'Tiger corridors need immediate attention,' says govt report even as population rises

India is ready to take the leadership role and work with other tiger range countries for the management of reserves, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday and asserted that all tiger reserves in the country are in good condition.

Speaking after releasing an over 600-page report of the fourth All India Tiger Estimation 2018 on the eve of Global Tiger Day, he said India is proud of its tiger achievements and despite the scarcity of land and rainfall, it boasts of 8% of world's biodiversity.

'Corridor habitats are not protected areas'

Even as the tiger population has increased over the years, the Centre's detailed report has identified several issues which need immediate attention. There are between 33-35 major tiger corridors and several smaller ones in India. The report states these corridors are under threat due to unsustainable human use and developmental projects

The report ‘Status of Tigers, Co predators and Prey in India’, stated that many tiger reserves and protected areas in India are analogous to small islands in a vast sea of ecologically unsustainable land uses of varying degrees. “Many tiger populations are confined within small protected areas and some have habitat corridors that permit tiger movement between them. However, most of the corridor habitats in India are not protected areas, and are degrading due to unsustainable human use and developmental projects,” the report reads. 

There have been gains and losses in individual landscapes says the report. Most of these variations have taken place in habitat pockets with low density.

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Tiger population within the reserves is 1,923

The Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand has the highest number of 231 big cats in the country while three reserves in Mizoram, West Bengal and Jharkhand have none, the report said. Currently, the tiger population within the reserves is 1,923 (65% of the total tiger population of India), the report said.

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According to the population estimation of tigers in reserves for 2018-19, Corbett has 231 tigers followed by Nagarhole and Bandipore reserves in Karnataka with 127 and 126 tigers respectively. Assam's Kaziranga and Madhya Pradesh's Bandhavgarh recorded 104 tigers each, the report said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in 2019 released the tiger estimation report as per which, India recorded 2967 tigers, more than double the number from 1411 in 2006. Sanjay Kumar, Director General, Forests, said that tiger reserves in India have improved and it is a great achievement.

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(With PTI inputs)