Posted on 02 August
2010
A new survey released on 29 July indicates
that adult tiger numbers in Chitwan National
Park and its border areas in Nepal now stand
at 125. A previous survey conducted in a
smaller area of the Park in early 2009 found
91 tigers.
The survey was conducted
from December 2009 to March 2010 in previously
unexplored habitats in and around the Park.
It was designed to assess the status of
possibly dispersing tigers in less suitable
habitats of the Churia Hills region of the
Park, and was based on results from the
earlier survey which showed relatively higher
tiger numbers in prime habitats.
Located in south central
Nepal, Chitwan was declared Nepal’s first
national park in 1973, in recognition of
the international significance of its unique
ecosystems. UNESCO declared the Park a World
Heritage Site in 1984, and the area is home
to more than 50 different grasses. In addition
to the tiger, the Park has populations of
other endangered species, such as the one-horned
rhinoceros and the Gaur, the world’s largest
species of wild cattle.
The tiger monitoring
was conducted in a 1,261 square kilometer
area, and was a combined effort of the Department
of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation
of the Government of Nepal, WWF-Nepal and
the National Trust for Nature Conservation.
WWF provided technical as well as financial
support to complete the tiger population
monitoring.
The findings were released
on the occasion of the 1st Tiger Day, which
was celebrated in Nepal as a run-up to the
Tiger Conservation Summit to be held in
St. Petersburg, Russia in September 2010.
WWF-Nepal, along with government, private
sector and NGO partners, organized nationwide
mass awareness events which saw the participation
of hundreds of students, the media and the
general public.
Tiger Day also marked
the signing of resolutions by the Governments
of Nepal and India to join hands to conserve
biodiversity, including tigers, and strengthen
ecological security in the trans-boundary
region.
“WWF welcomes the steps
taken by the Government of Nepal towards
protecting tigers in the form of working
with its neighbors in fostering trans-boundary
co-operation as well as raising awareness
nationally and globally on this issue. As
Nepal celebrates Tiger Day today, we can
see everyone from the youth to the private
sector actively engaged in efforts to raise
awareness on tiger conservation. This gives
us hope that protecting this magnificent
species is very much possible in Nepal,”
said Anil Manandhar, Country Representative,
WWF Nepal.
The resolutions stress
bilateral and regional co-operation, including
establishing a joint monitoring mechanism
for interaction and intelligence sharing
and exploring funding opportunities with
a special focus on the protected areas of
the Terai Arc region in both Nepal and India.
The resolutions were
an outcome of the 4th Nepal-India Consultative
Meeting on Trans-boundary Biodiversity Conservation.
The Consultative Meeting is a key step towards
the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
on biodiversity conservation between Nepal
and India. The Government of Nepal signed
a similar MoU with the Government of China
in June 2010, creating a milestone for the
co-operation between the two governments
for conserving biodiversity, including control
in the trade of illegal wildlife parts of
endangered species such as the tiger.
