Govt Maps 32 Tiger Corridors

What is the news?

The National Tiger Conservation Authority in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India has published a document titled “Connecting Tiger Populations for Long-term Conservation”, which has mapped out 32 major corridors across the country, management interventions for which are operationalized through a Tiger Conservation Plan, mandated under section 38V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

What are these Tiger corridors?

A tiger corridor is a stretch of land linking tiger habitats, allowing movement of tigers, prey and other wildlife. Without corridors tiger habitat can become fragmented and tiger populations isolated leaving the tigers vulnerable to localized extinction. Corridors are used by other wildlife also.

The corridors across states are important as big cats travel long distances. A tiger travelled 1,300 km over two states (Maharashtra and Telangana), six districts and four wildlife sanctuaries in about 150 days exploring a new area to set up its territory.

 Example:  Tiger corridor between Kanha and Pench Tiger Reserves in MP.

Black line is road through corridor that threaten Tiger, Red line is railway line which will threaten safe passage of Tigers. Tiger corridor plan seeks to mitigate such hazards to wild life through provision of safe passage.

What is need of conservation of Tiger corridors?

1. It is vital for the long-term survival and viability of tigers
2. Corridors are under threat from development projects. 
3. The greatest threat here is the expansion of road and railway networks which cut through the corridor leading to highway killings of tiger, Man animal conflicts.
4. All India tiger estimation 2018 results released in July that showed there were 2,967 big cats in the country, and large population ventures outside protected areas, this needs mapping of tiger corridors for their enhanced conservation.
5. Need to sensitize villagers along these corridors about conservation of wildlife

What is government is planning to achieve with Tiger corridors?

The basic purpose of identifying these 32 corridors is to streamline linear infrastructure projects with mandatory inclusion of mitigation measures for safe passage of tigers, sensitizing agencies such as the railways, highway operators.

The Centre has mapped tiger corridors inside and outside protected areas across the country and developed a conservation plan for big cats, which includes a strategy to streamline infrastructure projects with mandatory inclusion of safe passages.

The NTCA has developed a three-level strategy to manage negative human-tiger interactions under the Centre’s long-term tiger conservation program. 

1. The strategy involves providing material, logistical and financial support to tiger reserves to deal with big cats dispersing out of protected areas. 
2. It also seeks to ensure safe dispersal of tigers by limiting habitat interventions (facilitating dispersal to other rich habitat areas), 
3. To follow the NTCA’s standard operating procedures to deal with human-animal and livestock conflict after dispersal.

Where are all these corridors located?

The list of tiger corridors includes three across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh bordering Nepal in Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains. As many as 11 of them are across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. Eight of the corridors are located across Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the remaining 10 are in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal.