Conservation Assured|Tiger Standards accreditation
PM-led Inclusive approach pays, says Minister Bhupendra Yadav
NEW DELHI, July 30 (The CONNECT) – In all 14 Indian Tiger Reserves have received the accreditation of the Global Conservation Assured|Tiger Standards (CA|TS) from the Tiger Range Countries (TRCs).
The tiger reserves are: Manas, Kaziranga and Orang in Assam, Satpura, Kanha and Panna in Madhya Pradesh, Pench in Maharashtra, Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar, Dudhwa in Uttar Pradesh,Sunderbans in West Bengal, Parambikulam in Kerala, Bandipur Tiger Reserve of Karnataka and Mudumalai and Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu.
Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS) has been agreed upon as accreditation tool by the TRC global coalition and it has been developed by tiger and protected area experts. Officially launched in 2013, it sets minimum standards for effective management of target species and encourages assessment of these standards in relevant conservation areas. CA|TS is a set of criteria which allows tiger sites to check if their management will lead to successful tiger conservation.
Highlighting this, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav said Tiger Conservation is a symbol of conservation of forests. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government approach has been an inclusive one, integrating scientific and traditional knowledge along with people’s participation, he said speaking at a virtual event on the occasion of Global Tiger Day, yesterday.
The Minister also released the report ‘Status of Leopards, Co-predators and Megaherbivores-2018’ stating that the report is a testimony to the fact that conservation of tigers leads to the conservation of entire ecosystem.
The overall leopard population in tiger range landscape of India in 2018 was estimated at 12,852. This is a significant increase from the 2014, figure that was 7,910 in forested habitats of 18 tiger bearing states of the country.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) felicitated some of the forest frontline workers as ‘BaghRakshaks’, to recognize their outstanding contribution towards the protection of tigers and forests. “Our forest force continued to toil day and night; protecting forests and wildlife even during the deadly Covid-19 pandemic” said the Union Environment Minister and congratulated all the frontline forest staff for their undying spirit which continues to protect our natural heritage.
The Government took a proactive step to classify forest and wildlife protection as ‘essential services’ during lockdown. The Country’s forest force continued to toil day and night protecting forests and wildlife even during the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
