DHAKA, July 29, 2022 (BSS) - The government is implementing a three-year

project on 'Sundarbans Tiger Conservation Project' with an objective to
protect 'Royal Bengal Tiger' of the mangrove forest.

"Different programmes including Tiger conservation and research like tiger
survey will begin soon under the project," he said.

Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin formally
revealed this with a call to play strong role for protecting the tiger
habitat the Sundarbans while virtually connected to a discussion from his
official residence here on Friday marking International Tiger Day-2022.

Under the project, the Environment, Forests and Climate Change Ministry will
implement tiger survey, counting the numbers of tiger hunting animals like
dear and wild pigs and construction of fencing, made of nylon, surrounding 60
kilometers of the forest areas close to the inhabitants.

The tiger census and other wild live survey programme will be implemented
through the camera trapping which will take place for the third time in the
mangrove forest, the minister said at the function arranged by the Department
of Forests.

The International Tiger Day is being observed every year on July 29 in light
of the declaration for reinforcing conservation of Tigers emerged from a
conference of the state heads of 13 Tiger rich countries held at Saint
Petersburg in Russia in the year of 2010.

The main theme of the International Tiger Day is "Tiger is our pride ...So,
all are responsible to protect it" and the minister termed the theme as time-
befitting.

According to the latest survey report held in the Sundarbans on 2017-2018,
about 114 tigers remain in Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans mangrove forests
while it was nearly 96 in the Sundarbans of Indian part following a survey on
2020-2021.

Tigers are one of the endangered species and there are only 4,485 tigers
remaining in the world, but tigers have been identified as an endangered
species resulting in illegal poaching and deforestation all over the world,
according to the List of critically endangered species by the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Chaired by Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) M Amir Hossain Chowdhury, the
meeting was also attended, among others, by Deputy Minister for Environment,
Forests and Climate Change Habibun Nahar, Environment Forests and Climate
Change Secretary Dr Farhina Ahmed and Additional Secretary Iqbal Abdullah
Harun.