Wildlife Conservation Projects

1. Project Tiger

1.1. M-Strips (Monitoring System for Tigers’ - intensive protection and ecological status)

2. Project Elephant

2.1 Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants ( MIKE ) Programme:

3. Project Snow Leopard

4. Project Cheetah (For reintroduction of Cheetah) 

1. Project Tiger :

• The Government of India has taken a pioneering initiative for conserving its national animal, the tiger, by launching the ‘Project Tiger’ in 1973. From 9 tiger reserves since its formative years, the Project Tiger coverage has increased to 44 at present, spread out in 17 of our tiger range states. This amounts to around 2.08% of the geographical area of our country. 
• The tiger reserves are constituted on a core/buffer strategy. The core areas have the legal status of a national park or a sanctuary, whereas the buffer or peripheral areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land, managed as a multiple use area.
• The Project Tiger aims to foster an exclusive tiger agenda in the core areas of tiger reserves, with an inclusive people oriented agenda in the buffer.
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body of the Ministry, with an overarching supervisory / coordination role, performing functions as provided in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• The main objective of Project Tiger is to ensure a viable population of tiger in India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values and to preserve for all time, areas of biological importance as a natural heritage for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people. Main objectives under the scheme include wildlife management, protection measures and site specific eco-development to reduce the dependency of local communities on tiger reserve resources.
• Project Tiger has put the tiger on an assured course of recovery from the brink of extinction, and has resurrected the floral and faunal genetic diversity in some of our unique and endangered wilderness ecosystem. The population of tigers in the country has increased significantly to about 4000 from less than 2000 at the time of launch of the project.
• 100% central assistance is provided to 38 tiger reserves.
• With effective from 2007, National tiger conservation authority (NTCA) was constituted for tiger conservation.
• "In principal" approval has been accorded by the NTCA for creation of four new tiger reserves: Biligiri Ranganatha swamy temple sanctuary (K.N), Pilibhit (U.P), Ratapani (M.P) and Mukundara hills (Rajasthan).
  
• During tiger census of 2008, a new methodology using extrapolating site specific densities of tigers, their co-predators and prey derived from camera trap and sign survey using GIS was introduced.
• Encompassing an area of 3,568 sq km spread over five districts of Andhra Pradesh, Nagarjunasagar- Srisailam Tiger Reserve(NSTR) is India’s largest Tiger Reserve.
  
• Approach:

1. Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and disturbance from the core and rationalisation of such activities in the buffer.
   
2. Limitation of the habitat management to repair damage done by man.
   
   
3. Researching facts about habitat and wild animals and carefully monitoring changes in flora and fauna.
   

1.1 M-Strips: (monitoring system for tigers - intensive protection and ecological status)

• Aims: 

1. Assist in effective patrolling and protection.
   
2. Evaluate status and trends of carnivores and ungulates at regular intervals.
   
3. Monitor habitat change.
4. Evaluate human pressures.
5. Generate reports to provide quantitative information for management effectiveness.
6. assessment and decision making.

2)  Project Elephant :

• Project Elephant (PE), a centrally sponsored scheme, was launched in February 1992 to provide financial and technical support to major elephant bearing States in the country for protection of elephants, their habitats and corridors. 
• It also seeks to address the issues of human-elephant conflict and welfare of domesticated elephants. The Project is being implemented in 13 States / UTs , viz. Andhra Pradesh , Arunachal Pradesh , Assam , Jharkhand , Karnataka , Kerala , Meghalaya , Nagaland ,Orissa ,Tamil Nadu , Uttaranchal ,Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
• There are only 17 states in which elephants exist in the wild state. Project Elephant has declared 24 elephant reserves in 12 states to protect elephant populations in the wild and develop their habitat. It was launched in the year 1991-92 as a sequel to a series of efforts to conserve this magnificent species covering primarily twelve states of India.
• Objective of Project Elephant:

1. To protect elephants, their habitat & corridors.
   
2. To address issues of man-animal conflict.
   
3. Welfare of domesticated elephants.

2.1 Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants ( MIKE ) Programme:

Mandated by COP resolution of CITES , MIKE program started in South Asia in the year 2003 with following purpose –

To provide information needed for elephant range States to make appropriate management and enforcement decisions, and to build institutional capacity within the range States for the long-term management of their elephant populations.

