International Tiger Day 2023: 'Several tiger reserves are nearing carrying capacity'

India celebrated 50 years of Project Tiger this year. (Photo credit: David Raju via Wikimedia Commons)

India marked 50 years of Project Tiger, a first-of-its-kind species conservation program that helped the tiger population in the country grow to 3,167 as of 2022, this year. It is now home to 75 percent of the world's wild tigers, according to the Status of Tigers 2022 report. But while tiger numbers have increased overall, they are not rising everywhere in India. In some areas, populations are declining. Additionally, as per conservationists, the focus on the tiger has come at the expense of other critically endangered species (their numbers rose from 47 in 2011 to 73 in 2022 as per data presented in the Rajya Sabha) and forest-dwelling communities.

Dr Rajesh Gopal

Also read: International Tiger Day 2023: 10 places to spot the tiger in its natural habitat

Despite these challenges, the country’s success in raising the number of wild tigers is undeniable. To better understand the triumphs, setbacks, and hurdles ahead for tiger conservation, we spoke to Dr Rajesh Gopal, secretary general of the Global Tiger Forum, who was associated with Project Tiger for 35 years. Excerpts:

We celebrated 50 years of Project Tiger in 2023. Is 3,167 a good number to be at, given where we started?

Of course, yes! Wild tigers in India have been literally resurrected under Project Tiger and placed on an assured path of recovery.

I remember during the formative years, prior to the launch of Project Tiger, a countrywide assessment was done by the late S.R. Choudhury using pugmarks, and the number stood at 1,857. From nine reserves in 1973 to 53 in 2023, both tiger habitats and tiger population have grown vis-à-vis the inherent biological carrying capacity of habitat.

Project Tiger put India on the global map in terms of species conservation. What made it different from other conservation initiatives launched in the country?

Project Tiger is an “ecological umbrella species scheme”. By investing in the tiger (which is a multidimensional surrogate indicator of biodiversity and human well-being), we save the entire gamut of ecosystem. This happens because the tiger is at the apex of the ecological food chain.

Over the years, what threats to the tiger have reduced and which new ones have emerged?

Over the vicissitude of time, numerous threats and stressors, natural and anthropogenic, have been addressed. There is in nature, especially while handling an in-situ conservation project, never a “zero stress moment”. The ever-ongoing landscape level transformation (forest-rural-urban) is a global reality, to which no country is an exception. Such transformations result in a multitude of heterogeneous land uses in tiger reserves that need to be addressed in an ongoing manner. Broadly, landscapes of tiger range countries have an agro-pastoral-infrastructure stress continuum which keeps evolving vis-à-vis the important developmental agenda of a nation, warranting actions in an ongoing manner.

Is there a tiger reserve that has done particularly good work when it comes to conservation?

Certainly. There are quite a few tiger reserves that have excelled and stand out as flagships of Project Tiger. They have been globally acclaimed. To name a few… Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Satpura, Pench, Sanjay-Dubri (Madhya Pradesh); Corbett (Uttarakhand); Dudhwa (Uttar Pradesh); Ranthambhore (Rajasthan); Tadoba-Andhari (Maharashtra); Bandipur, Nagarhole (Karnataka); Periyar (Kerala); Mudumalai (Tamil Nadu); Kaziranga (Assam); and Pakke (Arunachal Pradesh).

After great success initially, Project Tiger has had mixed results. Most of India’s tigers are today concentrated in increasingly isolated pockets of highly productive habitats. Why is it so?

I would not view this as a mixed result, but rather a positive outcome. Because of Project Tiger, the source populations have been secured which are discernible as concentrated tiger pockets with a high turnover (large number of births and deaths). The radial spread is discernible through gene porosity, fostered by the “inclusive” co-occurrence agenda of peripheral buffer and corridor linkages, as provided for in reserve specific tiger conservation plans (a statutory requirement).

Can this eventually lead to genetic isolation?

Not at all. There are no such insular pockets leading to reproductive isolation. However, corridor linkages between some source areas are weak, warranting focused mitigation/safeguards and active management in human-dominated landscapes to avoid interface conflicts.

But overall, the movement ecology of the tiger is interesting: Kanha to Pench-Nagarjunsagar; Tadoba to Nagzira; Ranthambore to Sheopur; Corbett to Rajaji and terai arc areas; Bandhavgarh to Sanjay; Kanha to Achanakmar; Panna to Sanjay; and Valmiki to Chitwan in Nepal.

In India, some tiger reserves have reached their population limits. Can translocation help build more viable tiger populations across the country?

Yes, several tiger reserves are nearing their inherent biological carrying capacity. Of course, active management through translocation is useful and is also happening.

It was expected that protections to the tiger would also protect the areas they live in. But according to a 2019 study, Extensive vegetation browning and drying in forests of India’s Tiger Reserves, there has been a decline in habitat quality.

I do not agree with this. An independent study done by Indian Institute of Forest Management has highlighted the sustainable ecosystem services accruing to the society from tiger forests. The improved habitat has brought in several tangible and intangible gains, viz. carbon sequestration, sustainability of ecosystem services, livelihood options to locals, and zoonotic buffering against pandemic.

India’s commendable efforts to expand its protected areas and tiger reserves are undermined by an excessive fixation on tiger numbers. Should the metric be broadened to include more qualitative aspects of conservation?

The Tiger Vision (Tiger@2047) views the tiger as a “multidimensional index” of biodiversity and human well-being, in sync with the Convention on Biological Diversity targets. The tiger is a mascot of: livelihood, sustainable development, climate goals, biodiversity, model for securing green investments, and an umbrella species for securing ecosystem services.

But is our focus on iconic species such as tigers and elephants enough to protect our biodiversity?

In the contemporary scenario globally, there are no parallels in the context. Our efforts need to be ongoing, owing to the landscape-level transformations on account of anthropogenic and environmental stochastic factors.

Does India’s conservation ideology need a radical shift from a strictly protectionist to a more inclusive one?

We do not have a protectionist approach. Rather, our approach is a mix of “exclusive tiger agenda” in core areas complemented by an equally aggressive “co-occurrence agenda” in peripheral buffer and beyond to ensure gains to people from conservation.

What needs to be done next so that the tiger continues to thrive in India for the next 50 years?

The “Amrit Kaal Ka Tiger Vision” (Tiger@2047), released by our Hon’ble Prime Minister to mark five decades of Project Tiger, provides the roadmap for the future.