Fourteen tiger reserves get global recognition for good conservation
New Delhi : Fourteen tiger reserves in the country received the CA|TS (Conservation Assured|Tiger Standards) accreditation on the occasion of the International Tiger Day Thursday.
CA|TS is a globally accepted conservation tool that sets best practices and standards to manage tigers and encourages assessments to benchmark progress.
It is a set of criteria which allows tiger sites to check if their management will lead to successful tiger conservation.
The 14 tiger reserves are Manas Tiger Reserve, Kaziranga Tiger Reserve and Orang Tiger Reserve in Assam, Satpura Tiger Reserve, Kanha Tiger Reserve and Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh, Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in Kerala, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka and Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in West Bengal. also received the honour.
“Other than these 14 tiger reserves, there are three more for which we want to achieve the CA|TS accreditation. We want all 51 of our tiger reserves to get the accreditation and stay protected,” said Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.
CA|TS has been agreed upon as accreditation tool by the global coalition of Tiger Range Countries (TRCs) and 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.
On the occasion, the minister released the report ‘Status of Leopards, Co-predators and Megaherbivores-2018’ which he said is a testimony to the fact that conservation of tigers leads to the conservation of entire ecosystem.
“Population of tigers is an indicator of a well-balanced ecosystem. On this occasion of Tiger Day, we are not just protecting our tigers, but we are saving the ecosystem and our forests, ” Yadav said.
India is home to 51 tiger reserves spread across 18 states.
UNI
