Ramesh promises rigid monitoring of tigers at all reserves

New Delhi, Apr 15 (ANI): Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh has said a scientific system to monitor tigers will soon to be implemented in all reserves across India with the aim of countering the poaching of the big cats.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Ramesh said:"Tiger's status and habitat apart from the state of other wildlife besides patrolling strategies in the jungles would be tracked and assessed with the help of this integrated software.

"This would be executed with the help of exclusive software suggested and designed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Geological Survey of London," he added.

"This system will bring in transparency as far as the Forest Guards, the Field Director and the entire system are concerned, so there is no question. This is the tool that will not only strengthen our anti-poaching operation but more importantly as you see, we will get transparency in our reporting system. We will have much more reliable information now on the extent to which patrolling action is being done," he said.

He further said that Conservators of Forests and Wildlife Wardens of various states, where tiger habitants exist, have already begun recruiting capable personnel to man specialised teams.

"The main reason for the declining population of the tigers are poaching and poisoning and all this is a conspiracy; this is not accidental. This also includes an international network; there is a huge demand of tigers in countries like China, Thailand, Bangkok and Myanmar. All the Southeast Asian countries parts of tiger have a huge demand. So it is supplied from our country, from the Nepal border, Bhutan border and Myanmar border. So, I think poisoning and poaching are the main reasons behind the declining population of tigers," he said.

The poaching of tigers and loss of their habitant has caused the tiger population to plunge from around 40,000 at the turn of the 20th century to about 1,411 at present. (ANI)