The country’s tiger conservation efforts have made it stand out internationally and has set an example to all the countries who pledged to double their tiger population by 2022 in the 2010 Global Conference in Russia.

Nepal Forest and Environment Ministry is observing the International Tiger Day 2019 in Banke National Park in line with the plan to organize a central event close to a tiger habitat.

Nepal National Park and Wildlife Protection Department Spokesperson Bishnu Prasad Shrestha shared that various programs are going to be held involving active participation from all sides.

He added that the Department is conducting local and field level programs in Bardiya, Chitwan, Parsa and Shuklaphanta national parks.

According to Nepal’s 2018 Tiger Census, the country’s tiger population has touched 235.

Number of Tigers in Nepal 2018

Source: Nepalindata

The Department undertook tiger census from Parsa to Kanchanpur between December 01 – April 03, 2018 using cameras.

According to Nepal Forest and Environment Ministry, Nepal has increased its tiger population from 98 tigers in 1995 AD to 198 in 2019

“Nepal is a great example for other tiger range countries to step up and commit to the same level of political will and excellence. While this is a huge story for tiger conservation, it also highlights the constant need to ensure the protection of key habitats and the value of a landscape approach for this species to recover and thrive.” said Ginette Hemley, Senior Vice president of wildlife conservation at World Wildlife Fund.

Kudos to Nepal!

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In its tiger census report released on September 23, 2018, the Government of Nepal reported a two-fold rise in the country’s tiger population in the last decade.

According to the report, Nepal’s tiger population has almost doubled from 121 tigers in 2009 to 235 at present.

This announcement comes as ‘ray of hope’ to global conservationists worried over the diminishing tiger population and also makes Nepal the ‘first country to be in line with the international goal of doubling tiger population by 2022’.

“The current growth of tiger population is a landmark achievement for the country. With the current progress, we can easily fulfil our global commitment of doubling our tiger population in 2022,” says  Shakti Basnet Forest and Environment Minister.

This also proved Nepal’s commitment to conservation of big cats as promised under the Global Tiger Recovery Plan (TX2), a global initiative endorsed by 13 countries (home to wild tigers) as part of the 2010 Saint Petersburg Declaration on Tiger Conservation.

While the country had 125 tigers at the time of declaration, continuous efforts since then helped the country see a further growth of 198 tigers by 2013 and further to the current number, which is nearly-doubled.

“The progress is very satisfactory, and we are very close to making the TX2 which is the global goal,” says Ghana S Gurung, Country Representative of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Nepal.

Challenges at Country’s Largest Reserve!
Meanwhile, the country’s largest wildlife reserve and home to the largest number of wild tigers Chitwan National Park (CNP) reports a declining trend in tiger population in its zone.

The report found that the adult tiger population in CNP has declined from 120 (as of 2013 survey) to 93 at present.

However, the country’s wildlife officials feel that the number looks significant as CNP hasn’t been conducting tiger census since the last five years.

“There was an annual internal tiger count in other national parks, but it wasn’t done in Chitwan for five years,” says Gopal Prasad Bhattarai, Deputy Director General for the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation.

Whereas, Gurung says, “Tiger numbers can go up and down. Tigers fight among themselves and die. Then there is migration. Tigers from Chitwan might have migrated to Parsa National Park, where the population has gone up.”

Government statistics report a death of nearly 33 tigers in the last four years in protected areas due to natural causes, with 11 deaths in CNP alone including 6 in the last one year.

The tiger census began in November 2017 dividing country’s tiger potential across three divisions namely Chitwan-Parsa Complex, Banke-Bardiya Complex and Shukla-Laljhadi-Jogbudha Complex.

Besides natural deaths, activities like poaching, habitat fragmentation and illicit trading continue to be other serious challenges in tiger conservation.

“Controlling tiger poaching and management of the habitat is important for tiger conservation. With proper management of habitat, prey base can be improved, which will ultimately increase tiger density,” says Gurung.

