Four ofAssamhave been accorded CATS (Conservation Assured Tiger Standards) accreditation.State forest minister Parimal Suklabaidyasaid the move would boost conservation efforts of big cats in the state.
TheNational Committeeof Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CATS) recommended proposals forKaziranga, Manas, Nameri and Orang tiger reserves forCATS accreditation.
The CATS assessment has been conducted by theNational Tiger Conservation Authority(NTCA) in 27 tiger reserves in the first phase.
The NTCA, which sets a benchmark for managing conservation sites through a set of minimum standards based on 17 parameters (F3 element wise) ranging from social, cultural and biological significance to Infrastructure/equipment and from management planning to human-wildlife conflict (HCW) management, have given scores of 81.25% to Kaziranga, 78.49% to Manas, 71.21% to Nameri and 74.01% to Orang Tiger Reserve.
CATS is an international coalition developed in response to the need for stringent conservation procedures for protection of big cats through a PARTNERSHIP between governments and conservation organizations.
Under the accreditation system of CATS, tiger conservation areas provide evidence under seven pillars and 17 Elements of critical management activity to demonstrate that they meet a range of criteria for effective conservation management.