Context: The awe-inspiring tiger is one of the most iconic animals on Earth. The tiger population across the world dropped sharply since the beginning of the 20th century but now for the first time in conservation history, their numbers are on the rise. In good news for India, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday said the country has 70 percent of the world's tiger population, after releasing a report on tiger census ahead of International Tiger Day on July 29. Global Tiger Day, also called the International Tiger Day, is an annual event marked to raise awareness for tiger conservation. It is observed every year on July 29. It was started in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit, with the aim to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and raise awareness among people on why tiger conservation must be supported.
About St. Petersburg declaration

• With 2,967 tigers, India, four years in advance, has achieved the target set in the 2010 St Petersburg Declaration of doubling tiger population by 2022. India had around 1,400 tigers in 2006.
• The Heads of the Governments of Tiger Range countries at St. Petersburg, Russia, had resolved to double tiger numbers across their global range by 2022 by signing the St. Petersburg declaration on tiger conservation.
• During the same meeting it was also decided to celebrate 29th July as Global Tiger Day across the world, which is since being celebrated to spread and generate awareness on tiger conservation.

Global Scenario

• Around 3,900 tigers remain in the wild across the globe, according to World Wildlife Fund (WWF). 
• Since the beginning of the 20th century, over 95% of the world's tiger population is lost. 
• A WWF report says that about a 100 years ago, there may have been over 100,000 tigers that roam in the planet.

National Scenario

• The national tiger status assessment of 2018-19 estimated the overall tiger population in India at 2,967 - 33% increase from 2014 (2,226).
• The 2018 census (once in every four years) has set a Guinness record for being the largest camera-trap wildlife survey.
• Tigers were observed to be increasing at a rate of 6% per annum in India from 2006 to 2018.
• The largest contiguous tiger population in the world of about 724 tigers was found in the Western Ghats (Nagarhole-Bandipur-Wayanad-Mudumalai- Sathyamangalam- Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple block).

Regional Scenario

• Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tigers at 526, closely followed by Karnataka (524) and Uttarakhand (442).
• The Northeast has suffered losses in population. Further, the tiger status in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha has steadily declined, which is a matter of concern.
• Out of 50 tiger reserves in the country, three reserves - Mizoram’s Dampa reserve, Bengal’s Buxa reserve and Jharkhand’s Palamau reserve - have no tigers left.
• Corbett Tiger Reserve (Uttrakhand) had the largest population of tigers at about 231 in 2018.
• India’s Project Tiger was launched in 1973 with 9 tiger reserves.

Importance of Tigers

• Since the tiger is an “umbrella species”, its conservation enables the conservation of their entire ecosystems. 
• Several studies have shown that Tiger reserves harbour new species, which are found practically every year. 
• Tiger reserves have also improved the water regimes in regions where they are located, improving groundwater tables and other water bodies, thus contributing favourably to the climate.

Importance of World Tiger Day

• This year marks the tenth International Tiger Day. On International Tiger Day, several countries discuss issues related to tiger conservation and also try to amass funds for wildlife preservation. 
• Moreover, many celebrities also pitch in for International Tiger Day and try to spread awareness about the conditions of tigers using their massive social media presence. 
• India is especially important for International Tiger Day 2020 as the country currently has 75% of all tigers on the planet.

Different species of tigers

• There are different species of tigers - Siberian tigers, Bengal tigers, Indochinese tigers, Malayan tigers and South China. 
• The Bengal tiger is found primarily in India with smaller populations in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar. 
• It is the most numerous of all tiger subspecies with more than 2,500 left in the wild.

5 interesting facts about tigers

• There were eight tiger subspecies at one time: These subspecies are the Bengal tiger, South China tiger, Indochinese tiger, Sumatran tiger and Siberian tiger. The three subspecies of tiger that have become extinct are - the Caspian, Bali and Javan.
• In less than 100 years ago: Hunting and habitat loss have put populations at risk, and today their range has been reduced to around 7% of its former size.
• Tigers are a keystone species: They're integral to the health of the ecosystems in which they live. As apex predators, they keep prey species under control. This protects the vegetation, which in turn maintains the integrity of streams, forests and croplands that provide people around the world with clean air, water, food and financial benefits.
• No two tigers have the same stripes. Like human fingerprints, their stripe patterns are unique to each individual. Stripes range in color from light brown to black and are not symmetrical on both sides of the body.
• Tigers are generally nocturnal hunters, but also opportunists: Their night vision is up to six-times greater than a human's. But they're also opportunists, which means they won't pass up the chance for a daytime snack when it's available.

Concerns

• Most of the populations remain confined to small Protected Areas, some of which have habitat corridors that permit tiger movement between them.
• However, most of the corridor habitats in India are degrading due to unsustainable human use and developmental projects.
• Some reserves nearing full capacity is another issue.

Government’s Response

• Tigers and other wildlife are a kind of soft power that India has to show on the international front.
• Despite several constraints such as less land mass, India has 8% of biodiversity because of its culture of saving and preserving nature, trees and its wildlife.
• India has 70% of the world's tiger population. It is tirelessly working with all 13 tiger range countries towards nurturing the tiger.
• The Government is working on a programme to provide water and fodder to animals at the forest itself to deal with the challenge of human-animal conflict that is causing the death of animals.
• For this, Lidar-based survey technology will be used for the first time.
• Lidar is a method of measuring distance by illuminating the target with laser light and measuring the reflection with a sensor.

Project Tiger and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)

• Project Tiger was launched in 1973 with 9 tiger reserves for conserving our national animal, the tiger. Currently, the Project Tiger coverage has increased to 50, spread out in 18 tiger range states.
• The tiger reserves are constituted on a core/buffer strategy. The core areas have the legal status of a national park or a sanctuary, whereas the buffer or peripheral areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land, managed as a multiple use area.
• It is an ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change providing central assistance to the tiger States for tiger conservation in designated tiger reserves.
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body of the Ministry, with an overarching supervisory/coordination role, performing functions as provided in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• The NTCA was launched in 2005, following the recommendations of the Tiger Task Force. It was given statutory status by 2006 amendment of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Road Ahead

• Several steps have been taken to protect and safetigers by better use of technology, relocation of forest dwellers in tiger reserves in the buffer zone, working with the local population, providing for compensations are some of the measures that have helped that the tigers no are more than doubled from the last six or seven years. The situation however be dynamic and we have to keep on evolving and ensuring that we have better sustainable processes in the years to come. Efforts have to be futuristic considering the new age problem; conservation should be make more dynamic.