New Delhi: India’s tiger count has jumped to 3,176, as per the summary report of 5th cycle of All India Tiger Estimation, which was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Karnataka on Sunday. He also inaugurated the program ‘Commemoration of 50 years of Project Tiger’ at Mysuru University in Mysuru and launched the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA).

The Prime Minister remarked on the prestigious moment of the growing tiger population in India and paid respects by giving a standing ovation to the tigers. He said that everyone is witness to the landmark event of Project Tiger completing 50 years and remarked that its success is not only a moment of pride for India but the entire world.

He expressed happiness over the fact that India is home to 75 per cent of the world’s tiger population in the 75th year of Indian independence. It is also a coincidence, the Prime Minister continued, that the tiger reserves in India cover 75,000 square kilometers of land and in the past ten to twelve years, the tiger population in the country has increased by 75 per cent. 

“India does not believe in the conflict between ecology and economy, and gives equal importance to the coexistence of both,” he said. Recalling the importance of tigers in the history of India, the Prime Minister mentioned that graphical representations of tigers were found on the ten-thousand-year-old rock art in Madhya Pradesh.

He mentioned that India has only 2.4 per cent of the world’s land area but it contributes toward 8 per cent to known global biodiversity. He stated that India is the largest tiger range country in the world, the largest Asiatic elephant range country in the world with nearly thirty thousand elephants, and also the largest single-horn rhino country with a population of nearly three thousand.

He further added that India is the only country in the world to have Asiatic lions and its population has increased from around 525 in 2015 to around 675 in 2020. He also touched upon India’s leopard population and stated that it increased by over 60 percent in 4 years. Referring to the work being done to clean up rivers such as the Ganga, the Prime Minister highlighted that some aquatic species that were once considered to be in danger have shown improvement. He credited the people’s participation and a culture of conservation for these achievements.

Recalling his experience in wildlife conservation as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, the Prime Minister mentioned working for the lion population and emphasized that limiting to one geographical area cannot save a wild animal. He stressed the need to create a relationship of emotion as well as of economy between the local people and the animal. The Prime Minister highlighted starting the Wildlife Mitra program in Gujarat where the incentive of cash reward was offered to monitor activities like hunting.

“Wildlife protection is not a one-country issue but a universal one,” the Prime Minister said, stressing the need for an International Alliance. He informed that in the year 2019, the Prime Minister had called for an alliance against poaching and illegal wildlife trade in Asia on Global Tiger Day, and remarked that the International Big Cat Alliance is an extension of this spirit. Noting its benefits, the Prime Minister said that it will be easy to mobilize financial and technical resources for the entire ecosystem associated with the big cat while easily implementing the conservation and protection agenda that has emerged from the experiences of various countries including India. /BI/