by Raquib Siddiqi
The global wild tiger population has increased for the first time since conservation efforts began in the 1960s. But the
number of Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT)—the national animal and major tourist attraction, has nose-dived in Bangladesh.
The country now –according to new census estimates– has just 106 tigers. Existence of these tigers will also be jeopardy, if threat to its habitat—the Sunderban, a UNESCO World Heritage site—is not removed. Along with a number of factors, the current effort to build power plant at Rampal will be a threat to the existence of the worlds’ largest mangrove forest, according to UNESCO and environmental activists.There are now about 3,890 wild tigers on the planet, up from 3,200 in 2010, according to new data released most recently by WWF and the Global Tiger Forum. The data comes from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the latest national tiger surveys. One hundred years ago, there was an estimated 100,000 wild tigers worldwide.
The revised population number can be attributed to multiple factors, including increases in tiger populations in India, Russia, Nepal and Bhutan, improved surveys and enhanced protection of tigers and their habitats. Since 2010, WWF and the governments in the 13 countries with tiger populations have been working to double the wild tiger population to 6,400 by 2022.
Cause for concern
While tiger numbers are increasing in some countries, they’re declining in others and have already disappeared from some. Cambodia on Wednesday, April 6, 2016 declared tigers extinct in that country, and announced plans to reintroduce two males and five or six females from elsewhere. Even if the global goal of 6,400 wild tigers is reached by 2022, the species will always require conservation efforts due to the irreversible habitat destruction.
In Nepal, where WWF-Canada works on tiger conservation, the population has risen from 121 to 198 over five years, an increase of over 60 per cent.
75 percent fewer tigers
It is indeed matter of concern that Bangladesh has at least 75 per cent fewer tigers than expected. A new census estimates the country has just 106 tigers.
Twelve years ago in 2004, surveys estimated that about 440 Bengal tigers roamed the dense mangrove forests of Bangladesh’s Sundarbans region. Today we have a new number and it is much, much lower.
There are two major causes for the decline: First of all, tiger poaching is rampant. The Bangladesh Forest Department has records of 49 tigers killed between 2001 and 2014, although that is unlikely to include every tiger caught by poachers.
Secondly, the scientific methods used to count the tigers have improved. The new census, conducted in November 2013 and 2014, used infrared cameras and other camera traps to come up with much better data than we had before. The 2004 estimate was based on “pugmarks” (footprints), which biologists now say was an unreliable method for estimating population and may have inflated the previous number.
The Bangladesh census comes hot on the heels of similar studies that revealed a 30 percent increase in India’s Bengal tiger population to more than 2,200—although that, too, used a different scientific method than previous counts. The last Indian tiger census, conducted in 2010, only counted cats on reserves and sanctuaries; the new one looked at all of the country’s tigers.
The Sundarban mangrove forests, a UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning India and Bangladesh, are home to 182 tigers, a first joint population estimation exercise of the two nations has revealed. Sundarban is the only exclusive mangrove habitat where tiger exists giving it the status of Level I Tiger Conservation Unit.
While India has 76 tigers, the Bangladesh Sundarbans are home to 106 tigers. The estimation, was carried out by National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Bangladesh Forest Department.
Sundarban is the only exclusive mangrove habitat where tiger exists giving it the status of Level I Tiger Conservation Unit. These tigers differ morphologically from the mainland tigers, and are also genetically one of the most divergent groups among Royal Bengal tigers.
Both agencies used the modern camera trapping methodology to count tigers in the marshy mangrove forests, which is a tough terrain to cover. Back in 2004, the last census of tigers in the forest had pegged their numbers at 790 with 440 in Bangladesh and 350 in India. The camera trapping method has replaced the pugmark technique as it is more accurate and provides visual evidence of the tigers with pictures of their unique stripes.
The agencies captured 106 individual tigers on their cameras and based on the photographs, their density, habitat and prey base, it was estimated that 182 tigers are present in the Sundarbans.
Conservation conference
The third Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation held few months ago in New Delhi, with the 13 Tiger Range Countries, adopted a resolution reasserting their commitment to the Global Tiger Recovery Programme (GTRP).
“Strengthen co-operation at the highest levels of government to combat wildlife crime, address the demand for tiger products and increase formal and informal trans boundary coordination,” the resolution stated.
During the three-day conference, representatives from the earlier 13 Tiger Range Countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, India, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russian Federation, Thailand and Vietnam as well as the two new ones of Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan participated. The two new countries gained entry for the Snow Leopard.
