Project Tiger

Project Tiger was launched in 1973 in India. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of tigers in their natural habitats and preserving areas of biological importance as a natural heritage for the people. The selection of areas for the reserves represented as close as possible the diversity of ecosystems across the tiger's distribution in the country. The project's task force visualized these tiger reserves as breeding nuclei, from which surplus animals would emigrate to adjacent forests. Funds and commitment were mustered to support the intensive program of habitat protection and rehabilitation under the project. The government has set-up a Tiger Protection Force to combat poachers, and funded the relocation of up to 200,000 villagers to minimize human-tiger conflicts.

During the tiger census of 2008, a new methodology was used extrapolating site-specific densities of tigers, their co-predators and prey derived from camera trap and sign surveys using GIS. Based on the result of these surveys, the total tiger population has been estimated at 1,411 individuals ranging from 1,165 to 1,657 adult and sub-adult tigers of more than 1.5 years of age.

Goals and objectives

Project Tiger was meant to identify the limiting factors and to mitigate them by suitable management. The damages done to the habitat were to be rectified so as to facilitate the recovery of the ecosystem to the maximum possible extent.

The potential tiger habitats being covered are:

•  Sivalik–Terai Conservation Unit (Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal), and in Nepal
•  North east Conservation Unit
• Sunderbans Conservation Unit
• Central Indian Conservation Unit
• Eastern Ghat Conservation Unit
• Western Ghat Conservation Units

The tiger reserves were created in the country on a ‘core-buffer’ strategy. The core areas were freed from all sorts of human activities and the buffer areas were sunjected to ‘conservation oriented land use’.

 Major Acheivements of Project Tiger

• Project Tiger has saved the endangered tiger from extinction, and has put the species on an assured path to recovery by improving the protection and status of its habitat.

• The ‘core-buffer strategy of Project Tiger has provided scope for eliciting local public support through site specific ecodevelopement in buffer/fringe areas.

• The project has contributed towards several intangible environmental benefits to society, such as absorption of carbon dioxide, improvement of micro-climate, rainfall and river flow.

• The project has generated considerable wages for the benefit of fringe dwell ing communities, who are deployed as local work force for protection. Besides this they are also benefitting from eco-tourism.

• While conserving the flagship species, the project has saved several other species of plants and animals from extinction.

 

• The Project has served as a role model for wildlife management planning, habitat restoration, protection and ecodevelopement.

• From 9 tiger reserves in 1973, it expanded to 39 tiger reserves in 2010.