Union Environment Minister Bhupinder Yadav on Sunday inaugurated a national workshop on tiger reintroduction and issued three publications on tiger conservation and the leopard project in Alwar district of Rajasthan.
The event was held to mark the 18th anniversary of the reintroduction of tigers into the Sariska Tiger Reserve in the state.
Yadav described the Sariska tiger reintroduction program as a historic milestone in wildlife conservation, noting that the area has gone from zero in 2008 to 56 currently. He said that the project represents the first successful scientific reintroduction of tigers in the world to an area where this species has become locally extinct. Across the country, the number of tiger reserves has increased from 46 to 58 in the past decade.
Addressing the workshop, the minister said that tiger conservation is not just about protecting one species, but about preserving forests, watersheds and the rich biodiversity that shares the tiger’s habitat. “Sariska today is a global example of success in species recovery and provides valuable lessons for future conservation initiatives,” he said, noting that India has also succeeded in achieving the St. Petersburg Declaration’s target of doubling wild tiger numbers by 2022. He said the successful reintroduction of tigers in Panna and Sariska was possible due to the support and participation of local communities, but similar success could not be achieved in Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Odisha due to lack of community support.
“The success of the Cheetah Project has been largely driven by the active participation of local communities,” he said.
According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the latest national assessment estimates there will be 3,682 (3,167-3,925) tigers in India in 2022, accounting for nearly 70% of the world’s wild tiger population.
Yadav also said that the government is working on an integrated management plan for all tiger reserves in the country, which will focus on coordination and addressing issues such as land encroachment. “Our priority is to ensure that our tigers are protected, our forests remain green and healthy, and local communities continue to thrive. We are working on an integrated management plan for tiger reserves, which will include working with different departments,” the minister said, adding that this will require coordination between forest departments, police, municipal bodies, railways, tourism department and civil society as well. In landscapes where the distribution of tigers and elephants overlap, emphasis must be placed on maintaining and enhancing landscape connectivity, he added.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Union Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with the state government, organized the workshop titled ‘Tiger Reintroduction: Opportunities and Challenges’, bringing together field managers, senior wildlife rangers and wildlife experts from across India’s tiger landscape to deliberate on science-based strategies for tiger reintroduction and their active management.
Since 2008, India has undertaken scientifically designed tiger recovery interventions across twelve natural and protected areas.
Yadav has also launched three publications: Roadmap on Active Tiger Management in India, Handbook on Tiger Reintroduction and Recovery in India, and Project Cheetah Annual Report (September 2024-December 2025).
The publications highlight the key work being done on the reintroduction of tigers and leopards into the Indian landscape. She said that in addition to Sariska, the reintroduction of tigers into MP’s Panna Tiger Reserve has risen from zero in 2009 to 88 tigers currently; From eight (2013) to 24 tigers currently in MP Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve; and from zero (2018) to 30 in the MP’s Virangana Tiger Reserve; From 16 before 2024 to 32 currently in Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha to name a few.
“The success of Sariska and Panna demonstrated the potential of reintroduction programs when the causes responsible for the decline in tiger numbers are addressed before intervention. In both cases, the disappearance of tigers was not due to a complete loss of habitat suitability. Instead, factors such as poaching and inadequate protection were the main drivers of the decline. Once these issues were identified and management interventions were strengthened, the reintroduced populations were able to reproduce and multiply,” the key field trials and educational bulletins said, adding that not all attempts to reintroduce tigers yielded results. Similar results.
“Global experience with carnivore reintroduction programs also shows that recovery efforts can fail when environmental or social conditions are not appropriately addressed before release,” she added.
In its annual Cheetah Project Report for 2025, the government meanwhile stated that the current number of cheetahs across the country stands at 53, including 13 adults, 17 sub-adults and 23 cubs. These are located across Kuno National Park (NP) and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) in MP.
The workshop included technical sessions on habitat restoration, prey augmentation, wildlife relocation, landscape connectivity, monitoring protocols and active management strategies. Participants shared experiences from tiger reintroduction programs in Sariska, Panna and other tiger reserves, while reserves experiencing tiger shortages presented preparedness and future recovery strategies.
