On World Tiger Day observed on Thursday, there’s good news for wildlife lovers in particular and Indians in general.
At least, 14 tiger reserves ---Manas, Kaziranga, and Orang (Assam); Sundarbans (West Bengal); Valmiki (Bihar); Dudhwa (Uttar Pradesh); Panna, Kanha, Satpuda and Pench (Madhya Pradesh); Anamalai and Mudumalai (Tamil Nadu); Parambikulam (Kerala) and Bandipur (Karnataka) -- have been bestowed with the prestigious Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CATS) accreditation for meeting a set of global standards for effective conservation of big cats.
An international group of experts and protected area managers have created the criteria, said an official from the Union Environment Ministry at an event here on the occasion of the world
Tiger Day marked on Thursday.
However, more popular tiger resorts such as Corbett and Ranthambore do not feature in the list. Also, only three other tiger reserves—one each from Russia, Nepal, and Bhutan—have been bestowed this honour.
CATS is a globally accepted conservation tool that sets best practices and standards to manage tigers and assessments to benchmark progress. It is being implemented across 125 sites, including 94 in India, in seven tiger range countries, said the official.
Addressing the event, Union Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav said: “We are not owners, but we are the trustees of this natural inheritance. We are the trustees of the country, of the nature and of thelocal community too. :We need to acknowledge the contribution of the local community in tiger conservation”