Date: 27/02/2023

Relevance: GS-3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution, and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

Key Phrases: Global Tiger Initiative, tiger range countries, Global Tiger Recovery Programme, Global Tiger Forum (GTF), National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Zone of Influence, Project Tiger.

Why in News?

• In November 2010, all tiger range countries committed to doubling their number of wild tigers. This was an important summit at St Petersburg, facilitated by the Global Tiger Initiative of the World Bank along with the Russian Federation.
• The goal was named ‘Tx2’ by these countries and a Global Tiger Recovery Programme (GTRP) was codified.

Current Status of Wild Tigers:

• More than a decade later, a mixed picture emerged from the second Tiger Range Countries Summit in Vladivostok, Russia.
• However, South Asia and Russia have maintained optimal wild tiger status, with India and Nepal achieving their Tx2 goals.
• The current wild tiger number globally is a little over 4,500.

India's Leadership in Tiger Conservation

• Project Tiger Since 1973:
  • India has been in a leadership position in tiger conservation due to Project Tiger, which began in 1973.
  • The project, which focuses on wild tiger governance, is a role model of collective responsibility between the Centre and the states.
  • No other tiger country has a dedicated chapter in its national legislation on the wild tiger.
• National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA):
  • The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was a game changer, providing statutory backing and impetus to Project Tiger.
  • Tiger reserves have increased from nine to 53, covering 2.3% of India's geographical area.
  • The NTCA has set guidelines for 18 field actions and almost a dozen Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) and conducts special audits such as fire and security audits.
  • The reproductive surplus is carefully taken away to promising reserves with habitat viability and good protection status.
• Tiger Conservation Plan (TCP):
  • The Tiger Conservation Plan (TCP) is a statutory requirement for every tiger reserve, providing a site-specific roadmap for actions.
• International Front:
  • India has bilateral instruments/Memorandums of Understanding with several tiger range countries, including Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, and Myanmar.
• India's Success in conservation:
  • India currently holds more than 70% of global wild tigers.
  • Cheetahs have also been brought back to the country and the leopard population has increased.

Challenges

• Human-Wildlife Conflict:
  • Human-wildlife conflict is a significant threat to tigers in India. Tigers often attack livestock, and in some cases, humans, leading to retaliatory killings by local communities.
  • This has resulted in the loss of several tigers and poses a significant challenge to conservation efforts.
• Zone of influence:
  • The ongoing transformations in tiger landscapes call for a larger “zone of influence” with a focus on integration on several fronts, namely, spatial, sectoral, intra-sectoral, vertical, and resource pooling.
• Climate Change:
  • Changes in temperature and rainfall patterns can impact tiger habitat and prey availability, which can have long-term implications for tiger populations.
• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation:
  • Habitat loss due to human activities such as deforestation, mining, and development projects is a significant challenge for tiger conservation in India.

What needs to be done?

• The district planning process must incorporate actions for stakeholder departments to carry out, retrofit, or mitigate their field actions in sync with requirements.
• We need a landscape-scale master plan to capture the envisioned strategy, monitored by the existing administrative apparatus with due legal backing and funding support from ongoing schemes.

Conclusion:

• At half a century old, Project Tiger has been a great learning experience, making it to the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest wildlife camera trap survey.
• The NTCA is poised for more milestone initiatives, and India is working on its new tiger vision.
• The wild tiger is not just a photographer's delight. It is a mascot for economic growth, ecosystem services, adaptation to climate change, and pandemic buffering.
• With continued support and innovation, India can continue to lead the way in tiger conservation, and preserve its rich biodiversity for future generations.

Source: The Indian Express

Mains Question:

Q. "India has emerged as a global leader in tiger conservation efforts, but sustaining this success requires a new approach to tiger conservation.” Discuss the challenges faced by India in this regard and suggest measures to ensure the long-term survival of tigers in India. (150 words).