International Tiger Day 2025
Source: ET
Context: India is celebrating International Tiger Day 2025 on July 29, highlighting its achievement of housing 75% of the world’s wild tigers across 58 reserves.
About International Tiger Day 2025:
- What is it?
- A global awareness day observed annually on July 29, aiming to raise awareness about tiger protection and habitat conservation.
- Established in: 2010, during the Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia, with participation from 13 tiger-range countries, including India.
- Key Features:
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- Platform to highlight threats like habitat loss, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict.
- Monitors progress on the Tx2 Goal—to double wild tiger populations by 2022.
- Celebrates efforts made by countries in increasing tiger numbers and protecting forests.
- India’s Tiger Conservation Journey:
- Project Tiger (Launched in 1973):
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- Started with 9 reserves, expanded to 58 tiger reserves.
- Governed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
- Reserves now cover 2% of India’s land area.
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- Major Achievements:
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- Doubled tiger population: From ~1,400 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2024.
- Achieved the global Tx2 target ahead of schedule.
- Tigers occupy 138,200 sq. km of forest shared with ~60 million people.
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- Ecological Significance:
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- Tigers regulate herbivore populations, preserving forest balance.
- Healthy tiger habitats support biodiversity, improve climate resilience, and act as carbon sinks.
- Forests act as water catchments, helping nearby agriculture and communities.
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- India’s Role in Global Conservation:
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- Contributes 75% of world’s tiger population, while holding only 18% of global tiger habitat.
- India’s model, combining scientific management, legal protection, and community participation, is emulated by other tiger-range nations.
