Analysis of tiger conservation in Project Tiger Reserves

Abstract

A review is presented of the establishment in India, since the 1970s, of nature reserves under the aegis of Project Tiger. Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) habitat covers many forest types in India, from thorn, dry and moist deciduous, semi-evergreen and evergreen forests of Assam, Western Ghats (to altitude 2500 m), the outer Himalaya (to altitude 1200 m), as well as mangrove forests of Sunderban. All these habitats are very fragmented, many reserve areas have no corridors or strips linking forest fragments. Estimates are given of tiger populations, and the impact of Project Tiger activities on long-term trends in tiger numbers is discussed.