Nepal, India tiger's number on the rise: Experts

NEW DELHI, March 30: Sending a strong signal to the conservation efforts between India and Nepal, participants at a two-day International Tiger Conference that kicked off here on Tuesday revealed that the number of adult tigers along the Indo-Nepal border has increased over the last four years.



The total number of tigers in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which share common border with five of Nepal´s national parks -- Parsa, Chitwan, Banke, Bardiya and Sukhlaphanta -- increased to 353 from 297 in the same period, it was revealed. [break]



In Uttarakhand state alone, the number of tigers has reached 54, the participants said.



With the release of new figures, the number of tiger population in India and Nepal together reached to more than half the global tiger population, which is estimated to be around 3,400 at present.



While the number of adult tigers in India has reached to a whooping 1,706 from 1,411, Nepal is home to 155 adult breeding tigers as per the last census.



The two-day conference, attended by 13 Tiger Range Countries (TRCs), also included a workshop on implementation of the Global Tiger Recovery Plan (GTRP). The workshop is a follow-up of the Tiger Summit attended by heads of states of TRCs in St Petersburg, Russia last year.



Director General of the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation and the head of the Nepal delegation at the ongoing conference, Krishna Prasad Acharya, said, "This is a good news for Nepal that the number of tigers in the conservation areas of India adjoining Nepal has increased," adding, "This is especially good for the ongoing landscape-level conservation project initiated by India and Nepal since 2000."



Earlier, opening the conference, India´s Environment Minister, Jai Ram Ramesh, said, "Tiger habitat is threatened by the rising population growth and development endeavors," adding, "We must move ahead with balance between development and conservation."



According to the organizers -- Global Tiger Initiative and Global Tiger Forum (GTF) -- the meeting of the GTF to be held on Wednesday will choose new presidency among the TRCs. Nepal held this position for two years. Sources said that India has shown ´keen interest´ on taking the GTF presidency.



In its country profile on Monday, Nepal presented capacity-building of conservation workers and the rise in poaching and illegal trade as the main agenda for discussions. Nepal also emphasized the lack of infrastructure, including proper roads in conservation areas which it argued has been a major obstacle in tackling the poaching.

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