Habitat loss key challenge in conservation: Yadav on Gloal Tiger Day

New Delhi: Habitat fragmentation and loss of prey are key challenges India will need to focus on – to expand its existing tiger population in the coming years, with an “urgent need for systemic capacity building” across all levels of conservation – a new publication, one among five new publications released by the Environment Ministry on Wednesday said

Published on: Jul 30, 2026, 08:57:38 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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New Delhi: Habitat fragmentation and loss of prey are key challenges India will need to focus on – to expand its existing tiger population in the coming years, with an “urgent need for systemic capacity building” across all levels of conservation – a new publication, one among five new publications released by the Environment Ministry on Wednesday said.

These were released by environment minister Bhupender Yadav as part of Global Tiger Day 2026 celebrations, organised by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in Delhi. The minister also launched a new eco-tourism portal for the NTCA, which integrates all tiger reserves on a single platform – allowing visitors to plan safaris and accommodation bookings.

“The stories of forests are not bare data, but also includes traditional knowledge, emotions, and passion towards wildlife conservation. It has year-long experiences of wildlife officers and conservationists,” Yadav said on Wednesday, urging forest officers to write more about wildlife conservation and share their experiences to contribute towards policy-level solutions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also posted on X on Wednesday, reaffirming India’s commitment to tiger conservation.

“Greetings to all wildlife enthusiasts on Global Tiger Day. The people of India are proud of the fact that we are home to almost 70% of the global tiger population. India’s tiger conservation efforts are inspired by our centuries-old culture of living in harmony with nature and powered by the collective will of our people. We also reaffirm our commitment to science-based conservation, community participation and sustainable development that strengthens tiger conservation,” the PM said on X.

The five publications launched, as part of India’s tiger conservation efforts, included STRIPES – the July 2026 edition of NTCA’s outreach journal; a Security Audit Report of 24 Tiger Reserves; a report on habitat suitability assessment for Sloth bears across tiger landscapes in India; Tigers of the World, published by IBCA and GTF; and ‘The Rehman Khera Tiger’ book.

STRIPES said while India’s tiger population of 3,682 -- was down to strong conservation efforts in recent years, however, long-term planning is needed for further increase in numbers.

“While the increase in tiger numbers represents a remarkable accomplishment, the future of tiger conservation requires moving beyond traditional protection measures. Across India, several landscapes continue to face challenges arising from habitat fragmentation, local extinctions, low population densities, and isolated tiger populations,” said the publication. “In many cases, protected areas possess suitable habitats and adequate prey populations but remain devoid of tigers due to loss of prey, habitat degradation, or demographic decline. Addressing these challenges requires a more proactive conservation approach— one that embraces active management as an essential tool for securing the long-term future of tigers,” it added, stating future tiger recovery programmes will require specialized expertise in habitat assessment, prey-base evaluation, population and habitat viability analysis, carrying-capacity estimation, veterinary protocols, genetics, telemetry, conflict mitigation, community engagement, and adaptive management.

“As India continues to expand active management efforts, a structured national capacity-building framework could significantly strengthen future outcomes,” it added.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More

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