Context:
- Project Tiger is in its 50th year since its launch in 1973, in India.
- In its 50th year, India has signed an MOU with Cambodia for reintroducing tigers (species: Panthera tigris) there through translocation.
- In Cambodia the species have become extinct.
- So far, India has only translocated tigers within the country, not internationally. This will be the first time India will do so.
- In 2022, African Cheetahs were successfully translocated from Namibia to India. It was the first wild to wild intercontinental translocation.
About Project Tiger
Background
- It was launched in 1973 from Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand to save the declining tigers population. It is a major wildlife conservation project in India.
- At that time, Project Tiger included 9 tiger reserves spread over 18,278 sq km.
- It is governed by the Wildlife Act of 1972.
- The initiative is funded by the Union Govt. of India and administrated under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
- National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is the immediate supervising agency.
Objectives
- To identify factors causing a reduction in tiger habitats and mitigate them through suitable management practices.
- To maintain a viable tiger population for their economic, ecological, cultural, and aesthetic significance.
Present Status
- Currently, there are 53 tiger reserves covering more than 75,000 sq km (approximately 2.4% of the country’s geographical area) across India.
- With the current population of about 3,000 tigers, India harbours more than 70% of global wild tiger population, which is increasing at an annual rate of 6%.
- India has the largest number of CAT-accredited tiger reserves in the world at 17.
- Compensation for voluntary village relocation has also been enhanced from Rs 10 lakh per family to Rs 15 lakh in order to aid tiger conservation.
Conservation Status
- Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 – Schedule 1
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List: Endangered.
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix I.
