EXTINCTION OF LIONS AND TIGERS.

Ministry of Environment and Forests
18:2 IST
PIB Press Releases

Lions and tigers have been accorded highest statutory protection, considering their endangered status, and have been placed under the Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, since its enactment.

Central Assistance is provided to States under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes of “Project Tiger” and “Development of National Parks & Sanctuaries”, for protection and conservation of wild animals including lions and tigers. Other initiatives taken by the Government of India for conservation of wild animals are given at Annexure-I.

ANNEXURE-I

The steps taken by the Government to protect wild animals, including lion and tiger, are as below:-

Legal steps

1. Amendment of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 for providing enabling provisions for constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau. The punishment in cases of offence within a tiger reserve has been enhanced. The Act also provides for forfeiture of any equipment, vehicle or weapon that has been used for committing any wild life offence.

Administrative steps

2. Strengthening of antipoaching activities, including special strategy for monsoon patrolling, by providing funding support to Tiger Reserve States, as proposed by them, for deployment of antipoaching squads involving ex-army personnel / home guards, apart from workforce comprising of local people, in addition to strengthening of communication / wireless facilities.

3. 100% Central Assistance provided to 17 Tiger Reserves as an additionality for deployment of Tiger Protection Force, comprising of ex-army personnel and local workforce.

4. Constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority with effect from 4.09.2006, for strengthening tiger conservation by, interalia, ensuring normative standards in tiger reserve management, preparation of reserve specific tiger conservation plan, laying down annual / audit report before Parliament, constituting State level Steering Committees under the Chairmanship of Chief Ministers and establishment of Tiger Conservation Foundation.

5. Constitution of a multidisciplinary Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau) with effect from 6.6.2007 comprising of officers from Police, Forest, Customs and other enforcement agencies to effectively control illegal trade in wildlife.

6. Approval accorded for declaring eight new Tiger Reserves.

7. The revised Project Tiger guidelines have been issued to States for strengthening tiger conservation, which apart from ongoing activities, interalia, include funding support to States for enhanced village relocation/rehabilitation package for people living in core or critical tiger habitats (from Rs. 1 lakh/family to Rs. 10 lakhs/family), rehabilitation/resettlement of communities involved in traditional hunting, mainstreaming livelihood and wildlife concerns in forests outside tiger reserves and fostering corridor conservation through restorative strategy to arrest habitat fragmentation.

8. A scientific methodology for estimating tiger (including copredators, prey animals and assessment of habitat status) has been evolved and mainstreamed. The findings of this estimation/assessment are bench marks for future tiger conservation strategy.

9. Around 31111 sq.km. of critical/core tiger habitat identified in 17 States.

10. Memorandum of Understanding developed for better/concerted implementation of conservation inputs through tiger reserve States.

Financial steps

11. Financial and technical help is provided to the States under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes, viz. Project Tiger and Development of National Parks and Sanctuaries for enhancing the capacity and infrastructure of the States for providing effective protection to wild animals.

International Cooperation

12. India has a Memorandum of Understanding with Nepal on controlling trans-boundary illegal trade in wildlife and conservation, apart from a protocol on tiger conservation with China.

13. A Global Tiger Forum of Tiger Range Countries has been created for addressing international issues related to tiger conservation.

14. During the 14th meeting of the Conference of Parties to CITES, which was held from 3rd to 15th June, 2007 at The Hague, India introduced a resolution along with China, Nepal and the Russian Federation, with directions to Parties with operations breeding tigers on a commercial scale, for restricting such captive populations to a level supportive only to conserving wild tigers. The resolution was adopted as a decision with minor amendments. Further, India made an intervention appealing to China to phase out tiger farming, and eliminate stockpiles of Asian big cats body parts and derivatives. The importance of continuing the ban on trade of body parts of tigers was emphasized.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests Shri S.Regupathy, in a written reply to a question by Shri Hiten Barman in the Lok Sabha today.