Also Read:

• Tiger Population in Nepal 2018
• Nepal Research Centre Uses Comprehensive Database to Crackdown Tiger Poaching
• Wildlife Conservation: India, Nepal To Estimate Tiger Population

The post Nepal Atop in Tiger Conservation, Meets Intl Goals in Decade appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The World Tiger Day (WTD) 2018 shed light on need for awareness about tiger population globally along with challenges and success stories of tiger conservationists in achieving the same.

While the World Wide Fund (WWF) 2018 reports rise in tiger population in its 2016 report, tiger conservationists took on social media on the eve of WT 2018 voicing their concerns about the current status of tiger conservation, globally.

When it comes to conserving biodiversity, Nepal holds a special place in the world as a home to some of the world’s rare flora and fauna- Tigers among them.

World Tiger Day 2018 in Nepal
In line with the global convention taken at Saint Petersburg of Russia in 2010, Nepal has been successfully observing the World Tiger Day on July 29 of every year.

Continuing the journey, Nepal celebrated the World Tiger Day 2018 on a grand scale amid wide range of programs and discussions on ways towards successful conservation of big cats!

Nepal observed the World Tiger Day 2018 under the theme: ‘Fresh Ecology for Tigers’ Protection’.

To mark the seventh edition of the day, Nepal’s Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation planned various special programs across the country.

However, the most-awaited Tiger Census Report by Nepal Government was not released on the occasion, leaving a little disappointment for the related stakeholders of the country.

The government feels that it would require additional time for a detailed analysis of the scenario before coming up with final survey report.

After field work, we began data analysis on May 15. We have to analyze and compare every single picture from the field. Since we also have to go through data similarly processed by the Valmiki Tiger Reserve of India, it is likely to take more time, says
Gopal Prakash Bhattarai, DG, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC)

Nepal Forest and Environment Ministry Secretary Bishwa Nath Oli attributes the delay to additional measures needed to maintain accuracy in the survey.

“We have to best utilize science, technology and our own experience rather than misusing it in the rush. The government will publish the report at the right time after conducting a thorough analysis of available data,” says Oli.

The country’s potential tiger reserves are basically across three regions: Chitwan-Parsa, Banke-Bardiya and Shukla-Laljhadi-Jogbudha, which are further categorized into a total of 1,887 grids with each covering a 4 sq.km area.

As part of the survey, a total of 1,643 camera traps were installed across these grids to monitor and record tiger movement.

It’s noteworthy here that Nepal has been at the forefront with regard to one of the most-endangered snow leopard species and has already put forth its plans towards conserving the same.

Alarming Scenario
Nepal began the nation-wide tiger census on November 30, 2017 beginning with the Parsa National Park.

This delay in release of the report gave scope to rise of concerns over the dismaying decrease of tiger population in the country’s tiger reserves especially the Chitwan National Park (CNP), a protected area with the highest number of big cats in the country.

While the 2013 census report records adult tiger population in CNP at 125, the latest reports show some alarming decline of the same i.e. nearly 11 deaths in the last three years including six in 2017-18 alone.

According to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Nepal saw deaths of 33 tigers in the last five years across the country’s protected areas due to natural disasters.

Need of the Hour!
The Global Tiger Day was established following a global convention agreed upon among heads of nearly 13 countries as part of a conference held at Saint Petersburg of Russia in 2010.

For the first time in more than 100 years, WWF reported a rise in tiger population in April 2016.

As the records show, the world currently has around 3,890 tigers across the forests more than an estimated 3,200 recorded in 2010.

This rise is majorly attributed to effective conservation measures taken over the period.

According to conservationists, intensive poaching activity is causing a major hurdle for the increasing tiger population, majorly for their fur and bones for medicinal purposes.

Looking at this scenario, global biologists feel that continuing such a trend may lead to full extinction of tigers in the coming ten years.

Let’s hope the global conservation strategy and related measures to double tiger population by 2022 would address existing concerns pertaining to tiger population.

Also Read: 

• Wildlife Conservation: Nationwide Tiger Census Underway in Nepal
• Wildlife Conservation: India, Nepal To Estimate Tiger Population

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