1st Stocktaking Meeting To Review “Global Tiger Recovery Program” Underway In Delhi: Report

New Delhi, May 17, IRNA – The first stocktaking meeting of senior officials and experts to review implementation of the “Global Tiger Recovery Program” is underway in India’s national capital, Delhi. The three-day meeting hosted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India is co-organized and co-sponsored by the Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) and its partners, Global Tiger Forum (GTF), and the World Bank. The stocktaking meeting of senior officials and experts will complete the work necessary for a review of GTRP implementation progress and preparation for the Ministerial level decisions of the second AMC. The first Asia Ministerial Conference (AMC) on Tiger Conservation, held in Hua Hin, Thailand, in January 2010, played its critical role in preparation for the International Tiger Forum in Russia. Three primary objectives of the meeting are to take the stock of progress made in the implementation of the GTRP towards Tx2 at Global level by Tiger Range Countries (TRCs) and their partners, including adoption of the draft GTRP Annual Implementation Report 2011, to announce National Priority Implementation Activities 2012, discuss medium-term plans forward for 2012-2014, raising Funds for GTRP Implementation, combating illegal trade and poaching and eliminating demand for tiger products. Meanwhile, expressing concern over the endangered status of the tiger all over the world, India’s Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan today said as many as 32 tigers have died this year out of which 18 were natural deaths. "A total of 32 tigers have died this year. 18 were natural deaths and we are constantly looking into the reasons for it," Natarajan told reporters on the sidelines of First Stocktaking Meeting of Global Tiger Recovery Programs (GTRP). She was asked about the number of national animals which died or were killed by poachers this year. Meanwhile, in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister informed a total of 14 tigers were poached till May 2012. "Poaching is one of the reasons. Other reasons such as man-animal conflict, we are already addressing those issues," she told reporters. Informing the House on the increasing trend of tiger population, she said, "The tiger population has shown an increasing trend with a population estimate of 1706, as compared to the last country level estimation in 2006, with an estimate of 1411." Earlier, delivering her key note address in the first stocktaking meeting of GRTP, Natarajan also spoke about the new forest reserves being established by the government to ensure a safe habitat for the tiger. "We are in the process of establishing more tiger reserves. Based on 2010 assessment, a new tiger reserve-Kawal Tiger Reserve at Andhra Pradesh- has been constituted. Further, in-principle approval has been accorded for declaring the Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu as a tiger reserve," she said. Jayanti noted that India’s commitment for saving the tiger is well known. Wild tigers thrive in 17 of our States. We have the maximum number of tigers and their source areas. Project Tiger was launched in 1973 with 9 tiger reserves. Today, the coverage has increased to 41 reserves spread over all the 17 States. Almost 1 per cent of our country’s geographical area is conserved for tiger as their core/critical habitat. Project Tiger has all long been a learning exercise. Our experience has highlighted the need for enlisting local public support, which is crucial for tiger conservation to succeed. During this meeting, the official representatives from Russia and India would be signing a joint resolution between the two countries, containing joint agreed actions for bilateral co-operation, emanating from the outcome of the meeting of the Sub Group on Tiger and Leopard, which was hosted by India in November, 2011 at New Delhi. This forms part of the India – Russia Inter Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Co-operation. India has a Protocol with Bangladesh for conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger of the Sundarbans. The officials from both the countries would avail this opportunity to firm up the road map in this context. The fifth Indo-Nepal consultative meeting on Trans boundary Biodiversity Conservation with a focus on Wildlife/Tiger Conservation was held in October, 2011 at Nepal. A joint resolution would be signed by the official representatives from both the countries based on the discussion”. Although there are no accurate estimates of the world tiger population, according to an estimation, numbers are thought to have fallen by over 95 per cent since the turn of the 20th century – down from perhaps 100,000 to the current estimate of possibly as few as 3,200 individuals. Meanwhile, in India, according to the detailed report on the All India Tiger Estimation (2010), by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), there is a countrywide increase of 20 per cent in tiger number in 2010 with an estimated number of 1706. The St. Petersburg Declaration on Tiger Conservation and the Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP) adopted at the International Tiger Forum in Russia, November 2010, called for convening regular high-level meetings to review the implementation progress of the GTRP and its national priorities (NTRPs)./end