Context

• On International Tiger Day, July 29, authorities proudly declared that India should “celebrate” the increase in tigers from about 2,000 in 1970 to about 3,000 now. This is an annual growth rate lower than 1% after 50 years of incredible, sometimes heroic, efforts. 

Key Takeaways:

• Malenad landscape-Karnataka
• Two legal instruments that enabled tiger recoveries in India were the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980, which reinforced Project Tiger.
• National Tiger conservation authority (NTCA) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and climate change. It was established in 2005 following the recommendations of the Tiger task force and constituted under enabling provisions of the wildlife (protection) act 1972, as amended in 2006.

Back to Basics

The Global Tiger Forum (GTF)

• only inter- governmental international body established with members from willing countries to embark on a global campaign to protect the Tiger.
• Focused on saving the remaining 5 sub-species of Tigers distributed over 13 Tiger Range countries of the world.
• formed in 1993 on recommendations from an international symposium on Tiger Conservation at New Delhi, India.
• Has a General Assembly meeting every 3 years and Standing committee meetings at least once a year.
• A Chairperson, usually a Minister from one of the Tiger Range countries heads GTF for a fixed tenure of 3 Years. The Secretariat of GTF is headed by a Secretary General and is located in New Delhi, India.