Project Tiger, CAMPA funds used to finance cheetah project: Centre

Subject: Environment

In the news:

Funds from Project Tiger as well as the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management & Planning Authority (CAMPA) were used to finance the project to bring African cheetahs to India, the Union government told Parliament December 19, 2022.

Details:

Under the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger a budgetary provision of Rs. 38.7 crores has been made for five years besides funding support of Rs 29.47 crore under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) which includes the cost of transportation, maintenance and management of African cheetahs and the habitat.

Other identified areas for cheetah reintroduction are:

According to the government, Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh as well as Shahgarh Bulge, Bhainsrorgarh Wildlife Sanctuary and Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan had been identified as other suitable areas for the cheetah in India.
Barda Wildlife Sanctuary in Saurashtra had been identified and assessed by the Wildlife Institute of India as a potential site for the Asitic lions.

What are CAMPA funds?

CAMPA funds are part of long-pending dues of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF), a ₹54,000-crore tranche collected for nearly a decade as environmental compensation from industry, which has razed forest land for its business plans.

About CAMPA:

The CAF Act 2016, which came into being more than a decade since it was devised, established an independent authority — the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) — to execute the fund.
- However, it was not until August 2020 that the rules governing the management of the fund were finalised.

What is Compensatory Afforestation?

Compensatory afforestation means that every time forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes such as mining or industry, the user agency pays for planting forests over an equal area of non-forest land, or when such land is not available, twice the area of degraded forest land.

Fund sharing:

As per the rules, 90% of the CAF money is to be given to the states while 10% is to be retained by the Centre.
The funds can be used for the treatment of catchment areas, assisted natural generation, forest management, wildlife protection and management, relocation of villages from protected areas, managing human-wildlife conflicts, training and awareness generation, supply of wood-saving devices and allied activities.

Activities utilising CAMPA funds:

Project tiger:

This tiger conservation programme was launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s tenure.
Aim: Ensuring a viable population of Bengal tigers in their natural habitats, protecting them from extinction, and preserving areas of biological importance as a natural heritage
From 9 tiger reserves since its formative years, the Project Tiger coverage has increased to 54 at present, spread out in 18 of our tiger range states.
The tiger reserves are constituted on a core/buffer strategy.
- Core areas are the legal status of a national park or a sanctuary.
- Whereas, buffer or peripheral areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land, managed as a multiple-use area.
The government has set up a Tiger Protection Force to combat poachers and funded the relocation of villagers to minimize human-tiger conflicts.
National Tiger Conservation Authority was established in 2005 following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, to reorganise the management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Reserves in India. It is the overarching body for the conservation of tigers in India.