Tigers are apex predators and hence they play a vital role in helping maintain the diversity of life in their ecosystems.
Hyderabad: As part of its environment and wildlife conservation efforts, Hyderabad-based leading injectable manufacturer Gland Pharma is working closely with Wildlife Conservation Society (India) for tiger conservation at Telangana’s Kawal Tiger Reserve.
Tigers face a number of threats, including habitat loss, poaching, and conflict with humans. In accordance with the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), Gland Pharma is undertaking greening the Kawal reserve’s area, restoring the degraded forest land and promoting agro-forestry. These efforts are aimed at establishing a healthy prey base for the tigers in the reserve. A food abundant area also induces tigers to reproduce and helps establish a viable ecosystem in the region. Gland Pharma is also creating bio-fence hedges for farmlands protecting the farmers’ standing crop from wild species and reducing human-animal conflicts.
“Tigers are apex predators and hence they play a vital role in helping maintain the diversity of life in their ecosystems. While most of the attention is centred on tigers, keeping a check on the surrounding areas, prey base and the relationship between local communities and wildlife are all equally important. With the success of Project Tiger, the number of tigers in the reserve has grown exerting pressure on nearby forests. We are undertaking multiple initiatives to ensure that the tigers in the Kawal reserve continue to thrive,” said the Trustees of Gland Pharma’s CSR Foundation.
To help improve the buffer forest areas in accordance with the Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) principles, Gland Pharma has also planted trees outside protected area, developed woodlots and fodder in private lands. In addition to restoration, Gland Pharma is also undertaking documenting the distribution of tiger populace, identifying potential tiger corridors, conducting landscape-level occupancy surveys and prey assessments.
To incentivize local communities to protect wildlife and to promote their traditional livelihood, Gland Pharma also conducts skill development workshops, shares information about relevant government schemes and provides market access to tribal communities inhabiting the surrounding forest areas.
