WII gets Rs 19.4cr project for monitoring tigers, prey in state
Vijay Pinjarkar | tnn | Mar 16, 2019, 07:48 ISTNagpur: The state forest department has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, for monitoring big cats in tiger-bearing areas of state for 20 years.
MoU was signed last month and state government has approved Rs19.14 crore for three projects including Rs16 crore for monitoring of predator and prey, Rs1.54 crore for understanding man-animal conflict and taking steps to reduce it, and Rs1.60 crore for establishment of a web portal for dissemination of research findings for policy-making.
The initial talks about the MoU were held on November 13 last year in a meeting between government, WII and PCCF (wildlife). The state government approved the MoU in January and it was signed last month.
Already WII has been implementing a project on long-term monitoring of tigers, co-predators and prey species in Tadoba and its landscape and Eastern Vidarbha Landscape (EVL) since 2014. Till now the institute has collared at least 15 tigers in Tadoba and EVL.
“With crucial collaring data on dispersal already in hand, the new MoU will focus on handling problems in tiger-bearing areas of Pandharkawda, Brahmapuri, Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Jalgaon/Yawal forest divisions. It will include Pench and Navegaon-Nagzira tiger reserves landscape,” Nitin H Kakodkar, principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), told TOI.
Kakodkar said funds will be released from CAMPA and tiger conservation foundations (TCFs). “The projects will not be confined to collaring but also increasing prey base. The web portal will give real time information on dealing with conflict situations till range level and help policymakers and wildlife managers in the state,” the PCCF added.
“The MoU aims at studying population density apart from abundance and demographic structure of tigers. The study will be conducted simultaneously in three phases and will include capacity building of local staff for managing man-animal conflict,” said WII scientist Bilal Habib.
With 203 tigers, 95% of whom are in Vidarbha, the state is reeling under severe man-animal conflict. Approximately 40 deaths are reported every year due to wild animal attacks in the state. Most of these are in Vidarbha.
MoU was signed last month and state government has approved Rs19.14 crore for three projects including Rs16 crore for monitoring of predator and prey, Rs1.54 crore for understanding man-animal conflict and taking steps to reduce it, and Rs1.60 crore for establishment of a web portal for dissemination of research findings for policy-making.
The initial talks about the MoU were held on November 13 last year in a meeting between government, WII and PCCF (wildlife). The state government approved the MoU in January and it was signed last month.
Already WII has been implementing a project on long-term monitoring of tigers, co-predators and prey species in Tadoba and its landscape and Eastern Vidarbha Landscape (EVL) since 2014. Till now the institute has collared at least 15 tigers in Tadoba and EVL.
“With crucial collaring data on dispersal already in hand, the new MoU will focus on handling problems in tiger-bearing areas of Pandharkawda, Brahmapuri, Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Jalgaon/Yawal forest divisions. It will include Pench and Navegaon-Nagzira tiger reserves landscape,” Nitin H Kakodkar, principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), told TOI.
Kakodkar said funds will be released from CAMPA and tiger conservation foundations (TCFs). “The projects will not be confined to collaring but also increasing prey base. The web portal will give real time information on dealing with conflict situations till range level and help policymakers and wildlife managers in the state,” the PCCF added.
“The MoU aims at studying population density apart from abundance and demographic structure of tigers. The study will be conducted simultaneously in three phases and will include capacity building of local staff for managing man-animal conflict,” said WII scientist Bilal Habib.
With 203 tigers, 95% of whom are in Vidarbha, the state is reeling under severe man-animal conflict. Approximately 40 deaths are reported every year due to wild animal attacks in the state. Most of these are in Vidarbha.
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