India’s 58th Tiger Reserve

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the addition of Madhav Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh as the 58th tiger reserve in India.
2. Environment Minister announced this on March 8, 2025.
    

Key Stats and Facts:   Total Tiger Reserves in India: 58 (as of March 2025). India’s Tiger Population: 3,167 tigers (as per the 2022 All India Tiger Estimation). India’s Share of Global Tiger Population: Over 70% of the world’s wild tiger population resides in India. IUCN Status of Tiger: Endangered. India’s Contribution: India accounts for over 2.3% of the global tiger population’s habitat. Madhya Pradesh now has 9 tiger reserves in total.

 

Key details :
 

1. Madhav Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) becomes the 58th tiger reserve in India.
2. Previous Addition: On December 2, 2024, India added its 57th tiger reserve at Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
3.  India’s 56th Newest Tiger Reserve tiger reserve : Chhattisgarh’s Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve
    

Conservation of Tigers (Panthera Tigris):
 

1. IUCN Status: The tiger is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
2. Protection: Tigers are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, granting them the highest level of protection in India.
3. Transboundary Conservation: India works closely with neighboring countries like Bangladesh to protect tigers in shared ecosystems such as the Sundarbans.
    

What is Project Tiger?
 

1. Project Tiger was launched by the Indian government on April 1, 1973, as a conservation initiative aimed at protecting the country's rapidly dwindling tiger population.
2. At the time, India’s tiger population was critically low, primarily due to rampant hunting and poaching.
    

Background:
 

1. Declining Tiger Population: Before Independence, India was home to around 40,000 tigers.
2. However, by the 1970s, the population had plummeted to below 2,000 due to excessive hunting, poaching, and habitat loss.
3. Endangered Status: In 1970, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared the tiger an endangered species.
4. This was confirmed by a 1972 census which estimated the tiger population in India to be a mere 1,800.
5. Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: To address the growing crisis of poaching and hunting, the Indian government passed the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972, which laid the legal foundation for tiger conservation and wildlife protection.
6. Every year on July 29, International Tiger Day is celebrated to highlight the importance of tiger conservation across the globe.
    

Launch of Project Tiger:

 

1. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's Vision: In response to the alarming tiger population decline, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi unveiled Project Tiger in 1973, after the government received recommendations from a task force.
2. Initial Launch: The program was officially launched at Jim Corbett National Park, and initially, nine tiger reserves were established across different states. These were located in:
   1. Assam
   2. Bihar
   3. Karnataka
   4. Madhya Pradesh
   5. Maharashtra
   6. Odisha
   7. Rajasthan
   8. Uttar Pradesh
   1. West Bengal
3. These reserves covered over 14,000 sq km of land.
4. Holistic Approach: Project Tiger wasn’t solely about protecting tigers; it also emphasized protecting their habitats.
5. Indira Gandhi noted that tigers, being apex predators, cannot survive in isolation, and their habitat must be safeguarded from threats like human intrusion, commercial forestry, and cattle grazing.
    

Progress and Challenges:
 

1. Growth of Tiger Population:
   1. By the 1990s, the tiger population in India had increased to around 3,000.
   2. However, Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan faced a major setback when tigers were wiped out by poaching in the reserve, making headlines in 2005.
   3. This led to a national outcry and prompted further reforms in tiger conservation.
       
2. Reconstitution of Project Tiger (2005):
   1. In response to the crisis at Sariska, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up a task force to reshape the future of tiger conservation.
   2. A year later, the government reconstituted Project Tiger and established the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which had more authority and resources to prevent poaching and safeguard tiger habitats.
   3. The NTCA was empowered to create the Tiger Protection Force and oversee the relocation of villages that were encroaching upon protected areas.

Tiger Population Growth: The tiger population in India has shown a steady increase:
 

About National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA):

The NTCA is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change. It was constituted under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 to monitor and strengthen tiger conservation efforts across India.
 

Key Role:
 

1. The NTCA conducts the All India Tiger Estimation every four years, providing crucial data on tiger populations and habitat quality.
2. As per the 2022 report, India is home to 3,167 tigers.
    

