Similipal to address Its core issues

BHUBANESWAR: The Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR)’s core zone will soon be demarcated. To become a completely inviolate area, the heartland of the habitat will witness tiger-friendly measures including relocation of the core area villages, habitat improvement and infrastructure development.Last week, the State Government submitted the conservation plan before the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) which has asked for certain modifications. The plan will become a valid strategy document once the national authority gives its nod. Tiger Conservation Plans have been made mandatory for every designated tiger reserve of the country. Apart from demarcating the 1,194.75-sq-km core area of the reserve, a plan to relocate four villages spread over 5.01 sq km inside the critical zone of STR will be drawn up. It will be followed up by restoration measures in those areas through tiger-friendly activities. A strategy to control forest fire in the core zone, too, has been chalked out.The Buffer Zone, spread over 1,555 sq km will be a research priority, sources in the Wildlife Wing said. This area will be divided into Traditional Use Zone, Forestry Zone and Eco Tourism Zone. “The Traditional Use Zone is where 65 villages are located and we will concentrate our eco-development activities in this area. The Forestry Zone, spread over 1,369 sq km, will add to the quality of the tiger habitat, while the rest will be focus of eco-tourism,” said the sources. A bio-diversity conservation zone will also be identified in STR as part of the plan.The NTCA, which is reluctant to accept the five-year plan in toto in its present form, will send in its recommendations for modification to be incorporated later. On September 13, Field Directors of STR and Satkosia presented their respective plans before the national body.The 2,750-sq km Similipal is home to Royal Bengal Tigers whose population has remained a contentious issue in the past. In fact, the plan also includes radio collaring of the large cats in the days to come.The radio collaring method, however, has its drawbacks in terms of catching the big cats and attaching the collars to them. That apart, the tiger needs to be monitored from a close distance and there are possibilities of the signal loss in the dense jungles.Although satellite tracking is the in thing, it is very expensive with each transmitter costing over ` 1 lakh. Added to it is the expenditure entailing satellite connectivity. Olive Ridley turtles have, in the past, been mounted with transmitters for research and study purposes. What seems to have prompted the Government to plan radio collaring of the big cats is its cost-effectiveness, sources in the Wildlife Wing of the Forest Department said.