COMMITTEE
FOR CHEETAH PROJECT - ENVIRONMENT
News: New
committee to keep watch
on cheetah project
What's
in the news?
●
National Tiger Conservation Authority
(NTCA) has constituted an 11-member Cheetah Project Steering Committee and appointed Rajesh Gopal, secretary general
of Global Tiger Forum, as its chairman.
Key
takeaways:
●
The move comes following the death of six
cheetahs, including three newborn cubs, within a period of two and half months
at Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh. In the last one week, three
cheetah cubs born to the Namibian cheetah allegedly died of dehydration and
malnourishment.
Details
of the Committee:
●
Chairman
- Rajesh
Gopal
●
As per the notice from the NTCA statutory
body under the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change, the members of the committee are professor
Adrian Tordiffe from South Africa, veterinary wildlife specialist, Dr Laurie
Marker, Cheetah Conservation Fund, Namibia, Dr Andrew John Fraser, Farm
Olievenbosch, South Africa, and Vincent van dan Merwe, manager, Cheetah
Metapopulation Project.
Period:
●
The steering committee shall be in force
for a period of two years and will hold
at least one meeting every month, besides taking field visits as and when
required.
Duties
of the Committee:
●
The newly-formed committee will review
progress, monitor and advice on the Cheetah introduction to the Madhya Pradesh
Forest Department and NTCA.
●
The committee will also take decisions on the opening of the cheetah
habitat for eco-tourism and suggest regulations in this regard.
●
The committee has also been given a free
hand to invite any expert for consultation, as and when required.
●
The committee will also give suggestions
on community interface and for their involvement in the project activities,
reads the notice.
Current
Cheetah Population at Kuno:
●
The current cheetah count at the Kuno
National Park is 18, including one cub.
Further
Reference - Cheetah Reintroduction Project