The tiger is the symbol of stability of India and Nepal

New Delhi/Kathmandu, July 29 (EFE) .- India and Nepal want to make the tiger a symbol of environmental sustainability as part of efforts to protect this wild cat, whose threat has been increasing in recent years.

“As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, let’s aim to create an eco-sustainable country. Let the tiger be the symbol of sustainability,” Indian Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Twitter on the occasion of International Tiger Day. .

With nearly 3,000 cats, more than double the 1,411 recorded in 2006, India has already met the target set by 13 Asian countries at the 2010 Global Tiger Summit in Russia. The number of tigers should be doubled by 2022.

“Tigers symbolize power and play an important role in protecting biodiversity, forests, water and climate,” said India’s Deputy Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Ashwini Kumar Chaubey.

“We must envision a future of peaceful coexistence between man, animal and nature,” the deputy minister asserted.

Today, India is home to 75% of the world’s tigers and has 52 nature reserves covering an area of ​​75,000 square kilometers, according to data from the National Tiger Conservation Commission (NTCA).

India is proud to be a global leader in tiger conservation and to work with countries like Cambodia, China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Russia to protect tigers, Chaubey said.

Nepal is doubling its tiger population

For its part, the Himalayan nation announced this Friday that it had met its goal of doubling the number of cats from 121 in 2010.

“Nepal’s tiger population has reached 355,” Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Duba celebrated during the International Tiger Day celebrations in Kathmandu.

Of the 98 cats registered in the country in 1995, when the first census was carried out, Nepal has managed to significantly increase the number of tigers, which are distributed in five national nature parks.

“This success was made possible by the unwavering political will of the Government of Nepal, the contributions of many stakeholders, including security agencies and security partners, but above all the communities living with the Tigers,” he said. Bem Narayan Khandel, Ministry of Forests and Environment.

Among them, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Nepal is one of the contributors to this historic achievement.

“Security takes time. However, under the leadership of the Nepalese government, with the support of security partners and our communities, we have been able to live up to the trust of global donors and supporters,” the spokesperson said in a statement. The representative of the organization in the country is Ghana Shyam Gurung.

The tiger is highly valued in countries such as China for making traditional medicines, and its illegal trade in Asia is one of the biggest threats to the species’ conservation.

Other threats to cats include mining projects, building dams or deforestation to make crops. EFE

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