Wildlife Acts/Projects of India for Wildlife Conservation

Background & The Threat:

Historical Exploitation: Tigers were hunted for their skins (used as meditation seats) and various body parts (used extensively in Chinese traditional medicine).

The Decline: Unregulated hunting and illegal trade caused a massive population crash.

• 1909–1910: ~40,000 tigers.
• 1972: Only 268 tigers remained.

Initial Intervention: In 1970, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a strict ban on tiger hunting and the export of skins.

• Launch Date: April 1, 1973.
• Main Aim: To establish a secure network of reserves to protect the tiger, its prey, and its natural habitat from human intrusion.

Governing Body: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

Scale: Currently comprises 50 tiger reserves across India.

Reserve Zoning System:

• Core Area: Strictly protected; all human activities are banned.
• Buffer Area: Surrounds the core; limited, sustainable use of the forest by locals is allowed if it doesn't harm wildlife.

Key Reserves:

• Largest: Nagarjunasagar Srisailam (3,568 sq. km).
• Other Important Reserves: Corbett (Uttarakhand), Kanha (M.P.), Manas & Kaziranga (Assam), and Melghat (Maharashtra).

Population Recovery:

• 2006: 1,411 tigers
• 2011: 1,706 tigers
• 2018: 2,226 tigers

Global Standing: India is now home to 70% of the world’s wild tiger population.

Protecting the tiger's ecosystem indirectly saved numerous other plant and animal species.

• Fauna Protected: Snow leopards, caracals, hispid hares, lion-tailed macaques, Indian langurs, rhinos, and wild elephants thrive in these secure zones.
• Flora Protected: Preserved unique habitat types, allowing rare orchids and ferns to flourish.

• India's formal wildlife conservation efforts began as early as 1873 with the Madras Wild Elephant Preservation Act and culminated in the comprehensive Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.
• Following a severe decline from approximately 40,000 tigers in 1910 to just 268 in 1972 due to hunting and illegal trade, the government imposed a strict hunting ban in 1970.
• Project Tiger was launched on April 1, 1973, with the primary objective of protecting the Royal Bengal Tiger, its prey, and its natural habitat from human intrusion.
• The project is managed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority across 50 reserves, utilising a zoning system that strictly bans human activity in core areas while allowing sustainable use in buffer zones.
• Project Tiger has been a massive global success, aiding population recovery to 2,226 tigers by 2018 and making India home to 70% of the world’s wild tiger population.
• The initiative created an "umbrella effect", meaning the protection of tiger ecosystems indirectly secured the habitats of other endangered wildlife like rhinos, elephants, and snow leopards.