PILIBHIT: Uttar Pradesh’s Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) on Saturday conducted a two-day consultation workshop on species recovery plan and monitoring protocols with special focus on fishing cats. Co-organized the seminar MoEFCC (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change), UNDP (United Nations Development Plan), WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), GEF (Global Environment Facility) and GTF (Global Tiger Forum).
On the first day of the workshop, participants discussed the development of a landscape-level strategy involving multiple government departments and local stakeholders. Ongoing research on the current distribution, habitat, presence and tolerance of fishing cats to identify conservation units for small wild cats is presented.
“The project aims to use best practices and experiences from tiger programs to conserve meso-predators like small cats and their micro-organisms in large tiger units like the Dudhwa landscape,” he said. B PrabhakarField director of DTR.
Prabhakar added, “Since the small wild cats are present not only in protected forest areas but also in their buffer forest areas, wild corridors and agricultural lands adjacent to the forest edge, the project will also focus on enhancement and improvement. Diversified livelihood options for local communities to ensure community-based management of small cat habitats.”
He went on to say that “the second day of the workshop, scheduled for March 12, will focus on developing a simplified monitoring protocol for small cat species, a plan to implement it through ‘citizen science’ and community management, while also benefiting local people.” .
Head of GTF Program and Partnerships, Mohnish Kapoor, said, “Of the world’s 41 species of wild cats, 15 are found in India, of which 11 are small to medium-sized cats known as small wild cats. The project includes Pakke-Iglenest landscape in Arunachal Pradesh, Dudhwa landscape in UP and Ranthambore Landscape in Rajasthan”.
“Exploring ways to eliminate habitat encroachment, reducing human-wildlife conflict and effectively curbing poaching and illegal trade in dominant landscapes in north, northeast and west India are other important priorities of the workshop,” added Kappor.
The identified species of wild cats found in these landscapes are primarily jungle cat, leopard cat, fishing cat, marble cat, Asian golden cat, clouded leopard cat, rusty spotted cat, Asian wild cat and common leopard cat, among others.
“Because these are indicator species that provide important economic and ecosystem services, such as pest and disease control, their conservation is critical to the integrity of big cat conservation efforts across the country,” Mohnish said.
On the first day of the workshop, participants discussed the development of a landscape-level strategy involving multiple government departments and local stakeholders. Ongoing research on the current distribution, habitat, presence and tolerance of fishing cats to identify conservation units for small wild cats is presented.
“The project aims to use best practices and experiences from tiger programs to conserve meso-predators like small cats and their micro-organisms in large tiger units like the Dudhwa landscape,” he said. B PrabhakarField director of DTR.
Prabhakar added, “Since the small wild cats are present not only in protected forest areas but also in their buffer forest areas, wild corridors and agricultural lands adjacent to the forest edge, the project will also focus on enhancement and improvement. Diversified livelihood options for local communities to ensure community-based management of small cat habitats.”
He went on to say that “the second day of the workshop, scheduled for March 12, will focus on developing a simplified monitoring protocol for small cat species, a plan to implement it through ‘citizen science’ and community management, while also benefiting local people.” .
Head of GTF Program and Partnerships, Mohnish Kapoor, said, “Of the world’s 41 species of wild cats, 15 are found in India, of which 11 are small to medium-sized cats known as small wild cats. The project includes Pakke-Iglenest landscape in Arunachal Pradesh, Dudhwa landscape in UP and Ranthambore Landscape in Rajasthan”.
“Exploring ways to eliminate habitat encroachment, reducing human-wildlife conflict and effectively curbing poaching and illegal trade in dominant landscapes in north, northeast and west India are other important priorities of the workshop,” added Kappor.
The identified species of wild cats found in these landscapes are primarily jungle cat, leopard cat, fishing cat, marble cat, Asian golden cat, clouded leopard cat, rusty spotted cat, Asian wild cat and common leopard cat, among others.
“Because these are indicator species that provide important economic and ecosystem services, such as pest and disease control, their conservation is critical to the integrity of big cat conservation efforts across the country,” Mohnish said.
