Since 2010, July 29th is celebrated as International Tiger Day across the world.

This Day owes much to the great success of Project Tiger, launched from Corbett National Park on April 1, 1973. Initially there were nine tiger reserves identified under the Project, but today there are 55.

Project Tiger became a reality only because of one woman, who was a passionate naturalist and who believed that by protecting tigers we would also preserve and enrich our rich forest ecosystems. She was helped by a number of dedicated conservationists in India and abroad – but without her personal leadership, in the midst of numerous other pressing concerns, Project Tiger would not have seen the light of day.

Many of the 55 tiger reserves are under severe threat today. Some face the vagaries of climate change while some are under pressure from ill-conceived projects being pushed through in the name of infrastructure.

~ Jairam Ramesh, MP (RS)