'tiger reserves, which are representative of various bio- geographical regions within the country. Is committed to maintaining a viable population of tigers in the wild. An estimate of the population of tigers in India at the turn of the century, placed the figure of 40,000.
Subsequently, the first tiger census in India was conducted in 1972 revealed the existence of only 1827 tigers. various pressures in the second half of last century led to the gradual decrease in the desert, destroying vital habitat of the tiger.
At the meeting of the IUCN General
Assembly in New Delhi in 1969, serious concerns have been expressed about the threat to many species of wildlife and the shrinkage of natural areas of the country. In
1970 a national ban on tiger hunting was imposed in 1972 and the
Wildlife Protection Act came into force. A task force was then established to formulate a plan for tiger conservation with an ecological approach. The project was launched in 1973, and the tiger reserves were created in the country on a strategy of "core- buffer". The main sectors were exempted from any kind of human activity and buffer zones have been subjected to "land use to conserve."
Management plans were developed for each tiger reserve, based on the principles set out below:
1. Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and biotic disturbance from the central and rationalization of activities in the buffer zone.
2. Restricting the habitat management only to repair the damage caused to the eco-system by human interference and the other in order to facilitate the recovery of the ecosystem to its natural state.
3. Monitor changes in flora and fauna over time and conduct research on wildlife.
Initially, 9 tiger reserves were established in different States