Project Tiger

The Royal Bengal Tiger, Panthera tigris tigris (Linnaeus, 1758), one of the six subspecies of tigers found on planet Earth, is restricted to the Indian subcontinent and has been accorded the status of National Animal of India. P. tigris tigris is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and is classified as Endangered by IUCN. Tigers are listed in Appendix I of CITES, which bans all international trade for commercial purposes for all member countries to CITES.

The Government of India has taken a pioneering initiative for conserving its national animal, by launching the ‘Project Tiger’ in 1973. Jim Corbett National Park the first national park of India, situated in the hill state of Uttarakhand was chosen as the venue for the inauguration of Project Tiger in India on 1^st April 1973.

Aims and Objectives of Project Tiger

a. To identify the factors limiting the growth of tigers in India and to mitigate them by suitable management.

b. To rectify the damage done to tiger habitat and facilitate the recovery of the ecosystem to the maximum possible extent.

c. To augment tiger conservation in specially constituted ‘tiger reserves’, falling in regions within India

d. To maintain a viable tiger population in the natural environment for its scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values

e. To preserve, for all times, areas of such biological importance as a national heritage  for the benefit, education  and enjoyment of the people for generations to come.

Conservation Strategies

a. Establishment of Tiger Reserves: Wild tigers are found in 18 of our States, viz. Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.  Project Tiger is being implemented in all these States in collaboration with the respective State Governments. From 9 tiger reserves since its formative years, the Project Tiger coverage has increased to 49 at present (as on 17 March, 2016) covering a total area of 70244.10 sq.km of the country.

b. Core /buffer strategy: The tiger reserves are constituted on a core/buffer strategy. The core areas have the legal status of a national park or a sanctuary, whereas the buffer or peripheral areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land, managed as a multiple use area. The Project Tiger aims to foster an exclusive tiger agenda in the core areas of tiger reserves, with an inclusive people oriented agenda in the buffer.

 

c. National Tiger Conservation Authority: For strengthening the conservation of Tiger in India a National Tiger Conservation Authority, a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change was constituted by the amendment of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, in 2006. The overall administration of the project is monitored by a Steering committee. A Field Director is appointed for each reserve, who is assisted by the field and technical personnel. At the centre, a full-fledged Director of the project coordinates the work for the country.

d. Tiger census: The All India tiger estimation is carried out once in every four years.  Based on the Tiger Task Force approval, a refined double sampling method using camera traps in a statistical framework was first used in 2006 country level tiger assessment. The success of Project Tiger can be gauged from the fact that the population of Tigers in India has increased from about 1,200 in 1973 to an impressive 2,226 as per the latest census report released on 20 January 2015 based on the last census carried out in 2014.

e. Tiger protection force: Project Tiger has also established the Tiger Protection Force with the aim of catching poachers and stopping the killing.

Tiger Reserves of North East India

 Seven protected areas shown in the table below have been designated as Tiger Reserves in three states (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Mizoram) of North East India under the Project Tiger Initiative. 

Sl No	Name of Tiger Reserve	State	Core Area sq.km	Buffer area Sq.km	Total area Sq.km
1	Namdapha	Arunachal Pradesh	1807.82	245	2052.82
2	Pakke	Arunachal Pradesh	683.45	515	1198.45
3	Manas	Assam	840.04	2310.88	3150.92
4	Nameri	Assam	200	144	344
5	Orang	Assam	79.28	413.18	492.46
6	Kaziranga	Assam	625.58	548	1173.58
7	Dampa	Mizoram	500	488	988

The Core and Buffer areas of the Tiger Reserves of Assam are detailed as follows

Kaziranga Tiger Reserve

Core Area: Kaziranga National Park including its 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 5^th additions to its area

Buffer Area: 4^th and 6^th additions to KNP, Kukurakata RF, Panbari RF, Bagser RF, Laokhowa WLS and Burachapori WLS.

Manas Tiger Reserve

Core Area: Manas National Park and Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary

Buffer Area: Reserved Forests of Kachugaon, Haltugaon, Dhirang and Dhansiri Territorial divisions of Bodoland Territorial Areas District Areas along the Indo Bhutan International Boundary

Nameri Tiger Reserve:

Core Area: The existing Nameri National Park

Buffer Area: On the east the Naduar Reserve Forest upto Ghiladhari River (80 sq.km.) and the Balipara Reserve Forest on the west upto Rangapara Bhalukpong railway line totaling 64 sq.km

Orang Tiger Reserve:

Core Area: The existing Orang (now Rajiv Gandhi) National Park

Buffer Area: The eastern boundary touches the western boundary of the proposed 1^st addition to Burhachapori WLS, the southern boundary is formed by the south bank of river Brahmaputra adjacent to the national Park, while the western and northern boundaries are marked by the Hazaribagh camp and Kachariveti camp of Orang Tiger Reserve respectively.