Knowledge cheek of the day: India’s latest tiger reserve

Tiger reserve creation process

1. State Governments identify suitable areas for tiger reserves on the basis of potential tiger population and presence of suitable habitat. Ecological assessments are conducted, which include studies on hunting grounds, vegetation, and the potential of the area to support tigers.

The tiger’s IUCN status is Endangered, and it is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Conservation Act, 1972. (PTI Photo/Gurinder Osan)

2. The state prepares a detailed proposal that includes maps, ecological studies, and management plans. The proposal is submitted to the NTCA, which reviews and approves it before sending it to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for further consideration.

3. After this process is completed, the State Government issues a preliminary notification under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, declaring the identified area as a tiger reserve.

4. After addressing any objections or proposed modifications, the State issues a final notification under Section 38V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, formalizing the establishment of the reserve. notably, According to Section 38W of the Act, once notified “no State Government shall de-notify a tiger reserve except in public interest with the approval of the Tiger Conservation Authority and the National Board for Wildlife”.

protection of Tiger (Panthera Tiger)

1. The IUCN status of the tiger is Endangered, and it is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Conservation Act, 1972.

2. India has been actively collaborating with neighboring countries to enhance transboundary conservation efforts such as India-Bangladesh to promote tiger conservation in the Sundarbans landscape.

3. The International Big Cat Coalition (IBCA) was launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023 to promote the conservation of seven big cats: the tiger, leopard, snow leopard, lion, cheetah, puma and jaguar. 50 years of Project Tiger. The alliance seeks to establish contact with a spectrum of countries that surround the original habitat of these big cats. IBCA aims to increase international cooperation and conservation efforts for these elusive inhabitants.

Beyond the Nugget: Project Tiger

1. ‘Project Tiger’ is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) launched by the Central Government on 1st April, 1973 to promote tiger conservation. This program has come at a time when the number of tigers in India is decreasing rapidly. According to reports, there were 40,000 tigers in the country at the time of independence, but due to widespread hunting and poaching, their numbers had dropped below 2,000 by 1970.

2. To solve the problem of poaching and poaching of not only tigers but also other animals and birds, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi Wildlife Protection Act 1972. A year later, after a task force urged the government to create a series of reserves dedicated to tiger conservation, the government unveiled Project Tiger.

3. Launched in Jim Corbett National Park, the program was initially launched in nine tiger reserves in various states like Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, covering an area of ​​14,000 sq km. was .

4. Notably, Project Tiger did not focus solely on the conservation of big cats. It also ensured the preservation of their natural habitat as tigers are at the top of the food chain.

(Source: Fifty Years of ‘Project Tiger’, ntca.gov.in, Ratapani in MP Declared India’s Latest Tiger Reserve, About All Protected Areas, International Big Cat Coalition and India)

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