The Department of Forest and Park Services have been awarded a grant on a project titled “Securing the future of tigers in Bhutan-Manas complex” by the Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Program (ITHCP) Asia funded by the IUCN. The project will be implemented in Royal Manas National Park by the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment in a strong collaboration with Royal Manas National Park management and the communities living within the park. They will be supported by the Forest Protection and Enforcement Division (FPED) and also by Wild life conservation division under the same department.

The prime objective of the project is to ensure that the tigers in Bhutan (RMNP) persist into the future and serve as a source population for tigers within the wider Indo-Himalayan region. ITHCP funding is substantial and different in a way that it focuses on communities and takes them for a very important component of conservation. Since community development is a key focus of the project, issues surrounding the development of alternative and sustainable livelihoods for communities living in the project area will be addressed and that too through livelihood based investments and conservation based investments.

The ITHCP funding will provide timely intervention in terms of:

1. preventing loss;
2. improving tiger habitats by uplifting livelihoods of communities:
3. ensuring proper land use planning; and 4) enhancing regional cooperation all supported by a strong monitoring framework will not only ensure that existing tiger numbers remain stable but will also enable the doubling of tiger numbers within Bhutan.

The project grant amounts to 700,000 Euros and will run for the next three years. The project will terminate in December, 2018.

For any additional information, contact tashid@uwice.gov.bt or ttempa@uwice.gov.bt