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50 Years of ‘Project Tiger’

  • 25 Mar 2023

India's 'Project Tiger' is set to complete 50 years on April 1, 2023, having successfully conserved and doubled India's wild tiger population in a span of about 12 years.

  • With about 3,000 tigers, India currently harbors more than 70% of the global wild tiger population.
  • 'Project Tiger' began with nine tiger reserves spread over 18,278 sq km in 1973, and today, there are 53 tiger reserves covering more than 75,000 sq km across India.
  • India has the largest number of CAT-accredited tiger reserves in the world at 17.
  • Compensation for voluntary village relocation has also been enhanced from Rs 10 lakh per family to Rs 15 lakh in order to aid tiger conservation.
  • India is considering translocating some tigers to Cambodia as part of the commemoration of 'Project Tiger' completing 50 years on April 1, 2023.
  • The translocation will assist in the reintroduction of the species in Cambodia, where tigers have become extinct due to excessive poaching and loss of habitat.
  • While tigers have also gone locally extinct in Vietnam and Laos, those countries have shown no interest in similar translocations.
  • The translocation of tigers to Cambodia will be based on International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) protocol.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a global organization that focuses on nature conservation, sustainable use of natural resources, and issues related to sustainable development. It provides information and advice to governments, businesses, and other stakeholders, and is best known for publishing the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.