Focus – GS-III, Environment
Context
Massive fire has broken out in the Sariska Tiger Reserve and Air Force helicopters equipped with water sprays are battling to bring it under control.
Sariska Tiger Reserve
- Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan.
- It stretches over an area of 881 sq km comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills.
- This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar state and was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1958.
- It was given the status of a tiger reserve making it a part of India’s Project Tiger in 1978.
- It is the first reserve in the world with successfully relocated tigers.
- It is a part of the Aravalli Range and the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests eco-region.
Threats
- It is rich in mineral resources, such as copper.
- In spite of the Supreme Court’s 1991 ban on mining in the area, marble mining continues to threaten the environment.
Source – The Hindu
