Cheetah deaths at Kuno National Park troubling but not unduly alarming: NTCA to SC

Cheetah deaths at Kuno National Park troubling but not unduly alarming: NTCA to SC

Subject: ENVIRONEMNT

Section :Environment legislation

Context: e Ministry of Environment and Forests and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) have told the Supreme Court the death of five adult cheetahs and three cubs at KNP is troubling but not “unduly alarming”, and the surviving big cats are being captured and medically examined as a precautionary measure.

NTCA

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change constituted under enabling provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006, for strengthening tiger conservation, as per powers and functions assigned to it under the said Act.

NTCA has been fulfilling its mandate within the ambit of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for strengthening tiger conservation in the country by retaining an oversight through advisories/normative guidelines, based on appraisal of tiger status, ongoing conservation initiatives and recommendations of specially constituted Committees.

The ‘Project Tiger’ is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, providing funding support to tiger range States for in-situ conservation of tigers in designated tiger reserves, and has put the endangered tiger on an assured path of recovery by saving it from extinction, as revealed by the recent findings of the All India tiger estimation using the refined methodology.

The objectives of NTCA are:

1. Providing statutory authority to Project Tiger so that compliance of its directives become legal.
2. Fostering accountability of Center-State in management of Tiger Reserves, by providing a basis for MoU with States within our federal structure.
3. Providing for an oversight by Parliament.
4. Addressing livelihood interests of local people in areas surrounding Tiger Reserves.

Powers and functions of the National Tiger Conservation Authority as prescribed under section 38O (1) and (2) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006 are as under:-

1. to approve the tiger conservation plan prepared by the State Government under section 38 O (1) (a) of this Act
2. evaluate and assess various aspects of sustainable ecology and disallow any ecologically unsustainable land use such as, mining, industry and other projects within the tiger reserves
3. lay down normative standards for tourism activities and guidelines for project tiger from time to time for tiger conservation in the buffer and core area of tiger reserves and ensure their due compliance
4. provide for management focus and measures for addressing conflicts of men and wild animal and to emphasize on co-existence in forest areas outside the National Parks, sanctuaries or tiger reserve, in the working plan code
5. provide information on protection measures including future conservation plan, estimation of population of tiger and its natural prey species, status of habitats, disease surveillance, mortality survey, patrolling, reports on untoward happenings and such other management aspects as it may deem fit including future plan conservation
6. approve, co-ordinate research and monitoring on tiger, co-predators, prey habitat, related ecological and socio-economic parameters and their evaluation
7. ensure that the tiger reserves and areas linking one protected area or tiger reserve with another protected area or tiger reserve are not diverted for ecologically unsustainable uses, except in public interest and with the approval of the National Board for Wild Life and on the advice of the Tiger Conservation Authority
8. facilitate and support the tiger reserve management in the State for biodiversity conservation initiatives through eco-development and people\’s participation as per approved management plans and to support similar initiatives in adjoining areas consistent with the Central and State laws
9. ensure critical support including scientific, information technology and legal support for better implementation of the tiger conservation plan
10. facilitate ongoing capacity building programme for skill development of officers and staff of tiger reserves, and
11. perform such other functions as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act with regard to conservation of tigers and their habitat.

(2) The Tiger Conservation Authority may, in the exercise of its powers and performance of its functions under this Chapter, issue directions in writing to any person, officer or authority for the protection of tiger or tiger reserves and such person, officer or authority shall be bound to comply with the directions.