Goa govt. does a U-turn on tiger presence in State, Pg1

Key Highlights:

• The Goa government has made contradictory statements regarding the presence of tigers in the state, arguing in one instance that tigers are transient and in another that they are a resident population.
• In July 2023, the Bombay High Court directed the Goa government to declare the Mhadei sanctuary and connected regions as a tiger reserve, based on recommendations from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
• The Goa government has challenged this order in the Supreme Court, arguing that declaring a large inviolate area for a tiger reserve would be an aberration due to the existing protected area and the large human population.
• The Supreme Court has directed a Central Empowered Committee to hear all stakeholders and submit a report on the matter.

Detailed Insights:

• The dispute highlights conflicting interests between conservation efforts and the potential displacement of human populations, with the Goa government citing a population of 1,00,000 individuals residing in the proposed tiger reserve area.
• The NTCA guidelines stipulate that a tiger reserve requires an inviolate space of 800-1,000 square kilometers, while Goa's existing protected areas total 745 sq. km.
• The Goa government's petition argues that the Mhadei sanctuary serves only as a transit corridor for tigers moving between Maharashtra and Karnataka, with limited prey and no evidence of a resident tiger population.
• The case originated in 2011 when the Centre and the NTCA first requested Goa to notify the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve, and gained urgency after the poisoning of four tigers in January 2021.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Tiger Reserve: Designated area for tiger conservation under the Project Tiger initiative, with enhanced protection measures.
• Inviolate Space: Core area within a protected area, free from human disturbance to allow wildlife to thrive.
• NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority): Statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change responsible for tiger conservation in India.