Government Plans to Revive India’s Struggling Tiger Reserves

India marked the 18th anniversary of tiger reintroduction at the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar, Rajasthan, which lies in the Aravalli hills and had once lost every one of its tigers. To mark the occasion, the Centre released two new assessments: a roadmap for managing tigers in the coming years, and a document capturing lessons from 12 reintroduction projects across the country.

India’s tiger numbers have climbed steadily, from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2022, spread across 58 tiger reserves covering about 85,000 square kilometres. But the headline figure hides a sharp imbalance. Only about 10 to 12 reserves hold roughly 36 per cent of all tigers, while 12 reserves have fewer than three tigers each. This uneven spread means some habitats are overcrowded while others remain almost empty.

The government now wants to shift focus away from simply counting tigers and towards reviving the weakest reserves. Parks with poor habitat and low prey are being given priority so that big cats can disperse from crowded reserves, which have reached their carrying capacity, into newer areas. Improving prey availability, habitat quality and management practices is seen as key to helping struggling reserves recover.

For India, tigers are more than a conservation success story. The tiger is the national animal and an umbrella species: protecting it also safeguards forests, rivers and the many other creatures that share its habitat. Reserves are managed under Project Tiger (launched in 1973) and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), with population estimates drawn from the All India Tiger Estimation carried out every four years.

For exam aspirants, this topic ties conservation policy to institutions and terms that are frequently tested: Project Tiger, NTCA, tiger reserves, core and buffer zones, and the idea of carrying capacity and species dispersal.