Why in news?

state’s first ‘project tiger’ at Karnataka’s Bandipur tiger reserve is celebrating its golden jubilee

Highlights

• In 1972, ‘Project Tiger’ was implemented in the tiger reserves of the entire country, including Bandipur, to save tigers, whose numbers were dwindling.
• On November 16, 1973, the then Chief Minister D Devaraj Urs launched Project Tiger in Bandipur.
• Bandipur has the country’s highest elephants.

About Bandipur Tiger Reserve

• Location : Chamarajanagar and Mysuru district of Karnataka. It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
• Known as eco– tourism destination
• Biomes : Dry deciduous forests, moist deciduous forests and shrublands.
• River: Flanked by the Kabini river in the north and the Moyar river in the south. The Nugu river runs through the park.
• The highest point in the park is on a hill called Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta
• Challenges: National Highways NH-181 and NH-766 pass through, man-animal conflicts,forest fires,poaching, Park is haunted by lantana plants and 60% of the forest is covered with weed.

Project Tiger

• The programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s tenure.
• Aims at ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger in its natural habitats, protecting it from extinction, and preserving areas of biological importance as a natural heritage that represent the diversity of ecosystems
• Monitoring system: M-STrIPES was developed to assist patrol and protect tiger habitats
• Administered Authority : National Tiger Conservation Authority

The various tiger reserves were created in the country based on the ‘core-buffer’ strategy:

• Core area: The core areas are free of all human activities. It has the legal status of a national park or wildlife sanctuary
• Buffer areas: the buffer areas are subjected to ‘conservation-oriented land use’. They comprise forest and non-forest land for habitation