Guwahati, Jun 4 (IANS): All four tiger reserves in Assam, including the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNP & TR), have received accreditation from a national body for maintaining high standard of conservation, officials said on Friday.

Officials said that the national committee on Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CATS) has accorded the accreditation to Manas, Nameri and Orang Tiger Reserves besides the KNP & TR.

An official statement issued by the state government said that the CATS assessment was conducted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in 27 tiger reserves across the country in the first phase, while 24 more will be covered in the second phase.

"All the four tiger reserves of Assam under Phase 1 have got CATS accreditation. Only seven proposals were recommended by the national committee at a meeting held in New Delhi on Wednesday. Besides the four tiger reserves of Assam, Kanha, Panna (both in Madhya Pradesh) and the Sundarbans Tiger Reserves (West Bengal) have been awarded CAT accreditation," the statement said.

It added that the NTCA sets a benchmark for managing conservation sites through a set of minimum standards based on 17 parameters ranging from social, cultural and biological significance to infrastructure, equipment etc. It has given a score of 81.25 per cent to KNP & TR, 78.49 per cent to Manas, 71.21 per cent to Nameri and 74.01 per cent to the Orang tiger reserve.

Assam Environment and Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya said that the CAT accreditation accorded to the four tiger reserves of the state is a welcome development and good news for conservationists and animal lovers.

Thanking Union Minister for Environment and Forest, Prakash Javdekar, and the members of the national committee for clearing all the four proposals from his department, Suklabaidya said: "The CATS certificate would go a long way in further strengthening and improving management interventions as far as conservation of big cats in Assam is concerned."