India, July 29 -- Fourteen out of India's 51 tiger reserves have received the Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CATS) accreditation for meeting a set of standards for effective conservation of big cats, the Union environment ministry said on Thursday. An international group of experts and protected area managers have created the criteria.

CATS is a globally accepted conservation tool that sets best practices and standards to manage tigers and assessments to benchmark progress. It is being implemented across 125 sites, including 94 in India, in seven tiger range countries.

The accreditation has been granted to 14 reserves in India, one each in Nepal, Bhutan, and Russia, the ministry officials said. The 14 reserves are Manas, Kazirang...