The main objectives of the MIKE are:

a) To measure levels and trends in the illegal hunting of elephants;

b) To determine changes in these trends over time; and

c) To determine the factors causing or associated with such changes, and to try and assess in particular to what extent observed trends are a result of any decision taken by the Conference of the Parties to CITES.

MIKE Sites in India :

1. Chirang Ripu (Assam )
2. Dhang Patki ( Assam )
3. Eastern Dooars ( WB )
4. Deomali ( Arun Pradesh )
5. Garo Hills ( Meghalaya )
6. Mayurbhanj ( Orissa )
7. Mysore ( Karnataka )
8. Nilgiri ( T N )
9. Shivalik ( Uttarakhand )
10. Wayanad ( Kerala)

3. Project Snow Leopard:

1. Project Snow Leopard is a manifestation of the Government of India’s resolve to conserve biodiversity with community participation. To give it the same status of importance in the high altitude as that of Tiger in the terrestrial landscape the ministry has launched the Project Snow Leopard in the country in 2009. It is an Indian initiative for strengthening wildlife conservation in the Himalayan high altitudes. It aims to promote a knowledge-based and adaptive conservation framework that fully involves the local communities, who share the snow leopard’s range, in conservation efforts.
2. GOAL: To safeguard and conserve India’s unique natural heritage of high altitude wildlife populations and their habitats by promoting conservation through participatory policies and actions.
3. Snow Leopard is globally endangered species as well as the most important flagship species of the mountain region. They are at the apex of ecological pyramid suffer the most on account of relatively smaller population size and also because of man-animal conflict. This situation further gets aggravated by the hostile landscape forming its habitat. Referring to its globally endangered species status as well as the most important flagship species of the mountain region.
4. The estimated world population of Snow Leopards in the world is 3,500-7,000, out of which about 500 cats are spreading across the States of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in India. 
5. Just as what ‘Tiger’ means to most of the ‘forested and grassland ecosystems of the Indian subcontinent’ it is the ‘Snow Leopard’ for the ‘high altitude ecosystems of the Himalaya and Central Asian mountains’. The Snow Leopard is at the apex of the food pyramid in the Himalaya, helping in the maintenance of the balance of nature. It can, therefore, be regarded as an “Umbrella Species”
6. The project is operational in five Himalayan States viz. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.The project stresses on a landscape approach to conservation wherein smaller core zones with relatively conservation values will be identified and conserved with support and the larger landscape will be managed in such a way that it allows necessary development benefits to the local communities.

4. Project Cheetah: Just as the tiger is the flagship species of the forest, the cheetah is the flagship species of the grasslands, scrublands and open forests. Therefore, with the reintroduction of the cheetah, these dryland ecosystems of India will have a chance to return to their natural state. Being a top carnivore, the cheetah is a major evolutionary force that shapes ecosystem functions and enhances species diversity.

• A cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a big cat like the leopard, and is a member of the family Felidae. As a sprinter capable of reaching speeds of 30 m/s, it is the fastest land animal and specialises in running down its prey.
  
• The cheetah is part of our heritage - It is the only large mammal that has been declared extinct in India in recent history. 

Geographic Range/Current Habitat region:

The cheetah is found only in the arid regions of eastern Iran in Asia, and in Africa, it is found in isolated populations in grasslands, scrublands and open forests across the continent, especially in the countries of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

• Why reintroduction of Cheetah:

1. Just as the tiger is the flagship species of the forest, the cheetah is the flagship species of the grasslands, scrublands and open forests. Therefore, with the reintroduction of the cheetah, these dryland ecosystems of India will have a chance to return to their natural state.
2. Being a top carnivore, the cheetah is a major evolutionary force that shapes ecosystem functions and enhances species diversity.

• In 2012, Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the Cheetah Reintroduction Programme by which the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had proposed to import the African large-sized feline to India.

• A year after the Supreme Court stalled its ambitious cheetah re-introduction project; the government moved the court yet again in 2014 with an assertive petition to let them go ahead with the plan in the interest of wildlife conservation.

• The petition opposed court’s observation, pointing out cheetah was not a foreign species.