Buxa Tiger Reserve

Environment

Context

A three-year-old tigress, T138, has been released into West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve, marking the beginning of a phased tiger reintroduction programme to establish a self-sustaining tiger population.

Buxa Tiger Reserve

- Location: Alipurduar district, northern West Bengal, along the India–Bhutan border.
- Established: Declared a Tiger Reserve in 1983 under Project Tiger.

- Important fauna: Asian elephant, gaur, sambar, clouded leopard, Indian leopard and Asian golden cat.
- Tiger status: Historically faced a prolonged absence of a stable resident tiger population due to habitat degradation, fragmentation and reduced prey availability.

Sankosh River: Forms part of the eastern boundary along the Assam border.
Jayanti River: Important seasonal river flowing through the Buxa landscape.

Additional Information – Project Tiger

Launched in 1973 with 9 tiger reserves.
Legal basis: Tiger Reserves are constituted under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, particularly after the 2006 amendment.
NTCA: Established in 2006 as a statutory body for tiger conservation.
Core area: Legally designated as Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH); receives the highest protection.
Buffer area: Peripheral area adjoining the core, aimed at promoting coexistence and reducing pressure on the core.
Tiger Census: Conducted every 4 years under the All India Tiger Estimation (AITE).
Latest national tiger estimate: 3,682 tigers (2022).
Highest tiger population: Madhya Pradesh, followed by Karnataka and Uttarakhand (2022 estimate).
Largest Tiger Reserve by area: Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh–Telangana landscape).
Smallest Tiger Reserve: Bor Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra.
First Tiger Reserve: Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand.
Newest tiger reserves: India has continued adding reserves under Project Tiger; the exact total changes with new notifications.
Tiger reserves are not necessarily National Parks: A tiger reserve can include National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and other forest areas.
Global significance: India contains the largest share of the world’s wild tiger population.

International

Context

The Group of Seven (G7) nations have agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil over four months to ease soaring fuel prices, with a substantial release of diesel planned in the first 20 days.

Group of Seven (G7)

G7: Informal grouping of 7 major advanced economies.
Members: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, USA and Canada.
Origin: Emerged from the 1973 oil crisis.
Initial Group of Five (G5): France, West Germany, USA, UK and Japan.
Canada joined: 1976 → G7.
EU: Began participating in 1977; EU is not a G7 member, but participates in meetings.
G8 phase: Russia joined in 1997, making it G8.
Back to G7: Russia ceased to be part of the group in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea.
Nature: Informal grouping, not a treaty-based international organisation.
Presidency: Rotates annually among member countries.
Key areas: Global economy, trade, security, climate change, energy, development and geopolitical issues

Additional Information – International Energy Agency (IEA)

Established: 1974, in response to the 1973–74 oil crisis.
Headquarters: Paris, France.
Parent framework: Operates within the framework of the OECD.
Members: 32 member countries.
India: Association country, not a full IEA member.
Other Association countries: China, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand etc.
Main objective: Ensure energy security and coordinate responses to major disruptions in oil supply.