Project Tiger & Tiger Reserves in India: Complete Conservation Guide for UPSC

India holds roughly 75% of the world's wild tiger population. That single statistic carries enormous weight in UPSC, where Project Tiger appears in Prelims factual questions, Mains environment answers, and even Essay papers on conservation governance.

Project Tiger was launched on April 1, 1973, under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, following recommendations of a special task force constituted after the 1972 tiger census revealed a shocking decline to roughly 1,827 tigers from an estimated 40,000 at the turn of the 20th century.

Genesis and Evolution of Project Tiger

The Wildlife Protection Act was passed in 1972. Project Tiger followed immediately in 1973 with 9 initial reserves: Jim Corbett (Uttarakhand), Manas (Assam), Palamau (Jharkhand), Simlipal (Odisha), Kanha (Madhya Pradesh), Melghat (Maharashtra), Bandipur (Karnataka), Ranthambore (Rajasthan), and Sundarbans (West Bengal).

The project operated under the Ministry of Environment with a Project Tiger Directorate. But the Sariska crisis of 2004-05 exposed fatal governance weaknesses. Every single tiger in Sariska Tiger Reserve (Rajasthan) disappeared to poaching, and the administration had no idea until it was too late. A similar crisis unfolded in Panna (Madhya Pradesh).

This triggered the 2006 amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act, which created the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) as a statutory body (not just an administrative unit). The Tiger Task Force headed by Sunita Narain recommended sweeping changes that shaped modern tiger governance.

NTCA: Structure and Powers

NTCA is chaired by the Minister of Environment with the Minister of State as Vice-Chairperson. Members include 3 Members of Parliament, the Secretary of MoEFCC, and experts.

Key powers of NTCA:

• Approve Tiger Conservation Plans for every reserve (mandatory)
• Ensure core-buffer demarcation
• Facilitate relocation of villages from core zones
• Order independent assessments of reserves
• Recommend enforcement action against non-compliant states
• Coordinate the All India Tiger Estimation

The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), also created by the 2006 amendment, works alongside NTCA to tackle organized wildlife crime networks.

Core-Buffer Strategy

Every tiger reserve is divided into two zones:

Core zone (Critical Tiger Habitat): This is the inviolate area. No human activity is permitted. No grazing, no forest produce collection, no habitation. Villagers within core zones are relocated with compensation packages. The core is meant to provide undisturbed breeding habitat.

Buffer zone: Surrounds the core. Limited, regulated human activity is allowed. Eco-development programs aim to provide alternative livelihoods to forest-dependent communities. Sustainable resource extraction may be permitted.

This model draws from the biosphere reserve concept. For details on how buffer zones function in India's broader protected area network, see our guide on biosphere reserves in India.

Common student mistake: Writing that buffer zones have "no restrictions." They do. Mining, industrial activity, and major construction are prohibited in buffer zones too. The restrictions are graduated, not absent.

Tiger Census: Methodology

The All India Tiger Estimation is conducted every 4 years using a phased approach:

Phase I: Field staff record pugmarks, scat, and other signs across all tiger-bearing forests. Camera traps are deployed systematically.

Phase II: Camera trap data is analyzed using individual identification (stripe patterns are unique to each tiger, like human fingerprints). Spatial capture-recapture models estimate density.

Phase III: Habitat assessment using remote sensing and GIS. Prey density estimation through line transect sampling.

Phase IV: Data integration and population modeling to produce national estimates.

The 2022 census (5th cycle, results released 2023) recorded 3,682 tigers, up from:

• 1,411 in 2006 (first scientifically rigorous count)
• 1,706 in 2010
• 2,226 in 2014
• 2,967 in 2018

This represents a 161% increase from the 2006 baseline. India exceeded the St. Petersburg Declaration (2010) target of doubling tiger numbers by 2022 (the TX2 goal under the Global Tiger Initiative).

Current Status: 56 Tiger Reserves

India now has 56 tiger reserves across 18 states, covering 75,796 sq km (approximately 2.3% of India's geographical area). The most recent additions include Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla (Chhattisgarh, 2021) and Ramgarh Vishdhari (Rajasthan, 2022).

State-wise Tiger Population (2022 Census, Top States)

Tiger Corridors: The Connectivity Lifeline

Isolated tiger populations face genetic bottlenecks. Corridors connecting reserves allow tigers to disperse, find mates, and maintain genetic diversity. Key corridors include:

• Kanha-Pench corridor (MP): One of the best-studied, facilitating movement between two major reserves
• Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong (Assam): Critical for the northeastern tiger population
• Western Ghats corridor (Karnataka-Kerala-TN): Connects Bandipur, Nagarhole, Mudumalai, and Wayanad, forming one of the world's highest tiger density areas
• Rajaji-Corbett corridor (Uttarakhand): Vital for the terai arc landscape

The NTCA and Wildlife Institute of India have mapped 32 major corridors nationally. Many pass through revenue land, tea estates, and human settlements, making protection legally and politically complex.

For a comprehensive list of all reserves with geographical details, see our dedicated tiger reserves in India guide.

International Framework

CITES Appendix I lists the tiger, prohibiting all international commercial trade in tiger parts. The Global Tiger Initiative (World Bank-led) and the St. Petersburg Declaration (2010) set the TX2 target. The Global Tiger Recovery Program monitors implementation across 13 tiger range countries.

India's success stands out globally. Countries like Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia have seen functional extinction of tigers despite having reserves on paper. The difference is governance capacity and political will.

Challenges to Tiger Conservation

Despite impressive numbers, significant challenges remain:

Poaching remains the primary direct threat. Demand for tiger bones and skin in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) markets drives organized crime. A single tiger skin can fetch $50,000+ in illegal markets.

Habitat fragmentation from highways, railways, mining, and expanding agriculture isolates populations. Linear infrastructure cuts through corridors.

Human-tiger conflict is paradoxically increasing with tiger recovery. As populations grow, tigers expand into human-dominated landscapes. Livestock depredation and occasional human attacks generate local opposition to conservation.

Prey depletion from hunting of deer and wild boar reduces tiger food availability, pushing them toward livestock and human settlements.

Climate change threatens specific habitats, particularly the Sundarbans (sea level rise) and high-altitude reserves.

Mining in buffer zones and pressure for development dilution of protections remain governance challenges.