The Nepal Weekly 
July 30, 2024
The Global Tiger Day is observed every year on July 29 with a view to spreading awareness regarding the importance of conserving the endangered wildlife. The International Tiger Day is a global initiative focused on protecting the natural habitats of tigers and generating public awareness about their conservation. Tigers are the magnificent creature of nature and their preservation has become a challenge for us due to many reasons such as poaching, habitat loss and climate change.
This year’s theme of Global Tiger Day is raising awareness about the urgent threats to tigers. The challenges of tiger conservation are habitat loss, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict. International Tiger Day serves as a reminder of the urgent need to address these issues and take action to ensure the survival of these iconic jungle cats.
Historical perspective:
The present species of tiger, Panghera tirgis, evolved about a million years ago from its ancestor Panthera, which is believed to branch off from their ancestors 4 to 6 million ears ago. Originating in Southern China the tiger is considered to have spread from eastern Asia, northwards into Siberia and westwards, north of the Tibetan plateau to reach the Caspian Sean and eastern Turkey. Others moved southeast into Indochina, spreading into Myanmar and across India. But they could not reach Africa and Europe as they were halted by deserts, the Himalayas and the Indian ocean.
Tigers currently roam in 13 tiger range countries across Asia, ie, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, China, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.
International Tiger Day or Global Tiger Day, is being observed since 2010, when International Tiger Summit was organized in the Saint Petersburg in Russia. This summit was organised by the Global Tiger Initiative (GTI), which includes nations, international organisations, and conservation groups committed to the preservation of tigers. The Tiger Range Countries (TRCs), nations with wild tiger populations, gathered to address the alarming decline in tiger numbers worldwide. Recognizing the urgent need for coordinated efforts for protecting tigers and their habitats the thirteen tiger range countries joined hands to double the population of tigers with the slogan T x 2 in the next 12 years. The Global Tiger Day, through collaborative efforts, seeks to foster a sustainable future where tigers can thrive in the wild, maintaining the ecological balance and biodiversity of their environments.
The Fourth National Tiger and Prey Survey, conducted in 2022, confirmed the presence of 355 adult tigers in Nepal. Nepal successfully achieved a global commitment of the St. Petersburg Tiger Summit, 2010 to double the number of wild tigers by 2022.
The Status of Tigers in Nepal in comparison with other South Asian countries:
This shows that Nepal is the only country in South Asia to increase the number of tigers by almost three times. In 1995 when pugmark survey was conducted it was found that 93-97 adult tigers roamed in various protected areas in Nepal, which increased to 98-123 in 1999/2000 period.
Distribution of Tigers in Nepal
1. Chitawan National Park – 128
2. Bardiya National Park – 125
3. Shuklaphanta National Park – 36
4. Banke National Park – 25
5. Parsa Wildlife Sanctuary – 41
Total tiger population – 355
Nepal’s landmark success in tiger conservation can be attributed to a number of factors such as effective habitat management, better law enforcement, technology based regular patrols, effective policies, and a meaningful partnership among various stakeholders including government agencies, conservation partners and local communities.
Nepal adopted the Tiger Conservation Action Plan for Nepal (2016– 2020) focussing on addressing tiger poaching and illegal trade of its body parts; habitat degradation and fragmentation, and man-animal conflicts among others. The action plan also recommended for launching strategic activities to address these persistent threats, ensure an effective management of the growing tiger population, and ensure human-tiger co-existence.
Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris), an apex predator of the terrestrial ecosystems and a conservation flagship species across its range, exists in a fragile state. The species is listed as Endangered on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and under Appendix-I by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Pursuant to clause 1 of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (NPWC) Act, 1973, the tiger is a protected animal under Nepalese law.
Nepal has made a deliberate and sustained effort to ensure tiger conservation since 1950s. Most of the ideal tiger habitats were declared protected areas. Nepal has five bastions for tigers: the Chitwan National Park (CNP), Bardia National Park (BNP), Parsa National Park (PNP), Banke National Park (BaNP), and Shuklaphanta National Park (ShNP) (DNPWC and DoFSC, 2022). The first Tiger Conservation Action Plan for Nepal was prepared in 1999 and revised in 2008 and 2016.
Prior to 2020, the presence of a tiger was not registered at elevations higher than the Siwalik hills. However, on 13th April 2020, a tiger was captured in a camera trap at an elevation of 2,500 m in the Mahabharat range of the Dadeldhura district of western Nepal. In December 2020, another tiger was recorded during a camera trap survey for the red panda at an elevation of 3,165 m in Ilam district, eastern Nepal. These two records revealed the new tiger habitats. This has led to a new perspective on tiger conservation and its potential distribution outside the currently demarcated distribution range.
The occurrence of tigers at higher elevations may be attributed to increasing tiger density in protected areas, improved habitats, and abundance of natural prey and impact of climate change.
Nepal needs to promote tiger based tourism, if we are to attain prosperity and link the income generated through tourism to tiger conervation.The tiger based tourism not only helps to create funds for biodiversity conservation but it will also contribute towards uplifting the economic condition of the local community.
Nepal government has recently published tiger conservation action plan 2023. The broder aim of the action plan is to conserve the tiger and its habitat by maintaining ecological, economic, and socio—cultural integrity and the well-being of the communities.
The followings are the major objectives of the action plan:
1. Secure tiger habitat and corridor,
2. Combat tiger poaching and illegal trade of its parts
3. Reduce human- tiger conflict and enhance economic opportunities for local communities,
4. Strengthen cooperation and collaboration for tiger conservation,
5. Strengthen monitoring and research on tiger , prey base, and their habitat and promote outreach.
