Video Lecture
INDIAN WILDLIFE CONSERVATION EFFORT |
| PROJECT TIGER |
- Launched in 1973 (from Jim Corbett National Park of Uttarakhand) + Centrally Sponsored
- Objective: to protect ‘Endangered’ Tiger population from extinction by ensuring a viable population in their natural habitats.
- Tiger is an Umbrella species.
- The Tiger Reserves are constituted on a ‘Core-Buffer Strategy’.
- Tiger census: conducted once in every 4 years since, 1972.
- Tiger census uses: Pugmark technique, Camera trapping, M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers -Intensive Protection & Ecological Status) etc.
- India achieved its ‘St. Petersburg declaration’ target by doubling Tiger population (in 2019) ahead of 2022 target
- India it currently houses around 70% of the World’s Tiger population.
| UMBRELLA SPECIES: Protection of these species indirectly protects the many other species that make up the ecological community of its habitat. |
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TIGER CENSUS 2018
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| The Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) 2008 |
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| The Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010 |
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| The 13 Tiger Range Countries
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CONSERVATION ASSURED | TIGER STANDARDS [CA|TS] Asia
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1. Chitwan National Park in Nepal & 2. Sikhote – Alin Nature Reserve in Russia. Note: India became the 1st among the 13 tiger range countries to nationally adopt CA|TS. |
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GLOBAL TIGER FORUM (GTF)
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| PROJECT ELEPHANT (1992) |
- Launch: 1992 + Centrally Sponsored
- IUCN status: Asian elephant: Endangered & African elephant: Vulnerable.
- Objectives: to protect elephants, their habitat & corridors + to prevent man-animal conflict + Welfare of captive elephants.
- It provides financial & technical support to wildlife management efforts by states.
- The Project is being mainly implemented in 16 States: Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal.
| Elephants are described as “Ecological Engineers” because they create & maintain ecosystems by physically changing habitats. Elephant society is matriarchal. |
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ELEPHANT CORRIDORS: |
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| GAJ YATRA
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| MONITORING OF ILLEGAL KILLING OF ELEPHANTS (MIKE) |
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‘HAATHI MERE SAATHI’ Campaign
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| VULTURE CONSERVATION |
- A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion + live predominantly in the tropics and subtropics.
- Vultures, also known as nature’s cleanup crew.
- Vultures in south Asia, mainly in India and Nepal, have declined dramatically since the early 1990s
- Drug Diclofenac implicated as the main cause of vulture decline. Replaced by
- Vultures die of kidney (Renal) failure caused by Diclofenac poisoning.
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Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020 -2025:
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| Vultures found in India | Out of 23 species of vultures in the world, 9 are found in India. These include:
1. White Rumped vulture (CR– Critically Endangered) 2. Slender billed vulture (CR) 3. Long billed vulture (CR) 4. Red headed vulture (CR) 5. Egyptian vulture (Endangered) 6. Himalayan Griffon (NT-Near Threatened) 7. Cinereous vulture (NT) 8. Bearded vulture (NT) 9. Griffon Vulture (Least Concern). |
| The Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre (VCBC)
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1. The White-backed vulture, 2. Long-billed vulture & 3. Slender-billed vulture.
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| INDIAN (ONE HORN) RHINO VISION (IRV) 2020 |
- Launched in 2005 + supported by WWFIndia, the International Rhino Foundation (IRF).
- Implemented by Assam State Government with the Bodo autonomous council as an active partner
- Aim: to attain a wild population of at least 3,000 one-horned rhinos the Indian state of Assam.
- IUCN: Vulnerable + Schedule -I WPA, 1972.
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NEW DELHI DECLARATION on Asian Rhinos 2019
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| PROJECT SNOW LEOPARD (2009) |
- Launched in 2009 + IUCN: Vulnerable
- Objective: to safeguard & conserve India’s unique natural heritage of high-altitude wildlife populations.
- Most of the Snow leopards are found in China followed by Mongolia and India.
- The Snow leopard range states / UTs of India: Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
| PROJECT SECURE HIMALAYA (2017) |
- Launched in 2017 + By of India in association with UNDP, the GEF -Global Environment Facility.
- Project duration: 6 years.
- Objective: to secure livelihoods, conserve, restore & sustainably use Himalayan ecosystems.
- Project Implemented in Specific Landscapes:
- Changthang: Jammu and Kasmir
- Lahaul: Pangi and Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh)
- Gangotri: Govind & Darma Byans Valley (Uttarakhand)
- Kanchenjunga: Upper Teesta Valley (Sikkim).
- Also, focused on the protection of snow leopard & other endangered species and their habitats in Himalayas.
| PROJECT SEA TURTLE |
- Launched in 2005 + by MoEF&CC in association with UNDP.
- Implemented by Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.
| Operation
Kachhapa
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| FAST FACTS
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| PROJECT CROCODILE |
- Launched in 1975 + by GoI in association with UNDP, FAO.
- There are three crocodilians species found in India.
- Objectives:
- To protect the remaining population of crocodilians.
- To enhance their population through ‘rear & release’ technique.
- To promote captive breeding.
- Note: Central Crocodile Breeding & Management Training Institute is located at Hyderabad, Telangana.
Species
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IUCN Status
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Water
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| PROJECT HANGUL (KASHMIR STAG) |
- Launched in 1970s + by Govt. of Jammu & IUCN & WWF.
- IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
- It is found in dense riverine forests in the high valleys & mountains of the Kashmir and northern Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh.
- In Kashmir, it’s found in the Dachigam National Park, Rajparian Wildlife Sanctuary, Overa Aru, Sind Valley, Kishtwar & Bhaderwah.
- Note: Hangul is the only surviving species of the Asiatic member of the red deer family + Hangul society is matriarchal & only male member has antlers.
| CONSERVATION BREEDING PROGRAMME |
- This involves the captive propagation of endangered species.
- To help maintain genetic diversity, produce viable individuals to mitigate species’ extinction.
- Important ongoing Conservation Breeding Programme in India:
| Name of the Species | Name of the Zoo |
| Red panda & Snow leopard | Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling |
| Hoolock gibbon | Biological Park, Itanagar |
| Clouded leopard | Sepahijala Zoological Park, Agartala |
| Indian pangolin | Nandankanan Biological Park, Bhubaneswa |
| Lion-tailed macaque | Ariganr Anna Zoological Park, Chennai |
| Grey jungle fow | Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park, Tirupati |
| Dolphin | Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary, Bhagalpur. |
| Crocodile | Madras Crocodile Bank, Chennai |
| DOLPHIN CONSERVATION |
- National Aquatic Animal: Ganges River Dolphin.
- IUCN status – Endangered + included in Schedule-I of the WPA 1972 + Appendix I of CITES + Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
- The Ganges River Dolphins can only live in freshwater, are blind and catch their prey using ultrasonic sound
- It makes sound while breathing called the Su-Su.
- Need for conservation: They once lived in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna & Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, but are now mostly extinct from many of its early distribution ranges.
- In India they are distributes across 7 states: Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The Other Three Freshwater Dolphins:
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| SOUTH ASIA WILDLIFE ENFORCEMENT NETWORK (SAWEN) |
- Launched in 2011 in Paro Bhutan + Secretariat: Kathmandu, Nepal.
- SAWEN is an inter-government wildlife law enforcement support body of South Asian countries.
- Objective: to promote & co-ordinate regional co-operation for curbing illegal wildlife trade in wild flora and fauna of South Asia.
- Member countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
- Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is the nodal point for SAWEN in India.
