Project Tiger – National Tiger Conservation Authority

As the population of the tiger is declining with time, we must take preventive actions to save them from becoming extinct. Various endeavors are being made to monitor their sort, and Project Tiger is a critical drive designated at tiger preservation in India.

The Tigers’ habitat should indeed be improved, and any tree clearance in the region should be prevented. As the national animal of India, it is our responsibility to properly protect wildlife. Many measures undertaken by India have resulted in a reduction in tiger depletion.

Many conservation zones were established to ensure that no human may enter the area and cause harm to the tiger or other wildlife. Project Tiger was launched on April 1, 1973, and it is still active today.

The goal of this endeavor is to conserve tigers. Under Indira Gandhi’s guidance, the much-needed initiative was begun at Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand. The Project Tiger goals were clear: to keep Royal Bengal Tigers from becoming extinct.

Project Tiger success

It has not been an easy path to increase the tiger habitat. The tiger population was just one thousand and two hundred in the 1970s, as shown in a recent census, it has risen to five thousand. There has been a 33% increase in population in the previous eight years. This tells a lot about the government’s efforts as well as that of the national parks. While the remainder of the world is searching for ways of expanding the number of tigers, India has as of now accomplished achievements through Project Tiger.

With hunting grounds into tiger reserves, India has demonstrated its ability to conserve wildlife in general. Authorities have also amended the forest and wildlife legislation. Any form of illicit animal trade has been outlawed. Human intercession isn’t allowed in any of the stores or woodlands.

Therefore for Tigers to hunt, reside, and survive, a suitable environment has been constructed. This initiative has been dubbed the “Most Successful Project” by the international community. The next population count will take place in 2019, as well as the number reported will be a measure of success.

The government’s Project Tiger challenges include

Any promising idea must deal with a great deal of strain and overcome several hurdles. Numerous government officials’ efforts and attention are required to make Project Tiger a successful piece of work. It is difficult to remove hunting zones off the market in very old times. Many public objected to this and voiced their anger. Nonetheless, the project went ahead. Poaching was another important issue. Many people used to trade tiger bones and skin to foreign markets. This is a big selling for them, and made heavy money from it.

The initiative is currently ongoing and will continue until the tigers are removed from the list of endangered animals. Regardless of all project’s efforts, they will unable to stop the unlawful trade in creature skins. Individuals used to violate the law to sell them to overseas purchasers.

This resulted in the extinction of tigers. Government authorities enacted severe legislation to address the issue. During the construction of sanctuaries as well as reserves, the local people residing there encountered a dilemma and, as a result, spoke out against it.

They drafted a Forest Rights Act outlining their difficulties. They wished to have room for them also and did not want to leave their current location.

Project Tiger’s contribution to employment

As the project’s effectiveness grew, there was a greater need for human assistance. Every facet of it provided employment, from establishing national parks to managing them.

When the lands were turned into national parks, ordinary laborers were given jobs. And, as the project continues to grow, there will always be a need for labor. Aside from that, the region must be planned by builders and architects. The Project Tiger makes it a point to hire the best employee, new or old.

After the construction is completed and the species has been relocated, the national parks must be managed. Every state has its conservation squad. Managers, supervisors, and workers were hired for that team.

A marketing staff was engaged to make people understand the significance of Project Tiger and also to make them understand the gravity of the situation. Posters, banners, television advertising, and social media all contributed to the spread of the message.

The primary area

  • It must be legally formed as well as provide long-term conservation for the landforms, ecosystems, and species contained within it.
  • It should be large enough to meet these conservation goals.
  • Because nature has never been uniform, and because historical land-use limits exist in many places of the world, a single biosphere reserve may include numerous core areas to ensure an agent coverage of a medley of environmental systems.
  • The central zone must be kept free of any extraneous human forces.

A zone or zones of buffering

  • It might be a clearly defined zone that surrounds or is adjacent to the core region. Activities are arranged here such that they do not interfere with the core area’s conservation aims, but rather contribute to protecting them.
  • It is frequently used as a testing ground for new ideas on how to manage vegetation cover, croplands, woods, and fisheries, for example, to boost high-quality output while preserving natural processes as well as biodiversity, especially soil resources, to the greatest extent feasible. To investigate methods for rehabilitating damaged regions.
  • It might house educational, training, tourist, and recreation institutions.

NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority)

On April 1, 1973, the Indian government began “Project Tiger” to encourage tiger conservation. Project Tiger has always been the nation’s biggest species conservation program of its sort. While the project States are in charge of the field implementation, protection, as well as management in the assigned reserves, as well as offering the matching grant to regularly happening things of use, conveying field staff/officials, and paying their wages, the Project Tiger Directorate of the Ministry of Environment and Forests was engaged with giving specialized help just as financing support.

Over the years, the execution of Project Tiger has underlined the necessity for a governmental authority with legal support to safeguard tiger protection. A Task Force was formed to investigate the difficulties of tiger conservation inside the country, based on recommendations of the National Board for Wild Life, which is led by the Honorable Prime Minister.

The Task Force’s proposals include, among other things, bolstering Project Tiger by granting it statutory and administrative authority, as well as establishing the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.

It has also proposed that an annual report be given to the Central Government for laying before Parliament, so that all the commitment to Project Tiger is evaluated regularly, in addition to addressing regional people’s concerns. The following are the Task Force’s urgent suggestions:

  • Reviving the governance constitution. Increasing efforts to safeguard tigers, combat poaching, punish wildlife offenders, and disrupt the worldwide trade network in animal body parts including derivatives.
  • By lessening human pressure, undisturbed places for tigers can be expanded.
  • Repair the connection with the locals who share the tigers’ habitat by developing cohabitation techniques.
  • Regenerate forest ecosystems on the outskirts of tigers’ protected enclaves by investing in people’s forest, river, and grassland economies.
  • Given the gravity of the issue, Project Tiger was transformed into a statutory authority (NTCA) by inserting enabling elements into the Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972 via an amendment, namely the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act of 2006. It is one of the Prime Minister’s urgent recommendations to the Tiger Task Force.

The NTCA addresses both ecological and administrative problems for tiger conservation by establishing a statutory framework for tiger reserve preservation, as well as increased institutional processes for the protection of environmentally sensitive regions and endangered species.

The Authorities also oversee the enforcement and surveillance of tiger conservation principles, as well as the installation of motivated and trained personnel with a proven track record as Field Directors of tiger reserves. Besides a time-bound staff development project, it also allows the capacity building of officers and personnel assigned in tiger reserves.

The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006 went into effect on September 4, 2006, and the NTCA was established on the same day.

Conclusion

Humans are the primary cause of their decline, hence all conservation zones have been designated human-free. They ensured that the tigers’ habitat was similarly safe and secure. Project Tiger has so far been effective in boosting the tiger population. The figure has risen from 1200 to over 5000. The project crew has worked tirelessly,  and all national parks are working hard to complete the project.

This initiative involves over fifty national parks and sanctuaries. There were several challenges in the project, such as poaching and the Forest Rights Act, but the government managed them all properly, and the project is now fully operational. Thus project Tiger is an important project to save our wildlife. Various efforts taken by the government are impressive and lead to the main objective of the project.

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