Tiger Conservation

Published on 05 Apr 2025

India is home to 70% of tigers in the world. In India, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) oversees 54 tiger reserves under Project Tiger's purview.

Significance of Tiger Conservation

• Habitat Protection: Protecting and preserving the natural habitats of tigers, such as forests and grasslands, is important for their survival.

• Example: Bangladesh implemented Sundarbans Tiger Project aimed at protecting the endangered Bengal tiger by protecting mangrove forests of the Sundarbans.

• Indicator of Ecosystem Integrity: Decline in tiger population can indicate ecological imbalances and possible hazards to other species in the area.

• Genetic Diversity Preservation: Maintaining genetic diversity is important for the long-term adaptability and survival of the species in the face of environmental challenges.

• Economic Benefits through Tourism: Ecotourism centred around tigers gives the community economic opportunity and supports sustainable livelihoods.

• Example: Ecotourism activities like Nature walks and tiger trail treks provide employment opportunities to the local communities in Periyar Tiger Reserve Kerala

• Trophic Cascade Effects: The absence or reduction of tigers can lead to an increase in herbivore populations, affecting vegetation and creating a trophic cascade that affects various levels of the food chain.

• Example: Bounceback of tiger population in Sariska Tiger Reserve helped to control the herbivores population.

Government initiatives and policy measures

• Project Tiger: The Govt. of India launched "Project Tiger" in 1973 to promote conservation of the tiger. Project Tiger has been the largest species conservation initiative of its kind in the world.

• Amrit Kaal Ka Vision For Tiger Conservation: It aims to sustain tigers for posterity while preserving tangible and intangible gains derived from tiger reserves through landscape level planning, sectoral integration and convergence.

• Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) of Tiger Reserves: It has emerged as the most important tool to assist and improve the management perspectives of Tiger Reserves and their associated landscape connectivity.

• Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS) accreditation of Tiger Reserves in India: It is a set of criteria which allows tiger sites to check if their management will lead to successful tiger conservation as per the international standards.

International initiatives

• Global Tiger Forum: It is an international intergovernmental organization dedicated solely to the conservation of tigers in the wild in their range countries. 

• Global Tiger Initiative (GTI): To work together to prevent the extinction of wild tigers, it is a global alliance of governments, international organizations, civil society, scientific communities, and the private sector.

• Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation: It is an important event for reviewing progress towards the Global Tiger Recovery Programme and commitments to tiger conservation.

Case Study

Panna Tiger Reserve: After the local tigers' extinction in the reserve, tigers were successfully reintroduced thanks to coordinated conservation efforts such as habitat restoration, anti-poaching measures, and community involvement.

Tags:
Environment

Keywords:
Biodiversity Wildlife Conservation Tiger Habitat

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 3

Topics:
Biodiversity and Wildlife Conservation