiger Reserve. Efforts to
prevent illegal land claims have led to assaults and arrests. Satellite
imagery shows a 20% forest cover loss over 17 years. Authorities are
addressing violence and false claims while investigating local
involvement in protected area encroachments.
628 tigers died in India in past five years: In
the last five years, 628 tigers and 349 people died due to various
causes in India, with Maharashtra recording the highest human
fatalities. Tiger deaths peaked at 178 in 2023, the highest since 2012,
according to NTCA data. Union minister Kirti Vardhan Singh detailed
these statistics in the Rajya Sabha.
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