Modi unveils initiative for protecting big cats
New Delhi : Hailing the 50 years of Project Tiger as a landmark achievement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said protecting nature had been a part of the Indian culture, a report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, sayts.
In Mysuru to launch the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) to mark 50 years of Project Tiger the Prime Minister said: “India does not believe in conflict between ecology and economy and gives equal importance to the coexistence of both.”
Citing data that showed the tiger population in India stood at 3,167 in 2022, PM Modi said, “The tiger numbers that we have reached show that this family of ours is growing. This is a moment of pride.”
According to the data, the tiger population was 1,411 in 2006, 1,706 in 2010, 2,226 in 2014, 2,967 in 2018 and 3,167 in 2022.
“The project’s success is not only a moment of pride for India, but also for the entire world. The protection of wildlife is a universal issue. The International Big Cat Alliance is our endeavour for the protection and conservation of big cats,” he said.
The IBCA will focus on the protection and conservation of seven major big cats — tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar, and cheetah — in collaboration with countries having habitation of these species. The main objective of the alliance is to rehabilitate these animals.
The PM said India had only 2.4 per cent of the world’s area, but contributed 8 per cent towards the global biodiversity.
Listing out the rich diversity, he said India was the largest tiger range country, largest Asiatic elephant range, with 30,000 elephants, and the largest single-horned rhino country with a population of nearly 3,000.
The Sahyadri or Western Ghats had several tribal communities, who had worked for wildlife and tigers to flourish, Modi noted as he lauded their contribution in conservation efforts. The PM mentioned Oscar-winning documentary “The Elephant Whispers” and said, “It reflects our legacy of the wonderful relationship between nature and creature.”
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