50 Years of The World’s Most Successful Conservation Initiative

published research has raised several concerns about the genetic diversity of tiger populations due to inbreeding. It is also worrisome that due to international illegal trade, about 2359 tiger parts have been seized globally from 2000 to 2018.

The completion of 50 years of Project Tiger in India is an opportunity to assess the progress made to date and identify issues that will need to be addressed in the future. Our success in combining conservation and livelihoods over the coming years will determine whether India can continue to lead the world in wildlife conservation and serve as an example for other nations.

There are fewer than 5,000 tigers left in the wild today. Some estimates put this number at 4,981. Despite the lack of accurate counting methods, cameratrap identifications are considered the most trustworthy. Today, India is home to over 75 per cent of the world's tiger population. Although there was a local extinction of the tiger population in Sariska, it has bounced back dramatically. April 1st, 1973, there were only 30 tigers in Rajasthan. Today, there are over 100.

The former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, played a crucial role in making the project successful thanks to her political will, leadership, and broad vision for conservation. Dr Karan Singh also played an important role, and Kailash Sankhala, as the first director of the project, was able to bring top-class management and coordination and oversaw the excellent implementation of the project's goals.

In generating the scientific evidence base over the past 50 years, approximately 3,100 research papers have been published in the best journals worldwide. Noteworthy among these are the works by Q. Qureshi, K. Shankar, D.G. Miquelle, S.P. Goyal, J.L.D. Smith, U.K. Karanth, D. Liu, D.W. McDonald, G. Jiang, J.M. Goodrich, P. Nigam, E.C. Ramsey, B. Habib, M. Linkie, J. Seidensticker, R. Singh, M. Zhang, and many others. Valmik Thapar has shared his anecdotes, insights and photographs in several books, and in recent years, the works by R. Krishnamurthy and B. Habib have also been noteworthy. While it is not possible to name every practitioner whose work has been important in the field, H.S. Panwar, Rajesh Gopal, Damodar Prasad Tiwari, Amar Singh Parihar, S.V. Lovlekar, Saroj Raj Chowdhary, P.K. Sen, Fateh Singh Rathore, Ramesh Chandra Sharma, S.M. Hasan, R.N. Mehrotra, and Virendra Kumar Melkani have all played important roles in implementation. Above all, every Forest Guard, Assistant Forester, Forester, and Forest Range Officer posted in all these Tiger Reserves dedicated their whole lives wholeheartedly to conservation. They all deserve the highest respect for their contribution. Their efforts are unforgettable and will remain so. The tiger species and accompanying biodiversity will remain indebted to them all.

At present, the total area of India's 53 Tiger Reserves is 75,796 sq km. This does not include the area of the proposed Dholpur Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. These areas are crucial for tiger conservation, biodiversity, and the local economy. For instance, a study by the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal about Ranthambore, a tiger reserve located at the junction of the Aravalli and Vindhyachal mountain ranges in Rajasthan, shows that the reserve holds a stock of carbon and wood worth 49.2 billion rupees. This core deposit generates an annual flow of ` 8.3 billion in goods and services. Currently, every rupee spent on managing the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve yields a benefit strengthens the livelihoods of local villagers. To achieve this, the business houses associated with the tourism and hospitality industry must provide maximum employment to local people. ing. Recruitment, training, and allocation of resources to new staff are therefore necessary. flow of approximately 273 (US$4.117) to people both within and outside the reserve. The ecosystem services provided by the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve are estimated to have an annual value of 8,319.17 million (US$125.478 million). Despite being important, the flow of benefits and a significant portion of the stock remain unaccounted for as it does not enter into market transactions. Now, an important question is what to do next. There are vital actions that must be initiated.

Two, state governments should provide proper compensation for damages caused to crops, life and property of people living around tiger reserves and other protected areas. The conflict between humans and wildlife is on the rise, and problems such as the loss of crops by wild animals, depredation of livestock, and attacks on human beings must be effectively and sustainably addressed. While a system of compensation exists, it is insufficient. Increasing compensation and providing employment to families who may have lost their family members are necessary to reduce anger-induced retaliation against wildlife.

Six, in areas where forests have been degraded, it is necessary to remove all factors causing forest degradation before starting restoration. Grazing, illicit harvesting, encroachment, fire, poaching, and deforestation are rampant in many areas. Since poverty is at the root of many of these factors, strengthening livelihoods is crucial to achieving success.

One, for each protected area, we must ensure that income from tourism meaningfully

Three, village settlements inside the protected areas are among the most important management issue today. People and parks can co-exist, but prerequisites under which such relationships sustain are nonexistent in a majority of protected areas. As long as a large number of villages continue to live and exploit already severely-stressed ecosystems deep inside the forests, wildlife has no chance of long-term survival. Therefore, voluntary village relocation shall remain a priority.

Four, developing corridors between protected areas is vitally essential for the dispersal of animals to new and safe habitats. Efforts to increase the tiger population through translocation in protected areas where

Seven, a large-scale rewilding of empty forests, devoid of a prey base for tigers and other carnivores, can also bring significant success in the field of conservation. This will require investing heavily in trophic rewilding, food-chain complexity, addressing the stochastic disturbance, provisioning of dispersal corridors, and integration of ecological processes across the landscape. Rewilding is a knowledge-intensive journey. Because of the limits to our knowledge and time, we all depend on the expertise of others as well. For example, managing forests, wildlife and protected areas is a technically sophisticated subject, and therefore society employs and relies on experts to manage forests, wildlife and nature reserves. Learn to be humble, and accept your limits, for not everyone can become everything! The litmus test is if the person meets at least one of the two criteria: possession of 'exceptional and relevant knowledge' acquired by "doing science" OR possession of 'exceptional and relevant knowledge' acquired through "long-term work experience with direct responsibility" (i.e., actual management work, and not merely random observations without responsibility to manage systematically).

Dr Deep Narayan Pandey is in the Indian Forest Service; was awarded the highest national honour in forestry—the IPVM Award for the year 1994 and; the Dhanvantari Award of the Department of Ayurveda, Government of Rajasthan for his exceptional contributions to Ayurveda. He has more than 38 years of experience working with national and international organizations. The views expressed here are personal and principle of the Global Common Good. They do not in any way represent the views of the institution or service to which the author belongs.