9 April 2023

• Environment: Prime Minister Modi visited Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka on 9 April to mark Project Tiger's 50th anniversary and released the 2022 tiger census data.
• Conservation milestone: India's tiger population rose from 2,967 in 2018 to 3,167 in 2022, a 6.7 per cent compound annual growth rate.
• Policy: The International Big Cat Alliance was launched to protect seven big cat species globally, with India committing $100 million over five years.
• Good Friday: The date coincides with Good Friday. InsightsOnIndia does not publish on national holidays; this page draws on dedicated event coverage.

GS area: Environment (Wildlife conservation), Geography

Prime Minister Modi chose Bandipur Tiger Reserve to announce the results of the fifth tiger census, formally titled the "Status of Tigers in India 2022" report.

• Project Tiger launch: The project was launched on 1 April 1973 at Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand. India had fewer than 1,800 tigers at that point. Today it has the largest wild tiger population in the world.
• 2022 census figures: 3,167 tigers as the minimum population estimate (camera-trap surveys sometimes produce a range; 3,682 is cited as an alternative total including extrapolated estimates from unsampled areas).
• Growth trajectory:

• State-wise leaders: Madhya Pradesh has the highest tiger count (785), followed by Karnataka (563) and Uttarakhand (560).
• Nilgiri landscape: The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (which includes Bandipur, Nagarhole, Mudumalai and Wayanad) holds the largest contiguous tiger population in the world.
• Methodology: India uses camera traps across the tiger reserve landscape, supplemented by pug mark surveys and occupancy modelling in areas where camera density is lower.

Static linkage: Wildlife conservation, Indian geography, biodiversity.

GS area: Environment (Conservation), International Relations

PM Modi announced the launch of the International Big Cat Alliance on 9 April 2023.

• Target species: Seven big cats: tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar and puma. India is home to five of these seven: tiger, lion (Gir), leopard, snow leopard (Himalayan range) and cheetah (reintroduced in Kuno National Park in 2022).
• India's commitment: India pledged $100 million (approximately Rs 800 crore) over five years as seed funding for the alliance.
• Headquarters: The alliance secretariat is proposed to be based in India.
• Why this matters: Tiger and big cat ranges cross national borders. Transboundary conservation requires coordination between India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Russia and China for tigers alone. The IBCA provides a platform for this.
• Other launches on the day: PM Modi also released management effectiveness evaluation reports for India's 52 Tiger Reserves, ranking each on criteria including habitat integrity, anti-poaching measures and human-wildlife conflict management. Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala ranked highest.

Static linkage: Big cat conservation, India's wildlife policy, transboundary conservation.

GS area: Environment (Legislation, Governance)

For prelims, the legal framework around Project Tiger is as important as the census numbers.

• Wildlife Protection Act 1972: The primary law. Chapter IVB of the Act (inserted in 2006) created the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Sections 38O to 38Y deal with tiger reserves specifically.
• National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA): Statutory body under the WPA 1972. Chaired by the Minister of Environment. Approves the creation of Tiger Reserves, sets standards, and oversees management effectiveness evaluations.
• Tiger Reserve designation: A Tiger Reserve comprises a Core/Critical Tiger Habitat (where no human activity is permitted) and a buffer zone (where limited livelihood activities continue). Core zones cannot be diverted for any commercial purpose without NTCA clearance.
• Critical Tiger Habitat: Identified under Section 38V of the WPA 1972. Once notified, no activities that affect tiger survival are permitted. No exceptions. This is stronger than the forest diversion standard under the Forest Conservation Act.
• Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats: The central scheme that funds Project Tiger since 2008. It merged the original Project Tiger scheme with Project Elephant and other wildlife programmes.

Static linkage: Wildlife Protection Act, NTCA, forest law.

GS area: Environment (Wildlife), Geography

The IBCA announcement brought renewed attention to India's cheetah reintroduction programme.

• Background: Cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952. PM Modi introduced eight cheetahs from Namibia at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on 17 September 2022. A second batch of 12 cheetahs arrived from South Africa in February 2023.
• Kuno National Park: Located in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh. It was previously proposed as a site for Asiatic lion reintroduction (Gir lions in Gujarat are the world's only wild Asiatic lion population). The Supreme Court had ordered lion reintroduction to Kuno but this did not proceed.
• The distinction: The cheetah being reintroduced is the African Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). The historical Indian cheetah was the Asiatic Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), which is critically endangered and found only in Iran. This distinction has been flagged by ecologists as a concern about the reintroduction's ecological authenticity.
• Early mortality: Several cheetahs died in the months after reintroduction. The government and NTCA maintained that some mortality is expected in wild animal reintroduction programmes.

Static linkage: Cheetah reintroduction, Kuno National Park, wildlife corridors.

GS area: History (World history), International Relations

9 April 2023 is Good Friday. The date is significant in the context of Northern Ireland's peace process.

• The Good Friday Agreement: Signed on 10 April 1998 between the British and Irish governments and political parties in Northern Ireland, ending 30 years of conflict known as "The Troubles" (3,500+ deaths). In 2023 the agreement marked its 25th anniversary.
• The Troubles: A period of ethnic and political violence primarily between unionists/loyalists (who wanted Northern Ireland to remain in the United Kingdom) and nationalists/republicans (who sought a united Ireland).
• Key provisions: Northern Ireland remains in the UK but citizens can hold dual British-Irish nationality. A power-sharing executive gives both communities representation. A planned referendum on Irish unification is possible if a majority favours it.
• 2023 status: US President Biden visited Belfast on 11-12 April 2023 to mark the anniversary. Brexit created new complications over the Northern Ireland Protocol/Windsor Framework and the land border with the Republic of Ireland.

Static linkage: World history, post-conflict governance, European politics.

• Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary: An Arunachal Pradesh proposal to upgrade the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary to a Tiger Reserve was in process. The sanctuary is home to the Idu Mishmi tribe, which has traditional conservation beliefs about tigers.
• Periyar Tiger Reserve: Ranked as the best-managed Tiger Reserve in India in the management effectiveness evaluation released on April 9.
• PM Tiger Census ceremony: The event at Bandipur was attended by state chief ministers and conservation officials, signalling the political priority accorded to tiger conservation as a prestige programme.