Search This Blog

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Kanha, Pench tiger reserve buffer zone notification issued

Bhopal, Oct 8:
The State Government has issued notification the other day to constituting of buffer zone of Kanha and Pench Tiger Reserves. Under Section 38-5(2) of Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (Amended in 2006), it was necessary to notify buffer zone.
Forest Minister Shri Sartaj Singh said that buffer zone is the place that surrounds the Critical Tiger Habitat or Core Region where comparatively less prohibition is needed. This is necessary for integration of the Critical Tiger Habitat. The purpose of it is that the tiger or other wild animals should have sufficient place for their natural living. Along with that it will be a source of living for the local people.
Shri Sartaj Singh said that in the buffer zone, along with eco development, the locals will have the rights to collect minor forest produces, gracing place, and it will help their social and economic development.
The Forest Minister said that buffer zone at Kanha Tiger Reserve was already notified at the administrative level. Now it has been notified under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. The total area of notified buffer zone of the Kanha Tiger Reserve is 1134.31 sq km. Out of this 598.13 sq km area is forest and remaining 536.18 sq km is revenue area. A total 161 villages are included in the buffer zone. After discussions in the Gram Sabha the area has been notified as buffer zone.
Likewise, at Pench Tiger Reserve, 768.30 km area has been notified as buffer zone. Out of this, 470.08 sq km area is forest and the remaining 298.24 sq km is revenue area. A total 107 villages are included in the buffer zone of Pench Tiger Reserve. Here also the matter was discussed at the Gram Sabhas and only after that the area has been notified as buffer zone.

Missing tiger continues to elude officials for fourth day

Jaipur/Agra: Even after four days, the forest officials have not been able to tranquillise the tiger that strayed into the territory of Utter Pradesh and injured a few people in Fara village between Mathura and Agra districts. In fact, the forest officials have failed to trace the tiger, suspected to be Mohan till the reports last came in.

On Monday the state government had sent a team comprising of forest officials to rescue the tiger, which had strayed in the village of Uttar Pradesh.

The move had been made since it was for the first time that any tiger had strayed in that area. The team had gone to help their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh to rescue the big cat.

The four member team comprises of assistant chief conservator of forests (ACCF) Rahul Kumar, district forest officer (DFO) of Dhaulpur RK Bhati, Jaipur zonal veterinary medical officer Arvind Mathur and ACF Kalicharan Verma. The team is armed with the tranquilising gun to control the big cat.

Meanwhile, reports from Uttar Pradesh revealed that the forest officials have been trying their best to control the big cat. They have even tied buffalo calves as bait for the tiger along the canal side in Ganjoli and Dhana Jeevna areas in Uttar Pradesh. However, their efforts to trace the tiger have not borne any fruits till now.

According to sources in the forest department, reports are also doing the rounds that the tiger might be on its way back to Rajasthan as his pug marks have been spotted near the Rajasthan border.

However, it has not yet been confirmed whether the tiger is actually returning to Rajasthan or is still roaming in Uttar Pradesh territory, sources added.

Campaign in Goa: Buy a cow, save the tiger

anaji: Grassroots wildlife activists who have been fighting for notification of Goa's rich, but mining-threatened, forests as a tiger reserve have found a unique way to compensate a 51-year-old widow whose cow was killed by a big cat in September.

The milk-yielding cow was a lifeline for Sai Pingle, 55, a dhangar tribal and a mother of two boys living in a thatched hut in the remote village of Ponsuli on the fringe of the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary.

'We decided to collect money and compensate her with another cow. The local population should not turn against the tiger. It is imperative that they realise how important the animal is for the sustenance of this forest in the long run,' renowned wildlife activist Rajendra Kerkar said.

His Vivekanand Environment Awareness Brigade (VEAB) has taken the lead for collecting donations for the cow. 'A desi variety cow, the kind which was killed by the tiger, costs Rs.15,000, but a tiger is priceless,' Kerkar said.

Kerkar's anxiety stems from extremely practical reasons.

Last year, a tiger was snared and poached in the very same Mhadei wildlife sanctuary by members of a local hunting tribe called the 'Majiks'. Interestingly, both top forest department officials and the local administration first tried to cover up the poaching incident. The chief conservator of forests, Shashi Kumar, even went to the extent of calling Kerkar, who exposed the poaching episode, an abettor.

'The sensitisation of the local population towards the tiger is extremely essential to ensure the preservation of the animal. If the tiger is to frequent the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, the local residents cannot have animosity towards it,' Kerkar said.

He said people like Sai Pingle who live near wildlife sanctuaries should not begin to curse the king of the jungle.

Pingle's cow is not the only kill by carnivores in recent times. Increasing mining activity near Goa's wildlife sanctuaries has resulted in the displacement of the fauna near settlement areas, surrounding the protected habitat.

'Pingle and others like her cannot be compensated officially by the forest department because cattle are not allowed to graze in the wildlife sanctuary territory. So this is our effort to ensure that the kill does not affect her feelings for the tiger,' said Kerkar.

His VEAB has managed to create a small army of green-minded youngsters in the northern back-of-beyonds of Goa, 70 km from Panaji.

Kerkar said if the 'Cow for Pingle' formula works, then similar efforts would be made to collect donations for those economically backward folk whose bovines were lost to tiger kills.

Eco Treks Goa (ETG) has aligned itself along with the VEAB in the campaign. A very popular trekking group, ETG has also been at the forefront of the state's green brigade.

'A poor woman in the Chorla region lost her cow to a tiger some time back. It was a source of income to her. VEAB has initiated a campaign to buy a cow for her so that people do not turn against the tiger. The cost of the cow is Rs.15,000,' is ETG promoter Olympio Almeida's appeal to Facebookers online.

Wildlife activists claim that the grudging reluctance of the forest department and the state administration to admit to the presence of the tiger in Goa's numerous wildlife sanctuaries stems from the fact that notification of a tiger reserve in the area would severely impede the Rs.6,000 crore mining industry, which threatens to rip into Goa's green cover.

Environmentalist Claude Alvares said: 'Look at the many places in Goa named after tigers. The official census doesn't show any tigers from Goa when this is a tiger place - the tiger poaching incident itself reflects that. It means the national count of 1,411 tigers goes up.

'The forest department seems to be more concerned with conserving mining in the area than conserving wildlife,' Alvares alleged.

http://sify.com/news/campaign-in-goa-buy-a-cow-save-the-tiger-news-national-kkimuecdfjh.html

Arunachal to constitute special tiger protection force

ITANAGAR: The Arunachal Pradesh government has proposed to set up a 112-member special tiger protection force (TPF) for Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR) to protect the big cat's declining population.

"The TPF would immensely help in protecting the big cats and containing poaching," conservator of forest (wildlife and biodiversity) M K Palit said.

The declining tiger population of 14 in 2006 against 61 as shown by the 2001-02 census was disputed as the census carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India was done in selected areas of the tiger reserve, he said.

The next census is due this month, he added. The Pakke Tiger Reserve in East Kameng district, home to a sizable number of tigers, has been appreciated by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest, he said.

The state forest department, which has signed an MoU with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), is expecting funds soon for the conservation of tigers, Palit said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/-Arunachal-to-constitute-special-tiger-protection-force/articleshow/6713183.cms