The International Tiger Day is annually observed across the globe on 29th July to create awareness about the Tigers(scientific name: Panthera tigris, belong to genus Panthera), one of the species that is classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The International Tiger Day is also known as Global Tiger Day.
Aim:
To spread awareness about the decreasing population of tigers and the importance of Tiger conservation and their natural habitats.
Background:
i.On 23rd November 2010, ‘The St. Petersburg Declaration on Tiger Conservation’ signed during the International Tiger Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia from 21 to 24 November 2010, proclaimed the 29th July of every year as the Global Tiger Day.
ii.The declaration was signed by Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam, the countries housing the remaining tigers in the wild.
Global efforts on Tiger Conservation:
The Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHCP) or ‘Tiger Programme’ of the IUCN initiated in 2014, contributes to the Global Tiger Recovery Programme (GTRP), a global effort to double tiger numbers in the wild by 2022.
TX2:
The custodian countries of the Tigers agreed on the TX2 commitment to double the number of Tigers by 2022.
Countries like India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Russia have increased their tiger population.
Tiger conservation in India:
i.India is the largest tiger range country, where the tiger population is around 2967, which is around 70% of the global population of tigers.
ii.According to the All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018, The population of tigers in India has increased from 1,411 in 2006 to 2,967 in 2019.
iii.The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) and the Uttar Pradesh Forest department won the first-ever international award, TX2, for doubling the number of tigers in four years against a target of 10 years.
Project Tiger:
i.The Project Tiger is a Tiger conservation programme launched by the Government of India in 1973.
ii.In 1973, The Royal Bengal Tiger was declared as the National Animal of India, following the launch of Project Tiger.
Madhya Pradesh acquired Status of Tiger State:
i.Madhya Pradesh(MP) has received the status of Tiger State with 526 tigers.
ii.According to the All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018, Madhya Pradesh topped the Tiger census with 526 tigers, followed by Karnataka with 524 tigers and Uttarakhand with 442 tigers.
iii.In 2011, MP lost the ‘Tiger State’ Status to Karnataka.
Note: At present, there are 6 tiger reserves in MP: Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Sanjay Tiger Reserve, Panna, Satpura(largest) and Pench(smallest).
