Input Template for Content Writers (e-Text and Learn More) 1. Details of Module and its Structure Module Detail Subject Name < Botany> Paper Name <Conservation and Restoration ecology> Module Name/Title <Conservation Ecology> Module Id <Project Tiger> Pre-requisites About Tiger ecology and distribution Objectives To make students aware on the conservation efforts of Tiger in India Keywords Project Tiger, Tiger reserves, Management issues Structure of Module/Syllabus of a module (Define Topic / Sub-topic of module ) Project Tiger 1. General Introduction 2. The role of the Tiger in the ecosystem 3. Launch of project Tiger 4. Steps to Strengthen success of project Tiger 5. Global conservation efforts 2. Development Team Role Name Affiliation Subject Coordinator <Prof. Sujata Bhargava> Savitribai Phule Pune University Paper Coordinator <Prof. NSR Krishnayya> MS University Baroda Content Writer/Author (CW) < Dr. Deepa Gavali> Gujarat Ecology Society Vadodara Content Reviewer (CR) < Prof. NSR Krishnayya > Language Editor (LE) < Prof. NSR Krishnayya > 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS (for textual content) 1. General Introduction 2. The role of the Tiger in the ecosystem 3. Launch of project Tiger 4. Steps to Strengthen success of project Tiger 5. Global conservation efforts 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION Tiger range countries [TRCs]: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam). The tiger population is dwindling at an alarming rate and now reported in only 13 countries. The major environmental challenges include degradation from the effects of human population growth, brisk economic expansion, rapid urbanization, massive infrastructure development and climate change. The overarching challenge of tiger conservation, and the conservation of biodiversity generally, is that there is insufficient demand for the survival of wild tigers living in natural landscapes. This allows the criminal activities of poaching wild tigers and their prey and trafficking in tiger derivatives to flourish and tiger landscapes to be diminished. The geographical distribution of tigers spans large parts of Asia, although it has greatly reduced in the last 50 years. Tigers are still found in a wide variety of forests, including dry-deciduous, moist- deciduous, evergreen, riverine, and mangrove. Tigers unlike lions do not live in families. They are largely individualistic and usually move around on their own. Although not much is known of their dispersal capabilities, it has been found that males disperse three times farther than females. While the males disperse over 33km, females have an average dispersal of less than 10 km. Indeed, male tigers control stretches ranging from 200km in thick forests to nearly five times in dry and arid regions. About eight subspecies of tigers have been recognized, out of which three are extinct. 1 Pantheratigristigris(Linnaeus, 1758). Bengal tiger. Indian subcontinent. 2 P.t.virgata(Illiger, 1815). Caspian tiger. Turkey through central and west Asia. (extinct since the Seventies). 3 3 P.t.altaica(Temminck, 1844). Amur tiger. Amur Rivers region of Russia and China, and North Korea. 4 P.t.sondica(Temminck, 1844). Javan tiger. Java, Indonesia. (extinct since the Eighties). 5 P.t.amoyensis(Hilzheimer, 1905). South China tiger. South central China. 6 P.t.balica(Schwarz, 1912). Bali tiger. Bali, Indonesia. (extinct since the Forties). 7 P.t.sumatrae(Pocock, 1929). Sumatran tiger. Sumatra, Indonesia. 8 P.t.corbetti(Mazak, 1968). IndoChinese tiger. Continental southeast Asia. Based on molecular markers, six subspecies are now recognized: (1) Amur Tiger (Pantheratigrisaltaica) (2) Northern IndoChinese Tiger (P.t.corbetti) (3) South China Tiger (P.t.amoyensis) (4) Malayan Tiger (P.t.jacksoni) (5) Sumatran Tiger (P.t.sumatrae) (6) Bengal Tiger (P.t.tigris) The Indian subspeciesis Pantheratigristigris.Wild tigers are found in 18 of our States, viz. Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Project Tiger is being implemented in these States in collaboration with the respective State Governments. 