Protect the Tiger, Support Forest Guards
Bandipur National Park, Karnataka,
Project by: Tigers Unlimited Wildlife Society
CATEGORY: Eligible CSR Activity Under the Companies Act 2013 Schedule VII ‘…ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare, ….’
Funding Required: INR 50 Lacs
The Organization:
Tigers Unlimited Wildlife Society (TUWS) was formed out of sheer admiration towards wildlife especially the extremely graceful jungle beast, the Tiger. But what really triggered a group of nature lovers to action was the helplessness the forest guards & their families who protect these wild cats. TUWS believes that although, there is an effective backing from the Government and other related organizations in their region (the forest belts of Karnataka), they have always felt a major gap between the proposals rolled out to the services implemented & utilized on ground.
The state of Karnataka in has 21 wildlife sanctuaries and 5 National parks. The Bandipur National Park covers an area of over 800 km², and is located at an altitude of 750 to 1455m. This National Park has the largest concentration of Asian Elephants and is also home to 200 plus tigers among the currently estimated 1706 tigers in India. Bandipur forest supports 15% of the elephant population and 12% of the tiger population of India. Many regions of Karnataka are yet unexplored and new species of flora and fauna are found periodically. Endangered species of fauna found in Karnataka include the Bengal Tiger, Indian Elephant, Lion-tailed Macaque, Olive Ridley Turtle and Dhole, the Indian wild dog.
Number of years in operation: 3 years
Some of the initiatives carried out by TUWS at regular intervals include:
* Free Guidance and Education camp for all the kids of the guards securing this natural asset.
* Donation of Long range military grade Torches, Forest Shoes, Water filters for forest guards to enable them better deliver their duties
* Protein supplements to kids in need
* Fulfillment of basic infrastructural needs like school bags, elementary grade books, shoes etc.
TUWS is looking at setting up a system that enables tracking and movement of wild animals in the Bandipur National Park for their safety and protection from poachers that pose a serious threat to the ecology in the region. The GPS-enabled camera that is being proposed will not only help in protecting the wildlife and its assets, but will also empower the forest guards with the needed technology to determine the movement of poachers and effectively apprehend the criminals. This set up will also help protect and study endangered, unknown & rare species of flora and fauna in Bandipur National Park. The Forest department requires Camera traps (Trail Cameras) for the interior jungles where there is no 3G /GPRS coverage.
WHAT IS CAMERA TRAPPING?
- Camera trapping is a method for capturing wild animals on film when researchers are not present and has been used in ecological research for many decades.
- In addition to applications in hunting and wildlife viewing, research applications include studies of nest ecology, detection of rare species, estimation of population size and species richness, as well as research on habitat use and occupation of human-built structures.
- Camera Traps, also known as Trail Cameras, are used to capture images of animals in the wild with as little human interference as possible.
- The great advantage of Camera Trapping is that they can record very accurate data without the animal being captured. Bandipur National park itself requires about 800 camera traps and the immediate requirement is 250 camera traps.
The Proposal:
TUWS is currently looking for funding to set up Camera Traps at the Bandipur National Park. The Park requires 800 Camera traps out of which 250 cameras need to be installed at the earliest. The Scoutguard camera SG565F-8M, has been customized by Karnataka Forest Department in accordance with the protocol of NTCA for Tiger Census. The selected Camera has the following features:
1. It can record location ID which will be printed on each photo.
2. It has exceptional image quality which is of paramount importance. The stripe pattern of the tigers should be clearly visible.
3. It has a very good battery life.
Each SG565F-8M camera costs INR 20,000, so INR 50 Lacs for 250 cameras.
Want to Fund this Project?
Donations given to Tigers Unlimited Wildlife Society are eligible for deduction under section 80G of the Income-tax Act1961. Tax benefit Registration No. under Section 80G and 12 A: DIT(E)BLR/12A/M-795/AACAT4568P/ITO(E)-2/VOL-2012-13). Write to us at editor@thecsrjournal.in and we will assist you with the process.
