Wildlife Conservation Projects in India

India has a very rich wildlife: it is home to the tiger, the Asiatic lion, the one-horned rhinoceros, the Asian elephant, the snow leopard and thousands of other species. Many of them are under threat because of habitat loss, poaching, human-animal conflict and climate change. To save them, the government has launched special conservation projects, starting with Project Tiger in 1973. For the UPSC, the names, years, places and key species of these projects are asked in the Prelims, and the effectiveness of conservation and the human-wildlife conflict are asked in the Mains. This note explains the main projects, the laws and the approaches to conservation in simple language, with tables for quick revision.

Legal Framework for Wildlife Protection

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 is the main law. It bans hunting, protects the habitats through national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves and community reserves, and lists the species in schedules with different levels of protection: Schedule I and part of Schedule II give the highest protection, with the severest penalties. The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 reduced the number of schedules to four, added a schedule for the species listed under CITES, and provided for the control of invasive alien species. The National Board for Wildlife, chaired by the Prime Minister, advises the government. The Constitution has made "protection of wild animals and birds" a subject of the Concurrent List, and forests are also in the Concurrent List since 1976.

Major Conservation Projects of India

Project Tiger in Detail

Project Tiger started on 1 April 1973, when the tiger population had fallen very low because of hunting and loss of habitat. Each tiger reserve has a core area (the critical tiger habitat, free of human activity) and a buffer area (where limited human use is allowed). The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which got a statutory status in 2006, supervises the reserves. The tiger numbers are counted every four years in the All India Tiger Estimation using camera traps; the 2022 estimate gave an average of about 3,680 tigers, which means that India holds about three-fourths of the wild tigers of the world. Madhya Pradesh has the largest number of tigers, followed by Karnataka and Uttarakhand. International Tiger Day is observed on 29 July. India also started the International Big Cat Alliance in 2023 for the protection of seven big cats: the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar and puma.

The Cheetah Reintroduction

The cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952, as the last ones had been hunted. In September 2022, eight cheetahs from Namibia were brought to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, and in February 2023, twelve more arrived from South Africa. Cheetah cubs were born in India in 2023. The aim of the project is to restore the grassland ecosystem. The African cheetah is a different subspecies from the extinct Asiatic one, and the project has faced deaths of some animals, problems of space and questions about the choice of the habitat. It is thus an example of the challenges of wildlife translocation.

In-Situ and Ex-Situ Conservation

In a national park, no human activity like grazing or private rights is allowed, whereas in a sanctuary, some activities are allowed with permission. Biosphere reserves (like the Nilgiri and the Sundarbans) have a core, buffer and transition zone and include the local people. Conservation reserves and community reserves, added by the 2002 amendment, are on government or community land and give a role to the local people.

Human-Wildlife Conflict

As the forests shrink and the human population grows, the conflict has increased: elephants raiding crops, leopards entering villages and tigers attacking cattle and sometimes people. Every year, hundreds of people and many animals die in India. The measures to reduce conflict include: wildlife corridors to link the habitats (elephant corridors and tiger corridors); compensation for loss of crops, cattle and life; early warning systems; physical barriers like solar fences and trenches; involving the community in monitoring; and the rapid response teams. Eco-tourism and the sharing of benefits with local people can reduce the resentment and give the communities a stake in conservation.

Other Important Species Conservation Efforts

• Vultures: Their numbers fell sharply because of the veterinary drug diclofenac; it was banned for animal use in 2006, and breeding centres were set up.
• Great Indian Bustard: A critically endangered grassland bird, hit by power line collisions, the loss of grasslands and hunting.
• Asiatic lion: Found only in Gir and the surrounding area of Gujarat, which is a risk, so a second home is being planned.
• Olive Ridley turtles: Famous for the mass nesting called "arribada" in Odisha.

Role of Technology and Community

Modern conservation uses technology and local participation together. Camera traps and the M-STrIPES monitoring app of the NTCA track tigers and patrols in the forests; satellite collars follow elephants and snow leopards; drones and artificial intelligence help to detect poachers and forest fires; and DNA analysis helps to identify the animals in the illegal trade. At the same time, the success of a reserve depends on the people who live near it. Community-based programmes, such as the training of local youth as nature guides, the payment of fair compensation, the supply of cooking gas to reduce the use of forest wood, and the sharing of tourism income, turn villagers into partners. The Forest Rights Act, 2006 also gives the forest-dwelling communities a role in the management of the forests, but it needs to be applied together with the protection of the critical wildlife habitats.

Mains Angle: Is India's Wildlife Conservation a Success?

You can point to the clear successes: the rise in tiger numbers, the recovery of the rhino in Assam, the growth of the Asiatic lion population and the large protected-area network. But the challenges are serious: habitat fragmentation by roads, railways, mines and dams; poaching and illegal trade; the human-wildlife conflict; the weak livelihoods of forest-edge communities; and the stress on the small, isolated populations. The suggestions are: protection of corridors, community participation and fair benefit sharing, use of technology (camera traps, drones and AI for monitoring), scientific translocation and an environmental-impact assessment for linear projects. Conclude that conservation will succeed only if it also improves the lives of the people living around the reserves.

Practice Questions

• Q1. In which year was Project Tiger launched? Answer: 1973.
• Q2. Where were the cheetahs reintroduced in 2022? Answer: Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh.
• Q3. Which animal is the National Aquatic Animal of India? Answer: The Gangetic river dolphin.
• Q4. Which project protects the hangul? Answer: Project Hangul in Dachigam.

Revise it with our notes on protected areas and Ramsar sites and biodiversity and conservation.

Quick Revision

• Project Tiger 1973 (Corbett); Project Elephant 1992; Gharial 1975; Snow Leopard 2009.
• NTCA: statutory since 2006; International Big Cat Alliance 2023 (seven big cats).
• Cheetah: extinct in 1952; reintroduced at Kuno in 2022.
• National parks vs sanctuaries; in-situ vs ex-situ; corridors for conflict reduction.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

When was Project Tiger launched?

Project Tiger was launched on 1 April 1973.

Where was Project Tiger started first?

It was launched at Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand with nine reserves.

What is the NTCA?

The National Tiger Conservation Authority is the statutory body that supervises the tiger reserves and the implementation of Project Tiger.

When was Project Elephant launched?

Project Elephant was launched in 1992.

Which animal is the National Heritage Animal of India?

The Indian elephant was declared the National Heritage Animal in 2010.

Which project protects the gharial?

The Gharial Conservation Project, started in 1975, protects the gharial.

Where were cheetahs reintroduced in India?

They were reintroduced at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh in 2022.

When was the cheetah declared extinct in India?

The cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952.

What is the National Aquatic Animal of India?

The Gangetic river dolphin is the National Aquatic Animal.

What is the International Big Cat Alliance?

It is the alliance launched by India in 2023 for the protection of seven big cats.

What is the difference between a national park and a wildlife sanctuary?

A national park gives stronger protection with no human activity, while a sanctuary allows some activities with permission.

What are wildlife corridors?

Wildlife corridors are strips of habitat that connect two forests so that animals can move safely between them.