While several Tiger Range Countries like India, Nepal, Russia and Bhutan have registered an increase in tiger population, the status of tiger remains ‘endangered’, and has declined to ‘non-viable’ level in some range countries, a cause for concern. India is home to 70 percent of the world’s tigers.
According to the latest figures, Bangladesh has 106 tigers, Bhutan 103, Cambodia nil, China seven, India 2,500, Indonesia 371, Lao PDR two, Malaysia 250, Nepal 198, Russia 433, Thailand 189 and Vietnam less than five tigers in the wild.
Threats & UNESCO concern
During the study, it was observed that constant movement of vessels is an everyday threat. “The constant movement of boats can become potential barriers to dispersal of tigers between islands leading to fragmented and isolated tiger populations within Sundarban,” the report said.
Pollution is a big threat to the large mangrove forest along with the commercial vessels and boats carrying passengers. The vessels plying in Sundarbans often carry cargo like oil, fly-ash, cement and fertilizer.
Along with reduction of number for various reasons, the habitat of this magnificent animal—the Sunderbans—is also under threat. And that is making future of RBT more vulnerable.
The Sundarbans, a magnificent and unique ecosystem of the world, faces an existential crisis today with the effort to set up a coal-fired power plant at Rampal. It has been a content of discord between environmentalist and those who are pushing the plant.
Most recently, expressing concern over the potential damages to the Sundarbans, the UNESCO has said the world heritage site and its biodiversity will be dangerously affected if the thermal power plant is built there and requested the government to conduct a revised Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) before going ahead with the Rampal power plant.
The government was also requested to submit a revised EIA report with the advice note of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) before advancing with the physical work of the power plant.
It may be noted that the UNESCO has expressed concerns about the Sundarbans for the third time in past two years.
The UN body has become so concerned about the safety of the Sunderbans, that it has requested Bangladesh government, to shift the location of the proposed power plant, from Rampal
Decline in tiger habitat
A new study by WWF scientists and partner organizations has found global climate change could shrink Bangladesh’s Sundarbans tiger habitat by 96 percent, potentially reducing the tiger population to fewer than 20 breeding individuals. An estimated sea level rise of 11.2 inches above 2000 levels by 2070 means this unique mangrove ecosystem could disappear within half a century.
“If we don’t take steps to address the impacts of climate change on the Sundarbans, the only way its tigers will survive this century is with scuba gear,” says Colby Loucks, WWF’s deputy director of conservation science and the lead author of the study Sea Level Rise and Tigers: Predicted Impacts to Bangladesh’s Sundarbans Mangroves. “Tigers are a highly adaptable species, thriving from the snowy forests of Russia to the tropical forests of Indonesia. The projected sea level rise in the Sundarbans will likely outpace the tiger’s ability to adapt.”
The Sundarbans delta is the largest mangrove forest in the world. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is shared by India and Bangladesh and sits at the mouth of the Ganges River. It is home to an estimated 254-432 Bengal tigers, the only tiger population adapted to live in mangroves. The tigers here regularly swim between islands and are the only tigers to have crabs and other seafood as an important part of their diet.
The area is an amazing ecosystem that houses a plethora of species including the spotted deer (the tiger’s prey), water birds, many kinds of fish, marine mammals, crocodiles, and snakes. The landscape naturally protects the area from natural disasters such as cyclones, storm surges, and wind damage. The mangroves are home not only to endangered fauna like tigers, but also to several million people who depend on the Sundarbans for their livelihoods.
The Bengal tiger population has already been under threat from poaching and habitat destruction and loss, and research suggests that the seas may be rising faster than originally thought.
Tigers are poached for their highly prized skins and body parts, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. The 2010 Year of the Tiger will mark an important year for conservation efforts to save wild tigers, with WWF continuing to play a vital role in implementing bold new strategies to save this magnificent Asian big cat.
Recommendations in the study include:
· Locally, governments and natural resource managers should take immediate steps to conserve and expand mangroves while preventing poaching and retaliatory killing of tigers.
· Regionally, neighboring countries should increase sediment delivery and freshwater flows to the coastal region to support agriculture and replenishment of the land;
· Globally, governments should take stronger action to limit greenhouse gas emissions;
“It’s disheartening to imagine that the Sundarbans – which means ‘beautiful forest’ in Bengali – could be gone this century, along with its tigers,” Loucks said. “We very much hope that in this, the Year of the Tiger, the world will focus on curtailing the immediate threats to these magnificent creatures and preparing for the long-term impacts of climate change.”
