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New Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh

2021 OCT 7

Preliminary   > Environment and Ecology   >   Protected Area Networks   >   Tiger reserves

Why in news?

  • On 5th October 2021, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) approved the Chhattisgarh government’s proposal to declare the combined areas of the Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve.

More about the news:

  • The new Reserve is located in the northern part of the state, bordering Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
  • This will be the fourth Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh, after the Udanti-Sitanadi, Achanakmar, and Indravati Reserves.

Significance

  • Guru Ghasidas National Park was the last known habitat of the Asiatic cheetah in the country
  • Wildlife experts and activists in the state believe that turning Guru Ghasidas into a Tiger Reserve is important because it connects Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh and provides a corridor for tigers to move between the Bandhavgarh and Palamau Tiger Reserves.

What is NTCA?

  • The National Tiger Conservation Authority is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change constituted under enabling provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, for strengthening tiger conservation.

Structure of NTCA

  • National Tiger Conservation Authority is set up under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Environment and Forests.
  • The Authority will have eight experts or professionals having qualifications and experience in wildlife conservation and welfare of people including tribals, apart from three Members of Parliament.
  • The Inspector General of Forests, in charge of project Tiger, will be ex-officio Member Secretary.

Objectives of NTCA

  • Providing statutory authority to Project Tiger so that compliance of its directives become legal.
  • Fostering accountability of Center-State in management of Tiger Reserves, by providing a basis for MoU with States within our federal structure.
  • Providing for an oversight by Parliament.
  • Addressing livelihood interests of local people in areas surrounding Tiger Reserves.

Powers and functions

  • Approve the tiger conservation plan prepared by the State Government.
  • Ensure that the tiger reserves areas are not diverted for ecologically unsustainable uses,  except in public interest and with the approval of the National Board for Wild Life and on the advice of the Tiger Conservation Authority;
  • Lay down normative standards for tourism activities and guidelines for project tiger from time to time for tiger conservation in the buffer and core area of tiger reserves.
  • Facilitate and support the tiger reserve management in the State for biodiversity conservation initiatives through eco-development and people’s participation.
  • NTCA is responsible for conducting Tiger census.
    • NTCA has also created a mobile app, M-STrIPES (Monitoring System For Tigers-Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) to make data gathering easier and more transparent.

Project tiger

  • Project Tiger is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Government of India which was launched on the 1st of April, 1973 for in-situ conservation of wild tigers in designated tiger reserves.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following pairs:

Tiger reserve                         : State

1. Indravati                                  : Maharashtra

2. Ramgarh Vishdhari               : Rajasthan

3. Srivilliputhur – Megamalai : Tamil Nadu

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 3 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer