Lok Sabha Question No. 953 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-02
Subject: Decreasing Tiger Population
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Bhumare Sandipanrao Asaram, Shri Ravindra Dattaram Waikar, Shri Gyaneshwar Patil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 953

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.12.2024

## Decreasing Tiger Population

## 953 SHRI GYANESHWAR PATIL:

## SHRI RAVINDRA DATTARAM WAIKAR: SHRI BHUMARE SANDIPANRAO ASARAM:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the number of tigers in various parts of the country have decreased during the last few years;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the reasons therefor, State-wise including the State of Maharashtra;
- (c) whether tigers have died in the National Parks located in various parts of the country;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (e) the details of the effective steps being taken for sustenance and protection of tigers; and
- (f) the details of the works being done so far in this regard, State-wise particularly in the States of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

- (a) Tiger  numbers  have  shown  an  increasing  trend  over  the  last  five  cycles  of  the quadrennial All India Tiger Estimation (AITE) carried out by the Central Government in coordination with States.
- (b) The  details  of  tiger  numbers  across  the  five  cycles  of  AITE  can  be  seen  at Annexure-I.
- (c) & (d) The details of tiger mortality, as reported by the States over the last three years is at Annexure-II , with the confirmed causes of death at Annexure-III .
- (e) & (f) Several  milestone  initiatives  have  been  taken  by  the  Government  of  India  for protection  of  tigers  which  are  at Annexure-IV. In so  far  as the  States of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are concerned, the following financial assistance has been provided over the last five (05) years for activities which inter-alia include antipoaching  activities,  conservation  of  tigers,  raising  awareness  on  tiger  &  other wildlife  conservation,  habitat  management,  protection,  eco-development,  human resource and infrastructure development, voluntary village relocation, as per

sanctioned Annual Plan of Operation of the Tiger Reserve and Utilisation Certificate is duly submitted by the State Government:

(Rs. In lakhs)

|   Sl. No . | State          | 2019- 20   | 2020- 21   | 2021- 22   | 2022- 23   | 2023- 24   |
|------------|----------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
|          1 | Maharashtr a   | 3501.9 1   | 2551.2 6   | 3523.5 2   | 3956.8 8   | 4303.7 9   |
|          2 | Madhya Pradesh | 7220.3 9   | 3098.0 3   | 2991.0 6   | 809.62     | 2614.4 5   |

*****

## Annexure-I

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (b)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 953 ON DECREASING TIGER POPULATION DUE FOR REPLY ON 02.12.2024

Details of tiger estimation pertaining to tiger landscapes in the country, for the years 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 (As per All India Tiger Estimation Reports)

| State                                                                | Tiger Population                                                     | Tiger Population                                                     | Tiger Population                                                     | Tiger Population                                                     | Tiger Population                                                     |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                      | 2006                                                                 | 2010                                                                 | 2014                                                                 | 2018                                                                 | 2022                                                                 |
| Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            | Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            | Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            | Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            | Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            | Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            |
| Uttarakhand                                                          | 178                                                                  | 227                                                                  | 340                                                                  | 442                                                                  | 560                                                                  |
| Uttar Pradesh                                                        | 109                                                                  | 118                                                                  | 117                                                                  | 173                                                                  | 205                                                                  |
| Bihar                                                                | 10                                                                   | 8                                                                    | 28                                                                   | 31                                                                   | 54                                                                   |
| Shivalik Gangetic                                                    | 297                                                                  | 353                                                                  | 485                                                                  | 646                                                                  | 819                                                                  |
| Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex | Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex | Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex | Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex | Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex | Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex |
| Andhra Pradesh                                                       | 95                                                                   | 72                                                                   | 68                                                                   | 48                                                                   | 63                                                                   |
| Telangana                                                            | -                                                                    | -                                                                    | -                                                                    | 26                                                                   | 21                                                                   |
| Chhattisgarh                                                         | 26                                                                   | 26                                                                   | 46                                                                   | 19                                                                   | 17                                                                   |
| Madhya Pradesh                                                       | 300                                                                  | 257                                                                  | 308                                                                  | 526                                                                  | 785                                                                  |
| Maharashtra                                                          | 103                                                                  | 169                                                                  | 190                                                                  | 312                                                                  | 444                                                                  |
| Odisha                                                               | 45                                                                   | 32                                                                   | 28                                                                   | 28                                                                   | 20                                                                   |
| Rajasthan                                                            | 32                                                                   | 36                                                                   | 45                                                                   | 69                                                                   | 88                                                                   |
| Jharkhand                                                            | -                                                                    | 10                                                                   | 3                                                                    | 5                                                                    | 1                                                                    |
| Central India                                                        | 601                                                                  | 601                                                                  | 688                                                                  | 1033                                                                 | 1439                                                                 |
| Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      | Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      | Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      | Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      | Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      | Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      |
| Karnataka                                                            | 290                                                                  | 300                                                                  | 406                                                                  | 524                                                                  | 563                                                                  |
| Kerala                                                               | 46                                                                   | 71                                                                   | 136                                                                  | 190                                                                  | 213                                                                  |
| Tamil Nadu                                                           | 76                                                                   | 163                                                                  | 229                                                                  | 264                                                                  | 306                                                                  |
| Goa                                                                  | -                                                                    | -                                                                    | 5                                                                    | 3                                                                    | 5                                                                    |
| Western Ghats                                                        | 412                                                                  | 534                                                                  | 776                                                                  | 981                                                                  | 1087                                                                 |
| North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     | North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     | North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     | North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     | North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     | North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     |
| Assam                                                                | 70                                                                   | 143                                                                  | 167                                                                  | 190                                                                  | 229                                                                  |
| Arunachal Pradesh                                                    | 14                                                                   | -                                                                    | 28                                                                   | 29                                                                   | 9                                                                    |
| Mizoram                                                              | 6                                                                    | 5                                                                    | 3                                                                    | 0                                                                    | 0                                                                    |
| Nagaland                                                             | -                                                                    | -                                                                    | -                                                                    | 0                                                                    | 0                                                                    |
| Northern West Bengal                                                 | 10                                                                   | -                                                                    | 3                                                                    | 0                                                                    | 2                                                                    |
| North East Hills, and Brahmaputra                                    | 100                                                                  | 148                                                                  | 201                                                                  | 219                                                                  | 236                                                                  |
| Sunderbans                                                           | -                                                                    | 70                                                                   | 76                                                                   | 88                                                                   | 101                                                                  |
| TOTAL                                                                | 1411                                                                 | 1706                                                                 | 2226                                                                 | 2967                                                                 | 3682                                                                 |

*****

Annexure-II ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (c)  &  (d)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 953 ON DECREASING TIGER POPULATION DUE FOR

REPLY ON 02.12.2024

Details of tiger mortality, as reported by the States over the last three years

| State             |   2021 |   2022 |   2023 |
|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|
| Andhra Pradesh    |      1 |      3 |      2 |
| Arunachal Pradesh |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Assam             |      6 |      6 |     10 |
| Bihar             |      4 |      2 |      3 |
| Chhattisgarh      |      4 |      3 |      2 |
| Delhi             |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Goa               |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Gujarat           |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Haryana           |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Jharkhand         |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Karnataka         |     14 |     19 |     12 |
| Kerala            |      6 |      7 |     14 |
| Madhya Pradesh    |     42 |     34 |     43 |
| Maharashtra       |     28 |     28 |     46 |
| Nagaland          |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Odisha            |      0 |      2 |      2 |
| Rajasthan         |      1 |      5 |      6 |
| Tamil Nadu        |      4 |      3 |     15 |
| Telangana         |      4 |      0 |      0 |
| Uttar Pradesh     |      9 |      3 |      6 |
| Uttarakhand       |      3 |      6 |     21 |
| West Bengal       |      1 |      0 |      0 |
| Total             |    127 |    121 |    182 |

*****

*****

## Annexure-III

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (c)  &  (d)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 953 ON DECREASING TIGER POPULATION DUE FOR REPLY ON 02.12.2024

## Details of tiger mortality as reported by States over the last three years due to confirmed causes of death

| State             | 2021   | 2021   | 2021   | 2022   | 2022   | 2022   | 2023   | 2023   | 2023   |
|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| State             | P      | S      | UNP    | P      | S      | UNP    | P      | S      | UNP    |
| Andhra Pradesh    | -      | -      | 1      | 2      | -      | -      | 1      | -      | -      |
| Arunachal Pradesh | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Assam             | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | 2      | -      | 3      | -      |
| Bihar             | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | 1      | 1      | 1      | -      |
| Chhattisgarh      | -      | -      | 2      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Delhi             | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Goa               | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Gujarat           | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Haryana           | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Jharkhand         | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Karnataka         | -      | -      | 1      | 3      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Kerala            | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | 3      | 1      | -      | 1      |
|                   | 3      | -      | 1      | 5      | 1      | 1      | 5      | -      | 3      |
| Maharashtra       | 5      | -      | 2      | 2      | -      | 2      | 1      | -      | 3      |
| Nagaland          | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Odisha            | -      | -      | -      | -      | 1      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Rajasthan         | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Tamil Nadu        | -      | -      | 1      | -      | -      | 1      | 2      | -      | 1      |
| Telangana         | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Uttar Pradesh     | -      | 1      | 2      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Uttarakhand       | -      | -      | 1      | -      | -      | 1      | 1      | -      | 1      |
| West Bengal       | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| Total             | 8      | 1      | 11     | 12     | 2      | 11     | 12     | 4      | 9      |

P - Poaching S - Seizure UNP - Unnatural not poaching

## Annexure-IV

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (e)  &  (f)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 953 ON DECREASING TIGER POPULATION DUE FOR REPLY ON 02.12.2024

## Several  milestone  initiatives  have  been  taken  by  the  Government  of  India  for  protection  of tigers

1. Amendment of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 in 2006 to provide enabling provisions for constituting  the  National  Tiger  Conservation  Authority  under  section  38  IV  B  and  the  Tiger  and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau under section 38 IV C.
2. Comprehensive guidelines under section 38O 1 (c) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 issued for Project Tiger and Tourism in Tiger Reserves on 15 th  October, 2012, namely the National Tiger Conservation Authority (Normative Standards for Tourism activities and Project Tiger) Guidelines, 2012.
3.  Strengthening  of  antipoaching  activities,  including  special  strategy  for  monsoon  patrolling,  by providing  funding  support  to  tiger  reserve  States,  as  proposed  by  them,  for  deployment  of antipoaching squads involving ex-army personnel or home guards, apart from workforce comprising of local people, in addition to strengthening of communication and wireless facilities.
4. Since the year 2014 (till 25.11.2024), following tiger reserves have been notified :
5.  Approval  of  National  Tiger  Conservation  Authority  has  been  accorded  to  Sunabeda  Wildlife Sanctuary, MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhav National Park, Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary and Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary for notification as Tiger Reserve.
6. The State of Uttar Pradesh has been advised by the NTCA for declaring Sohagi Barwa Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve.
7.  A  scientific  methodology  for  estimating  tiger (including  co-predators,  prey  animals  and assessment of habitat status) has been evolved and mainstreamed.  The findings of this estimation

|   1 | Sathyamangalam (Tamil Nadu)               |
|-----|-------------------------------------------|
|   2 | Mukandra Hills (Rajasthan)                |
|   3 | Nawegaon-Nagzira (Maharashtra)            |
|   4 | Amrabad (Telangana)                       |
|   5 | Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh)                  |
|   6 | Bor (Maharashtra)                         |
|   7 | Rajaji (Uttarakhand)                      |
|   8 | Orang (Assam)                             |
|   9 | Kamlang (Arunachal Pradesh)               |
|  10 | Srivilliputhur Megamalai (Tamil Nadu)     |
|  11 | Ramgarh Vishdhari (Rajasthan)             |
|  12 | Ranipur (Uttar Pradesh)                   |
|  13 | Veerangana Durgavati (Madhya Pradesh)     |
|  14 | Dholpur-Karuali (Rajasthan)               |
|  15 | Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla (Chhattisgarh) |

and assessment are bench marks for future tiger conservation strategy.  India is the only country to have completed 5 cycles of the All India Tiger Estimation using this methodology.

8. As per the 5th cycle of All India Tiger Estimation, the country has a tiger estimate of 3682 with a range of 3167-3925 which is 70% of the global tiger population.
9.  The  18  tiger  States  have  notified  the  core/critical  tiger  habitat  (45562.24  sq.  km.),  and  the buffer/peripheral  area  (38051.97  sq.km.)  of  all  the  56  tiger  reserves  in  the  country,  under  section 38V of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006.
10.  Financial  and  technical  help  is  provided  to  the  State  Governments  under  various  Centrally Sponsored Schemes, such as the Project Tiger Component of the umbrella scheme of 'Integrated Development  of  Wildlife  Habitats'  for  enhancing  the  capacity  and  infrastructure  of  the  State Governments for providing effective protection to wild animals.
11.  India  has  a  bilateral  understanding  with  Nepal  on  controlling  trans-boundary  illegal  trade  in wildlife and conservation, apart from a protocol on tiger conservation with China.
12. A protocol has been signed in September, 2011 with Bangladesh for conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger of the Sunderban.  The bilateral meeting on Transboundary Conservation of Tigers in Sundarban Landscape of India and Bangladesh was held at Kolkata on 14 th  February 2023.
13.  A  sub-group  on  tiger  and  leopard  conservation  has  been  constituted for  cooperation  with the Russian Federation.  A tripartite MOU between the National Tiger Conservation Authority, Wildlife Institute of India and A.N. Severstov Institute of Ecology & Evaluation was signed on 4.12.2018 for cooperation in scientific research on tigers.
14. India is the founder member of the Global Tiger Forum (an intergovernmental organization) of Tiger Range Countries for addressing international issues related to tiger conservation.

15. A MoU signed with Myanmar for combating timber trafficking and promoting wildlife conservation:A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar for Cooperation on Combating Timber  Trafficking,  and  Conservation  of  Tigers  and  other  Wildlife  has  been  signed  on  27th February, 2020.

16. The 3 rd   Asia  Ministerial  Conference  (3  AMC) was organized in  New Delhi from 12-14 April 2016.  Inspired by the statement of Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, during this conference that 'conservation of  tigers is not a choice, it is an imperative', to achieve the concrete results of ensuring the conservation of tigers in the wild and their habitats by 2022.

17. The Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) has been made operational in the States of Karnataka (Bandipur), Maharashtra (Pench, Tadoba-Andhari, Nawegaon-Nagzira, Melghat), Rajasthan (Ranthambhore) and Odisha (Similipal), out of 13 initially selected tiger reserves, with 60% central assistance under the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger, Kaziranga (Assam) with 90% central assistance.

18.  Implementing  a  tripartite  Memorandum  of Understanding  (MOU)  with  tiger  States,  linked  to fund flows for effective implementation of tiger conservation initiatives.

19. Steps taken for modernizing  the  infrastructure and  field protection, besides launching 'Monitoring  system  for  Tigers'  Intensive  Protection  and  Ecological  Status  (M-STrIPES)'  for

effective field patrolling and monitoring.  The M-STrIPES application has been made android based with three distinct modules, viz. patrol, ecological and conflict.

20. As a part of active management to rebuild Sariska and Panna Tiger Reserves where tigers had become locally extinct, reintroduction of tigers have been done.  The successful reintroduction of wild  tigers  in  Panna  is  a  unique  example  and  one  of  a  kind  in  the  world  as  the  rewilded  and reintroduced tigresses are breeding.  Further, under this initiatives, tigers have been re-introduced in the  western  part  of  the  Rajaji  Tiger  Reserve  (Uttarakhand),  Madhav  National  Park  (Madhya Pradesh), Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve and Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve (Rajasthan).
21. To assess occupancy of tigers in high altitude landscapes, a collaborative project with the Global Tiger Forum was implemented.
22. Providing special assistance for mitigation of human-tiger conflicts in problematic areas.
23.  Standard  Operating  Procedures  (SOPs)  have  been  issued  in  9  thematic  areas  as  below  with inputs from officials and experts, fine tuned to meet the present challenges in the field:-
- i. for dealing with tiger death.
- ii. to deal with emergency arising due to straying of tigers in human dominated landscape.
- iii. for disposing the tiger/leopard carcass/body.
- iv. to deal with orphaned / abandoned tiger cubs and old / injured tigers in the wild.
- v. to deal with tiger depredation on livestock.
- vi. for Interstate Co-ordination amongst tiger reserves that share boundary.
- vii. for active  management  towards  rehabilitation of tigers  from  source  areas at  landscape level.
- viii. to deal with stray/feral dogs in tiger reserves.
- ix. to deal with the Tiger re-introduction and supplementation in wild.
24. Phase-IV tiger reserve level, continuous monitoring of tigers using camera traps and building up data on photo captures of individual tigers, has been institutionalized.
25. A national repository of camera trap photo IDs of individual tigers has been created.
26. Economic Valuation of sixteen tiger reserves done in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Forest Management to assess value of the ecosystem services they provide and their potential role in climate change mitigation.
27.  Initiated  a  pilot  project  on  monetizing  carbon  sequestration  to  benefit  Tiger  Conservation Foundations and local in collaboration with TERI.
28. Assessment of Status, Density and Change in Forest Cover in and around tiger reserves of the Shivalik Gangetic Plain Landscape done in collaboration with the Forest Survey of India.
29. Based on International standards, security audit framework of the NTCA has been validated for implementing  across  all  tiger  reserves.    25  tiger  reserves  have  been  assessed  for  their  security protocols through this framework.
30.  To  create  more  inviolate  areas  and  in  order  to  incentivize  voluntary  village  relocation,  the package has been increased from Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 15 lakhs.

31.  To  assess  status  of  tiger  bearing  areas  outside  tiger  reserves,  the  CA|TS  (Conservation Assured|Tiger Standards) framework -an international accreditation. 3 sites accredited with CA|TS certification are in India, namely the Ramnagar, Lansdowne, Forest Divisions in Uttarakhand and 24 South  Parganas  in  West  Bengal.    CA|TS  has  now  been  extended  to  tiger  reserves  and  23  sites namely Manas, Kaziranga, Orang, Satpura, Pench (Maharashtra), Kanha, Panna, Valmiki, Dudhwa, Parambikulam, Mudumalai, Bandipur, Anamalai, Sundarbans Bandhavgarh, Pench (MP), Sathyamangalam,  Navegaon-Nagzira,  Tadoba,  Melghat,  Periyar,  Kali  and  Pilibhit  Tiger  Reserves have been accredited with CA|TS.

32.  Tiger  Conservation  Authority  Fund  has  been  operationalised,  as  envisaged  in  the  Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

33.  Successful  reintroduction  of  cheetah  :-  Cheetah  is  the  only  large  carnivore  that  has  been extirpated in India over historical times. A project to bring back Cheetah by way of introduction has been launched. As part of the project, consultative bilateral meetings and negotiations were held with Republic  of  Namibia  and  Republic  of  South  Africa.  The  bilateral  negotiations  culminated  with signing of MoUs with Republic of Namibia and Republic of South Africa on 20th July 2022 and 17th January  2023  respectively.  The  MoUs  facilitate  biodiversity  conservation  with  specific  focus  on conservation and restoration of cheetah in their former range areas from which they went extinct.

Following the signing of MoU with Republic of Namibia, a first of batch 8 cheetahs have been successfully translocated from Namibia to Kuno National Park and on 17th September 2022, the cheetahs were released into quarantine enclosure by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India. Under the provisions of the MoU signed with South Africa,12 Cheetahs (7 males, 5 females) were translocated from South Africa to Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India on 18th February 2023.

A  dedicated  team  of  forest  officials,  cheetah  experts  and  veterinarians  has  been  undertaking protection as well as monitoring of cheetahs 24x7 basis.  Post introduction of the cheetah in India, 17 Cheetah cubs were born on Indian soil.

Efforts  have  been  initiated  to  enter  into  engagements  with  the  Governments  of  Kenya  and Botswana too.

34. Bilateral agreement with Cambodia - The Indian delegation visited Cambodia for assessing the field situation and the capacity building requirements for tiger reintroduction initiative in Cambodia. Subsequently,  a  MoU  with  Cambodia  regarding  ''Cooperation  in  biodiversity  conservation  and sustainable wildlife management recovery strategy of tiger and its habitat'' has been signed.

35.   Forest  Fire  Audit  Protocol  for  Tiger  Reserves  - To  assess  the  fire  preparedness  and  manage complete life cycle of forest fires in tiger reserve, the NTCA has come out with Forest Fire Audit Protocol for Tiger Reserves. The protocol will facilitate tiger reserves in assessing their preparedness for combating the forest fire.

36. Scientific co-operation agreement in the field of camera trap data management with Russia: An MoU was signed with  the  Land  of  the  Leopard  National  Park  (LLNP),  for  sharing  the  technical knowhow in the field of camera trap based monitoring. Under the MoU, the NTCA and WII will provide technical assistance to LLNP to use CaTRAT (Camera Trap Data Repository and Analysis Tool). The tool was developed through joint collaborative efforts of NTCA, WII and IIIT.

37. India has also signed an MoU with Guatemala on 'Conservation of the Tiger (Panthera Tigris) and  the  Jaguar  (Panthera  Onca)'  which  envisages  to  use  India's  expertise  for  conservation  of Jaguars.

38.  Pre-Summit  Meeting  of  the  Tiger  Range  Countries  (TRCs)  organized  at  New  Delhi-  A  presummit  meeting  of  Tiger  Range  Countries  was  organized  by  NTCA  at  New  Delhi  from  10-12 August, 2022 for finalizing the draft declaration to be adopted at 2 nd  International Tiger Forum held at Vladivostok, Russia.
39. Water Source Atlas of Tiger Reserves:- For the first time NTCA has came up with the report which is  designed  in  the  atlas  format  to  provide  spatial  maps  showing  water  sources  in  the  tiger reserves.  This  water  source  atlas  based  on  the  available  remotely  sensed  data  analysed  in  GIS platform, provides a first cut information on the existing water bodies in the tiger reserves.
40.  International  award  to  tiger  reserves:-  The  Pilibhit  Tiger  Reserve  in  Uttar  Pradesh  and Sathyamangalam  Tiger  Reserve  in  Tamil  Nadu  have  been  conferred  with  the  inaugural  Tx2 international award constituted by a consortium of international organization namely GEF, UNDP, IUCN, WWF and GTF. Three more tiger reserves namely; Pench Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) and Pench  Tiger  Reserve  (Maharashtra)  jointly  and  Satpura  Tiger  Reserve  (Madhya  Pradesh)  have  been awarded with Tx2 award for the year 2022-2023.
41. Project Tiger completed 50 years:- The commemoration of 50 years of Project Tiger' event was inaugurated by Hon'ble Prime Minister of India in Mysuru, Karnataka on 9th April 2023. During the event Hon'ble PM also released a commemorative coin on the completion of 50 years of Project Tiger.
42.  In  order  to  assess  the  management effectiveness  of  tiger reserves,  NTCA  has  been  undertaking "Management Effective Evaluation" (MEE) at an interval of 4 years. The 5th cycle of MEE was carried  out  for  51  tiger  reserves  in  2022  and  the  summary  report  was  released  during  the Commemoration of 50 years of Project Tiger event by Hon'ble Prime Minister of India in Mysuru, Karnataka on 9th April 2023.  Out of 51 tiger reserves, 12 Tiger Reserves have achieved 'Excellent' category,  followed  by  21  Tiger  Reserves  in  'Very  Good'  category,  13  Tiger  Reserves  in  'Good' category and 5 Tiger Reserves in 'Fair' category.
43. The International Big Cat Alliance was launched during Commemoration of 50 years of Project Tiger event by Hon'ble Prime Minister of India in Mysuru, Karnataka on 9th April 2023. The focus of the International big cat alliance will be on the conservation of the world's seven major big cats. The same was established on 12.3.2024 after approval of the Cabinet on 29 th  February, 2024.
44. All India Tiger Estimation 4 th  Cycle enters into Guinness World Record book:- India's science based tiger monitoring methodology popularly known as 'All India Tiger Estimation' has entered into the Guinness World Record as largest camera trap based wild animal monitoring exercise in the world.

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