Project Tiger and conservation laws

Project Tiger: a case study

By the late 1960s tiger numbers in India had fallen sharply because of hunting and habitat loss. Project Tiger was launched on 1 April 1973, at Jim Corbett National Park, with 9 tiger reserves. Each reserve has a core area free of human use and a buffer area with limited use. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was set up in 2006 through an amendment to the Wild Life (Protection) Act.

Problems included poaching for skins and bones (Sariska in Rajasthan lost all its tigers around 2004–05; tigers were reintroduced from 2008), the relocation of villages out of core areas, and human–tiger conflict. Tiger numbers are estimated every four years. The All India Tiger Estimation 2022, released in 2023 for the project’s 50th year, gave an average estimate of about 3,682 tigers, up from 2,967 in the 2018 estimate; India holds roughly three-quarters of the world’s wild tigers. Project Elephant was launched in 1992.

Main laws and rules

• Indian Forest Act, 1927: classes forests as reserved, protected and village forests.
• Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972: bans hunting of listed animals, sets up sanctuaries and national parks, lists species in Schedules (Schedule I = highest protection). The 2022 amendment reduced the Schedules to four and brought in CITES provisions.
• 42nd Amendment (1976): moved forests and wildlife to the Concurrent List; added Article 48A (state shall protect the environment) and Article 51A(g) (citizens’ duty to protect nature).
• Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980: central approval is needed before forest land is used for non-forest purposes; amended in 2023.
• Environment (Protection) Act, 1986: an umbrella law passed after the Bhopal gas tragedy (1984).
• Biological Diversity Act, 2002: set up the National Biodiversity Authority (Chennai), State Biodiversity Boards and local Biodiversity Management Committees; regulates access to biological resources and benefit sharing.
• Forest Rights Act, 2006.

Key points

• Project Tiger: 1 April 1973, 9 reserves; NTCA 2006.
• Tiger estimate 2022 (released 2023): about 3,682.
• WPA 1972; FCA 1980; EPA 1986; BDA 2002.
• Articles 48A and 51A(g) from the 42nd Amendment (1976).

Exam tips

Act–year pairs are the most common questions. Also expect “Which body was created by the Biological Diversity Act?” (NBA).

Common mistakes

• Saying Project Tiger began in 1972 (that is the Wild Life Act; the project began in 1973).
• Confusing the Forest Act 1927 with the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980.
• Calling Article 51A(g) a duty of the state; it is a duty of citizens.