Govt forms expert groups to upgrade Project Tiger scheme
Context: The Union Government has constituted four expert working groups to review and modernise 50 years of policy decisions under Project Tiger, as the programme completes its golden jubilee.
About Govt forms expert groups to upgrade Project Tiger scheme:
What it is?
- Project Tiger is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Government of India focused on conserving the tiger and its habitats through a network of protected tiger reserves using a core–buffer strategy.
Launched in:
- 1973 (one of the world’s earliest large-scale species conservation programmes)
Organisations involved:
- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) – Nodal ministry
- National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) – Statutory body overseeing implementation
Aim:
- To ensure long-term survival of viable tiger populations in natural habitats.
- To conserve biodiversity and ecological integrity while balancing people-oriented development in buffer areas.
Key features of the scheme:
- Tiger Reserves Network: Expanded from 9 reserves (1973) to 51 reserves across 18 tiger-range states, covering ~2.23% of India’s geographical area
- Core–Buffer Strategy:
- Core: Inviolate areas with legal status of National Park/Sanctuary
- Buffer: Multiple-use landscapes promoting coexistence and livelihoods
- Statutory Backing: NTCA functions under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
- Financial Support: Central assistance for habitat management, protection, monitoring, and community development
- Scientific Monitoring: Periodic All-India Tiger Estimation using camera traps, landscape ecology, and prey-base assessments
What the new expert groups will do?
- Four zone-wise working groups (North, South, East, West).
- Review 28 NTCA policy decisions taken over 50 years.
- Assess tiger population trends, prey base, regional pressures.
- Identify outdated practices, gaps in Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
- Recommend future-ready policies for the next 25 years.
- Strengthen coordination between NTCA and national scientific institutions.