Tiger Deaths, Tiger Conservation status and Protection Measures in India

The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched Project Tiger in 1973 for protecting tigers in the country’s national parks.

Table of Contents

NTCA Report on Tiger Deaths- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 3: Environment- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation;

NTCA Report on Tiger Deaths- Context

Recently, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) recorded the highest tiger deaths in 2021 since it began collecting the data for the same a decade ago.

NTCA Report on Tiger Deaths- Key Findings

Highest Tiger Deaths in a Year: The National Tiger Conservation Authority recorded 126 tiger deaths in the year 2021, the highest in the last decade.
State-wise Tiger Deaths: As per NTCA findings, Madhya Pradesh at the maximum tiger deaths is followed by 26 in Maharashtra and 14 in Karnataka.
Causes of Tiger Deaths: Tiger deaths are under the scrutiny of the state as well as the NCTA.
- NCTA said that there can be numerous causes for death as the population of tigers is huge and a standard operating procedure (SoP) is followed to ascertain the reasons.

Sunderban Tiger Reserve: Tigers Reaching Carrying Capacity

Tigers in India- Conservation Status

Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Tigers are listed under Schedule I of the WLP Act.
IUCN Red List: Tigers are listed under the ‘Endangered’ category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
CITES: Tigers are globally protected under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Tiger Conservation Efforts in India- Key Government Efforts

Project Tiger: The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched Project Tiger in 1973 for protecting tigers in the country’s national parks.
- Project Tiger is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Environment Ministry.
Establishment of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA): It was established in 2005 based on recommendations of the Tiger Task Force.
- Legal Status: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
- Parent Legislation: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established as per enabling provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 by amending it in 2006.
M-STrIPES Initiative: M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) is an NTCA initiative that provides a mobile monitoring system for forest guards.
‘T X 2’ initiative of the Petersburg Tiger Summit: India achieved the target of doubling the tiger population (‘T X 2’ Slogan) four years ahead of schedule (2022) of the St. Petersburg Declaration on tiger conservation.