Delhi announces three new reserves in central and eastern states following survey result that showed 30% rise in tiger population

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

India is planning to create three more tiger reserves in the country, environment minister Prakash Javadekar announced in the parliament on Tuesday. The development comes in the wake of a recent survey that showed that the tiger population is rising.

The new reserves will be created in central and eastern India – in national parks in Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Orissa – taking the total number of tiger reserves in the country to 50.

Villagers will no longer be allowed to live or work while buffer zones will be established around them.

“We will be adding three more reserves taking the number to 50,” said HS Negi, inspector general of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, better known as Project Tiger..

“Reserves have proved to play an important role in the conservation of tigers,” he said.

India currently has 39,000 sq km (15,000 sq m) under tiger reserves across 18 states. Another 30,000 sq km are designated as buffer zones, where villagers are allowed to live.

India announced in January that 2,226 tigers had been counted across the country, a 30% increase in the population from 2010, when the figure was 1,706.

At the beginning of the 20th century, India was home to an estimated 100,000 tigers but widespread hunting reduced the numbers to 1,411 in 2006.

India is home to half of the world’s tiger population and faces intense international scrutiny over its conservation efforts.

Authorities across Asia are waging a major battle against poachers, who often sell tiger body parts to the lucrative traditional Chinese medicine market, as well as other man-made problems such as habitat loss.