Hyderabad: This is the first All India Tiger Estimation – 2018 being carried out in the newly formed state of Telangana. Due to the re-organization of Forest Dept. consequent to formation of new Districts and reduction of the beat size to manageable limit from 20 to 30 Sq.Km to 10 to 15 sq. km, the number of Forest Beats increased to 3147.
As per the guidelines of NTCA and WII, the monitoring of Tiger, Co-predators, Prey and habitat has to be conducted in each Forest Beat and a minimum of 2 persons have to be allotted to each beat to conduct the carnivore trail walk and herbivore transect walk and to collect field data in the formats prescribed.
Presently there are large numbers of vacancies at field level and sufficient personnel are not available to conduct this huge exercise in all the Forest areas of the state.
To augment the numbers, the Forest Dept., took the help of NGOs, Wildlife enthusiasts, student community and local youth in pooling up the required personnel for conducting the Tiger Estimation work.
The NGOs working with the Forest Dept. contributed 302 volunteers and 71 volunteers applied directly to Forest Dept., expressing their willingness to participate in the estimation work making a total of 373 volunteers.
The Dept. also requisitioned the services of 139 Officers of various cadres who are presently undergoing training at Telangana State Forest Academy, Dulapally.
From the Forest College & Research Institute (FCRI), Dulapally, 96 students who are studying BSc (Forestry) were also involved in the field work.
Thus a total of 603 personnel were identified and trained for taking up the All India Tiger Estimation – 2018.
An analysis of the profile of the volunteers who participated in the AITE-2018 shows the diverse background and profession to which they belong. The volunteers include the following categories:
i. Scientists from Research and Development of various organizations like, Indian Immunological Institute, ICRISAT, GSK R&D.
ii. Mechanical Engineers.
iii. Retired Director General from GSI.
iv. Retired Manager, ITC.
v. Engineering Students, Forestry College Students,
vi. Employees of HSBC, NOVARTIS, Genpact, IIL, ACCENTURE, BSNL, NASSCOM,
vii. Volunteers from Friends of Snake Society, WWF India, Bird Watcher Society, Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society, Humane Society International, People for Animals.
viii. Chartered Accountants, Medical Doctors, Bankers, Financial Consultants, Tourism Dept., IT professionals.
ix. House Wives.
x. Some of the volunteers have travelled to Hyderabad from outside the state from places like Bengaluru, Chennai, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, NRIs on vacation.
A feedback session was conducted for the volunteers after the conclusion of the monitoring exercise. Several of the volunteers stated that, they are willing to work with the Forest Dept. in future also for better protection and management of Forests and Wildlife. They requested the Dept. to conduct the monitoring exercise at State Level every year at least in Protected Areas without waiting for the All India Tiger Estimation being conducted once in four years.
Several of the volunteers wanted to participate in making the Forests and Protected Areas “Plastic Free” by taking up cleaning drive along with the Forest Dept. They also wanted to take part in program of creating awareness among the local communities towards conservation of Forests and Wildlife.
