Africa-Press – Botswana. The initiative, he highlighted, would help Tiger Conservation policy to adapt with the challenges being encountered in present times and ensure efficient implementation of conservation measures on ground.
nion Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on Saturday called for a review of all policy decisions taken in the 28 meetings of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) held so far, to identify decisions that have become outdated, those that could not be implemented and those that have been fully executed.
The initiative, he highlighted, would help Tiger Conservation policy to adapt with the challenges being encountered in present times and ensure efficient implementation of conservation measures on ground.
Addressing the inaugural session of the ‘Conference of Chief Wildlife Wardens of Tiger Range States and Field Directors of Tiger Reserves’ in Alwar, the minister said that India has completed 50 years of tiger conservation and that this is an appropriate time for a comprehensive policy review.
Setting the tone of the two-day conference, Yadav suggested that policy decisions taken over the last five decades should be consolidated into a formal policy statement, with the issue placed as the first agenda item in the next NTCA meeting.
He said issues related to tiger population estimation, rescue and rehabilitation infrastructure, human-wildlife conflict, utilisation of the Tiger Reserve Fund and the need to strengthen tiger conservation foundations require focused deliberation. The conference would review the overall status of tiger conservation in the country and deliberate on key policy, management and operational issues.
Yadav also called for the formation of four working groups to review region-specific challenges, including changes in tiger population, and to assess the implementation of centrally sponsored schemes across the Tiger Reserves of the country.
Further, the minister also asked participants to discuss ways to enhance coordination between NTCA and institutions such as Wildlife Institute of India, Botanical Survey of India, Zoological Survey of India, and Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education, so as to incorporate research inputs from these apex organisations and derive practical benefits in tiger conservation.
Highlighting the Cheetah reintroduction programme, he said India has successfully carried out an international translocation of a wild species that had gone extinct in the country, with the project now reaching the third India-born generation of cheetahs. He said a new batch of cheetahs from Botswana is expected to arrive around February-end.
