14 Tiger Reserves get Global CA/TS recognition

• Fourteen out of India’s 51 tiger reserves have received the Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CATS) accreditation for meeting a set of standards for effective conservation of tigers.
• The accreditation has been granted to 14 reserves in India, one each in Nepal, Bhutan, and Russia occasion of Global Tiger Day.
• CATS accreditation is a global recognition of good tiger governance.

The 14 tiger reserves which have been accredited are:

• Manas, Kaziranga and Orang in Assam,

• Satpura, Kanha and Panna in Madhya Pradesh,

• Pench in Maharashtra,

• Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar,

• Dudhwa in Uttar Pradesh,

• Sunderbans in West Bengal,

• Parambikulam in Kerala,

• Bandipur Tiger Reserve of Karnataka and

• Mudumalai and Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu.

• The Environment Minister also released the report ‘Status of Leopards, Co-predators and Megaherbivores-2018’ stating that the report is a testimony to the fact that conservation of tigers leads to the conservation of the entire ecosystem.

• During all India tiger estimation 2018, leopard population was also estimated within the forested habitats in tiger occupied states of the country.

• The overall leopard population in the tiger range landscape of India in 2018 was estimated at 12,852.

• This is a significant increase from 2014, figure that was 7,910 in forested habitats of 18 tiger bearing states of the country.

Global Tiger Day:

• In the 2010 St Petersburg Declaration, it was decided to celebrate 29th July as Global Tiger Day across the world, which is since being celebrated to spread and generate awareness on tiger conservation.

Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CATS):

• CA|TS is a set of criteria that allows tiger sites to check if their management will lead to successful tiger conservation.
• CA|TS is organised under seven pillars and 17 elements of critical management activity.
• Officially launched in 2013, CA|TS is an important part of Tx2, the global goal to double wild tiger numbers by the year 2022.
• It contributes to the implementation of the Programme of Work on Protected Areas.
• The CA|TS team has been working closely with the IUCN.

St Petersburg Declaration

• In November 2010, the first “Tiger Summit” in St Petersburg, Russia, endorsed a Global Tiger Recovery Programme.
• The programme aimed at reversing the rapid decline of tigers, and doubling their numbers by 2022.
• India was one of the 13 tiger range countries that participated in the gathering.
• The countries committed to drawing up action plans to:

• strengthen the tiger reserves
• crackdown on poachers
• provide financial assistance to maintain a thriving tiger population