The two sides have finalised the text of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this direction. Details of the finalised agreement were also reflected in the joint statement issued after the India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue yesterday.
The U.S. has offered support to India's Project Tiger designed to protect the population of Royal Bengal tigers in their natural habitats. The two countries agreed to work together to use the latest technology to combat poaching and protect the animals, the joint statement said.
Under the auspices of the MoU, the U.S. will support Project Tiger and work with India to deploy technology to track and protect the country's remaining tigers. According to the State Department, the MoU includes efforts to develop human resources in scientific information management in support of conservation programs, build public awareness, protect critical habitat, and stabilise and increase populations of threatened and endangered species.
It also includes efforts to strengthen law enforcement capacity, and combat illegal harvesting and trading of wildlife species, consistent with national laws and regulations. The agreement seeks cooperation regionally and globally, to further the mutual objective of combating the illegal trade in products through enhancing dialogue, sharing best practices, and strengthening cooperation in regional and global flora.
Noting the importance of preserving the environment and sustaining diverse ecosystems, and acknowledging the rise of international criminal networks engaged in wildlife trafficking, the countries appreciated finalisation of an MoU to enhance their cooperation on conservation and combat wildlife trafficking, the joint statement said.
Source: The Economic Times
The Sanctuary Asia View
Global support is always welcome, but India's past strategies for tiger protection based on the simple premise of ‘save the forest to save the cat' have proven to be the best in the world.
Not to mention the Indian veneration for all living things, an attitude singularly missing in the ethos of the U.S.A. On this front the U.S.A. could take a lesson from us. Right now there are more tigers in captivity in the U.S.A. than in India's wilds.
The problem is that India itself is forgetting the formulae that made Project Tiger the most successful conservation project in the world in the 1980s.
