Central Idea

• July 29^th was celebrated the world over as International Tiger Day in a bid to raise awareness on various issues surrounding tiger conservation.
• India’s tiger population has witnessed significant growth over the past decade, owing to successful conservation efforts under the Project Tiger initiative.

Celebrating 50 Years of Project Tiger

• Historical Context: Project Tiger was launched in 1973 to promote the conservation of tigers when their population was alarmingly low, hovering around 2,000 due to hunting and habitat destruction.
• Landmark Achievement: Over the past 50 years, India’s tiger population has made a remarkable recovery, standing at 3,167 in 2022 as compared to just 268 in 1973.

Population Growth and Distribution

• Decade-wise Growth: The tiger population has shown a remarkable growth trajectory in recent years. In 2010, there were 1,706 tigers, which increased to 2,226 in 2014 and further rose to 3,582 in 2022.
• Regional Distribution: In 2022, the states with the highest tiger populations were Madhya Pradesh (785), Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444). Nearly 25% of the tigers were reported outside protected areas.

Conservation Efforts and Successes

• Tiger Reserves: India’s tigers are mainly concentrated in 53 dedicated tiger reserves covering about 75,796 square km, which accounts for approximately 2.3% of the country’s total land area.
• Successful Reserves: Reserves like Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand (260 tigers), Bandipur (150), and Nagarhole (141) in Karnataka have shown commendable success in tiger conservation.
• Project Tiger: Launched in 1973, Project Tiger played a crucial role in conserving the species, ensuring not just the protection of tigers but also preserving their natural habitats.

Challenges and Concerns

• Habitat Fragmentation: The growing human population and developmental activities have led to the fragmentation of tiger habitats, affecting their dispersal and increasing human-tiger conflicts.
• Quality of Forest Cover: The degradation of forest cover can impact prey availability and contribute to human-wildlife conflict, especially in regions like Central India and the Eastern Ghats.
• Human-Wildlife Conflict: As tiger habitats shrink and corridors get disrupted, encounters between tigers and humans have increased, leading to conflicts and potential danger to both tigers and people.
• Legal Framework Dilution: Some proposed amendments to environmental acts and the approval of projects in protected areas have raised concerns about the dilution of the legal framework supporting tiger conservation.

Way forward

• Development with Ecological Sensibility: Upcoming infrastructure projects, like highways, are being planned with safe passageways for tigers and other animals to ensure minimal disruption to their movement.
• Relocation and Rehabilitation: Relocation of human settlements from core areas of tiger reserves is incentivized to increase protected land and improve tribal livelihoods.

Conclusion

• Conservation Commitment: The success of tiger conservation in India has come through the commitment of people, political will, and strong legal and policy frameworks.
• Sustained Efforts: Despite the successes, continued efforts and vigilance are essential to ensure the continued growth of the tiger population and its harmonious coexistence with human communities.

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