National tiger census to kick off in December

NAGPUR: In 2006, 1,114 tigers roamed the country's forests. In 2010, that number rose to 1,706. Come 2014, will Waghpurians and other tiger lovers across the country have a reason to rejoice? Or will deforestation and poaching have cast their ugly shadow over the big cats' population? We'll have to wait until December next year for a definite answer. But the mammoth exercise to arrive at that crucial figure - the all India tiger estimation 2013-14 - will kick off around December this year. With the last census showing presence of about 360 tigers in the Central India landscape that includes high-profile reserves such as Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench and Tadoba-Andhari, conservationists from the region will keenly await the final tally. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on Wednesday announced the schedule to count tigers, co-predators, prey and their habitat in protected and non-protected areas of the country's states. The census will be carried out using the refined methodology of double sampling. This year two more states - Goa and Nagaland - have been included. In Maharashtra, the number was 103 in 2006 and 169 in 2010. "We have pictures of 155 distinct tigers in and around protected areas in the state. As several tiger-bearing areas were left out in Phase IV, we expect the number to be around 200," said state's principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) SWH Naqvi. The refined methodology was first used in 2006. Though the increase from 1,114 to 1,706 in 2010 was significant, it still fell way short of the figure of over 4,000 tigers estimated a decade ago. The exercise was conducted over around 7,000 sq km area. During the Phase IV estimation in 2012, the state claims to have nearly 200 tigers in its protected areas (PAs). However, the increase in state tiger numbers may be due to assessment for the first time in newly declared Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) in Western Maharashtra. However, wildlife experts say that in view of rampant poaching in the region, the actual number is hard to estimate. "The state's exact tiger census programme will be announced only after training field staff in September. We expect it to start by December or January 2014," said Naqvi. The estimation, a collaborative initiative of NTCA and Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, is conducted every four years and was last held in 2010 in 17 tiger bearing states. Experts from outside the government system and NGOs will also be involved. The 2013-14 exercise will be conducted in three phases with Phase I involving collection of ground data using an eight-day protocol. Phase II will include use of remote sensed data to generate landscape and related indices, while Phase III will involve use of camera traps and distance sampling for computing densities of tigers. "The important new feature in the estimation would be use of Phase IV tiger reserve level monitoring data," an NTCA official told TOI. During Phase III estimation, expert teams from WII will visit states to monitor the process and collect data. Under the ongoing centrally sponsored scheme (CSS), 100% assistance will be provided for conducting the eight-day field protocol towards primary data collection, besides organizing orientation and training workshops. The regional workshops for forest officials will begin from September 4 to October 1, 2013. The first workshop will be held from September 4-6 in Dudhwa for Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and UP; in Kanha from September 11-13 for MP, Maharashtra, Jharkhand & Chhattisgarh; in Periyar from September 18-20 for AP, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; in Kaziranga from September 25-27 for Assam, Arunachal, Mizoram, Buxa; and in Sundarbans from September 30 to October 1 for West Bengal. TENTATIVE DATES Sept 4-Oct 1: Training of forest officials to be completed November 2013: Training of field staff to be completed December 2013-Feb 2014: Collection of ground data Dec 2013 to June 2014: Camera trap and distance sampling May to Nov 2014: Data analysis December 2014: Release of final report GIB census in state on Aug 25 PCCF (wildlife) SWH Naqvi has said annual exercise to monitor Great Indian Bustard (GIB) will be held on August 25. Naqvi said the exercise will be done in GIB pockets in Nagpur, Chandrapur, Nashik and Pune circles. The grassland bird is sighted when tall grass comes up owing to good rains. In Nagpur division, Kuhi, Bhiwapur and Umred forest ranges will be surveyed. A survey will also be conducted in Warora and Bhadravati tehsils, where eight GIBs are recorded. In Maharashtra, the number of GIBs is estimated to be around 25-35. The number seems to have dropped in Nannaj bustard sanctuary where earlier 35 were recorded. (Source :Times of India)