2 THE ROLE OF THE TIGER IN THE ECOSYSTEM Tiger, being at the apex of the food chain, can be considered as the indicator of the stability of the eco-system. For a viable tiger population, a habitat should possess a good prey base, which in turn will depend on undisturbed forest vegetation. Thus, 'Project Tiger', is basically the conservation of the entire eco-system and apart from tigers, all other wild animals also have increased in number in the project areas. The tiger is a very important member of the ecosystems that it inhabits. It shares a symbiotic relation with the jungles that harbour it. The tiger needs a minimum density of herbivorous ungulates to sustain it. The herbivores in turn need vegetation to sustain their population. There is a limited area of forest, and hence foliage, available. This means that there is limited food for the herbivores to feed on. This is turn implies that a given forest area can sustain only a certain maximum number of tigers. Thus, conserving the tiger is not just about the number of tigers. It is a much broader concept that required the conservation of the entire eco-system. Irrespective of the role of tiger in ecosystem it was hunted for various reasons initially as game animal during the era of kingship and then by poachers who smuggled the body parts out of the country. A tiger may fetch as much as Rs. 6,000,000 for a wildlife trader in India; part of the tiger’s 4 body is marketable- $6,000 per kg for tiger bones, $270,000 per kg for tiger penis, $20,000 for the tiger skin, $1,000 per tiger skull, $900 per tooth, $100 per kg of tiger fat. 3 LAUNCH OF PROJECT TIGER There were an estimated 40,000 tigers in India at the beginning of the twentieth century. This number had continually decline with the hunting of tigers in the absence of any legal restraint. The gravity of the situation was realized when the first all-India tiger census in 1972 revealed only 182711 tigers in India. It was then when the government of India realizedthe gravity of the situation. The Government reacted to the situation by imposing a ban in 1970 on the killing of tigers. Hitherto, there existed only the Indian Forest Act of 1927. It brought forests and wildlife under the concurrent list in 1976. The Government further enacted the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. A ‘Task Force’ was also formed to solve the problem of the declining tiger population. The Project had been drawn to cover a six-year period from April 1, 1973 to March 31, 1979, thus covering the last year of the Fourth Plan and the entire Fifth Five Year Plan.The total projected fund requirement was Rs 58 million. The Central Government was responsible for planning, coordination and part financing while the State Government was responsible for only execution and financing a part of the recurring cost of the project. The various reasons that were responsible for the fall in tiger population in India were: • Shrinkage of tiger land • Excessive disturbance in tiger habitat • Destruction of prey animals • Poaching of tigers • Poisoning for protection of cattle The Task Force (1972) laid out guidelines for the formulation of management plans for various tiger reserves. Project Tiger was launched in 1973 with 9 tiger reserves- Bandipur, Corbett, Kanha, Manas, Melghat, Palamau, Ranthambore, Similipal, and Sunderbans. The basic philosophy was to not interfere with nature. The survival of the tiger was looked at from the logic of it being at the apex of the food chain and hence it followed that the natural habitat was to be sustained. A ‘core- buffer’ model was followed. The core areas were freed from all sorts human activities and the buffer areas were subjected to 'conservation oriented land use'. Each tiger reserve had management plans in accordance with the following principles 1. Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and biotic disturbance from the core area and rationalization of activities in the buffer zone. 5 2. Restricting the habitat management only to repair the damages done to the eco-system by human and other interferences, so as to facilitate recovery of the eco-system to its natural state. 3. Monitoring the faunal and floral changes over time and carrying out research about wildlife sustained. Initially, the Project started with a Tiger Reserve covering an area of 16,339 sq.km with a population of 268 Tigers. At present there are 44 Tiger Reserves covering an area of 70,244.10 sq. km with a population of 2,226 Tigers (2014). Core Buffer Total Area S.No. Tiger Reserve State Area(km2) Area(km2) (km2) 1 Bandipur Karnataka 872 584 1,456 2 Jim Corbett Uttarakhand 822 466 1,288 Madhya 3 Kanha 917 1,134 2,052 Pradesh 4 Manas Assam 840 2,311 3,151 5 Melghat Maharashtra 1,500 1,268 2,769 6 Palamau Jharkhand 414 716 1,130 7 Ranthambore Rajasthan 1,113 298 1,411 8 Similipal Odisha 1,195 1,555 2,750 9 Sunderbans West Bengal 1,700 885 2,585 10 Periyar Kerala 881 44 925 11 Sariska Rajasthan 881 332 1,213 12 Buxa West Bengal 391 367 758 13 Indravati Chhattisgarh 1,258 1,541 2,799 Arunachal 14 Namdapha 1,808 245 2,053 Pradesh 15 Dudhwa Uttar Pradesh 1,094 1,108 2,202 Kalakkad- 16 Tamil Nadu 895 707 1,602 Mundanthurai 17 Valmiki Bihar 598 301 899 Madhya 18 Pench 411 768 1,180 Pradesh 19 Tadoba Maharashtra 626 1,102 1,728 6 Core Buffer Total Area