To bring accountability and transparency in the hugely-funded big cat conservation programmes in the country, the Centre has constituted five committees for evaluating the management and functioning of 38 tiger reserves across 17 states.
The evaluation of tiger reserves will be done on the basis of parameters set by Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an international NGO.
The evaluation by the independent wildlife experts such as Belinda Wright comes at a time when as many as 16 tiger reserves including Panna in Madhya Pradesh and Valmiki in Bihar are in crisis as pointed out by Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh in a recent session of Parliament.
Five three-member teams have been set up to assess the 38 reserves situated in five zones.
Besides Ms. Wright, among the experts are Jamal A Khan, Eruch Bharucha, Rajeev Sharma, M. Madhusudan, R. K. Dogra, Biswajit Mohanty, E. A. Jayson, D. S. Srivatava and Aparajita Dutta who have to submit their reports to the WII within six months.
“The panels would evaluate whether the chosen approaches in the reserves management are adequate, sound and appropriate,” Ms. Wright, who has been entrusted with the task to assess management in most of the reserves in northern states, said.
