NAGPUR: As tiger reserves across Central India prepare for the All-India Tiger Estimation (AITE) 2022 exercise, officials have started assessing what impact Covid-19 safety protocols will have on its field training where only a limited number of people can gather.
Chief wildlife wardens (CWWs) and field directors (FDs) of six states met on Wednesday at a city hotel to review management effectiveness evaluation (MEE) of sanctuaries as well as the upcoming AITE.
Nitin Kakodkar, principal chief wildlife conservator of forests (PCCF-Wildlife), said Maharashtra officials will give a presentation on Thursday, the concluding day of a two-day meet. “Usually this conference happens at all-India level, but due to Covid-19 guidelines, the participants have been divided into groups, with Nagpur playing host to Central Indian states,” he said.
Though the AITE is scheduled for 2022, the process begins now. Kakodkar said, “We have to start planning now and that’s why we need to review everything from equipment, manpower and training to implement the estimation exercise perfectly. Training of forest guards and others for this exercise will definitely be affected due to Covid restrictions. Now, we may need to train them range-wise, as opposed to entire division together, considering that there is a limit on how many people can gather at a place.”
Giving further insight into the AITE preparation process, Kakodkar said the preview is important so that budgeting can be done properly. “We look at equipment like rangefinder, camera traps, compass etc and take stock of how much we have and what is needed. Apart from this, we have to work in tandem with the Wildlife Institute of India on ensuring that maps of all tiger reserves are updated. So, if any reorganization has happened then these changes need to be incorporated in the maps,” he said.
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