Archive · 18 Nov 2025
India's Tiger Conservation: Balancing Protection and Community Rights
India's Project Tiger has saved many tigers, but it has also forced many people out of their homes.
The government should work with these people instead of pushing them out to protect tigers.
Project Tiger, launched in 1973, has expanded to 58 reserves across 18 states, protecting over 70% of the world's tigers.
The project's success has come at the cost of displacement and marginalization of forest-dwelling communities.
Over 2.5 lakh people have been displaced from tiger reserves since 1973, despite legal safeguards and constitutional protections.
Conservation efforts have been criticized for being top-down, colonial in character, and resistant to reform.
Inclusive, participatory models of conservation have shown better outcomes for both humans and wildlife.
- Who
- The Indian government, forest-dwelling communities, and conservationists
- What
- Implementing and debating Project Tiger, a conservation initiative that has led to the displacement of forest-dwelling communities
- When
- Since 1973, with ongoing debates and displacements
- Where
- In tiger reserves across 18 Indian states
- Why
- To protect tigers and their habitats, but also due to historical and ideological factors
Conservationists and Government
Forest-dwelling Communities and Advocates
Tiger Protection
Conservationists and Government
Tigers need inviolate spaces for breeding and survival, which may require relocating people.
Forest-dwelling Communities and Advocates
Relocations cause hardship and displacement, violating communities' rights and disrupting their livelihoods.
Conservation Approach
Conservationists and Government
Top-down, fortress conservation has been successful in saving tigers.
Forest-dwelling Communities and Advocates
Inclusive, participatory models are more effective and equitable, respecting communities' rights and promoting coexistence.
- Tiger Reserves
- 58 across 18 states
- Tiger Population (2022)
- 3,682
- People Displaced (1973-2021)
- 2,54,794
- Legal Framework
- Forest Rights Act, 2006; NTCA guidelines, 2008; LARR Act, 2013