Process of Creating a Tiger Reserve:
 

1. Identification of Suitable Areas: The state government identifies areas with a viable tiger population and appropriate habitats based on ecological assessments, including studies on vegetation and prey base.
2. Proposal Preparation: A detailed proposal, including maps, ecological studies, and management plans, is prepared by the state government and submitted to the NTCA for review.
3. Approval and Notification: After NTCA approval, the proposal is forwarded to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for final consideration. A preliminary notification is issued under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, declaring the area as a tiger reserve, followed by a final notification after addressing objections.
4. De-notification: As per Section 38W of the Wildlife Protection Act, no state government can de-notify a tiger reserve except in the public interest, requiring approval from the Tiger Conservation Authority and the National Board for Wildlife.
    

Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS) Accreditation: The Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS) is an international system that ensures the effective management of tiger reserves based on strict conservation protocols. CA|TS evaluates reserves to make sure they meet high standards of tiger conservation. International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA): Launched: 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enhance protection for seven big cats: tiger, leopard, snow leopard, lion, cheetah, puma, and jaguar. Objective: The IBCA promotes global collaboration and conservation efforts for these species across their native habitats.

 

List of Tiger Reserves in India
Sl No	Tiger Reserve (TR)	State	TR Notification Year
1	Bandipur	Karnataka	2007
2	Corbett	Uttarakhand	2010
	Amanagarh buffer	Uttar Pradesh	2012
3	Kanha	Madhya Pradesh	2007
4	Manas	Assam	2008
5	Melghat	Maharashtra	2007
6	Palamau	Jharkhand	2012
7	Ranthambore	Rajasthan	2007
8	Simlipal	Orissa	2007
9	Sunderban	West Bengal	2007
10	Periyar	Kerala	2007
11	Sariska	Rajasthan	2007
12	Buxa	West Bengal	2009
13	Indravati	Chattisgarh	2009
14	Namdapha	Arunachal Pradesh	1987
15	Nagarjunsagar Sagar	Andhra Pradesh	2007
16	Dudhwa	Uttar Pradesh	2010
17	Kalakad Mundanthurai	Tamil Nadu	2007
18	Valmiki	Bihar	2012
19	Pench	Madhy Pradesh	2007
20	Tadobha Andhari	Maharashtra	2007
21	Bandhavgarh	Madhy Pradesh	2007
22	Panna	Madhy Pradesh	2007
23	Dampa	Mizoram	2007
24	Bhadra	Karnataka	2007
25	Pench – MH	Maharashtra	2007
26	Pakke	Arunachal Pradesh	2012
27	Nameri	Assam	2000
28	Satpura	Madhya Pradesh	2007
29	Anamalai	Tamil Nadu	2007
30	Udanti Sitanadi	Chattisgarh	2009
31	Satkoshia	Odisha	2007
32	Kaziranga	Assam	2007
33	Achanakmar	Chattisgarh	2009
34	Kali	Karnataka	2007
35	Sanjay Dhubri	Madhya Pradesh	2011
36	Mudumalai	Tamil Nadu	2007
37	Nagarhole	Karnataka	2007
38	Parambikulam	Kerala	2009
39	Sahyadri	Maharashtra	2012
40	Biligiri Ranganatha Temple	Karnataka	2007
41	Kawal	Telangana	2012
42	Sathyamangalam	Tamil Nadu	2013
43	Mukundara	Rajasthan	2013
44	Nawegaon Nagzira	Maharashtra	2013
45	Amrabad	Telangana	2015
46	Pilibhit	Uttar Pradesh	2014
47	Bor	Maharashtra	2012
48	Rajaji	Uttarakhand	2015
49	Orang	Assam	2016
50	Kamlang	Arunachal Pradesh	2017
51	Srivilliputhur Megamalai	Tamil Nadu	2021
52	Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve	Rajasthan	2022
53	Ranipur Tiger Reserve	Uttar Pradesh	2022
54	Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve	Madhya Pradesh	2023
55	Dholpur – Karauli Tiger Reserve	Rajasthan	2023
56	Guru Ghasidas – Tamor Pingla Tiger Resereve	Chhattisgarh	2024
57	Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary	Madhya Pradesh	2024
58	Madhav Tiger Reserve	Madhya Pradesh	2025

 

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