In News:

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the apex statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), has recently issued a clarification restricting the definition of tiger corridors to only the 32 “least cost pathways” identified in 2014 and those recorded in Tiger Conservation Plans (TCPs) of individual reserves. This excludes later studies by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) (2016, 2021) and data from the All-India Tiger Estimation (AITE) exercises.

What are Tiger Corridors?

Tiger corridors are natural pathways that connect fragmented tiger habitats, allowing for:

• Genetic flow and long-term survival of populations.
• Migration and dispersal between reserves.
• Minimisation of human-wildlife conflict through guided movement.

Projects that require land in or around these corridors or reserves need statutory clearance from the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

About NTCA

• Established: 2005 (through 2006 amendment of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972).
• Chairperson: Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• Functions:
  • Approves TCPs of states.
  • Provides financial and technical support for tiger conservation.
  • Oversees Project Tiger implementation.
  • Conducts All-India Tiger Estimation (AITE) every 4 years.
  • Ensures ecological connectivity through corridor protection.

The Recent Controversy

• NTCA had earlier told the Bombay High Court (July 2025) that multiple benchmarks would be used to identify corridors, including:
  • Protected areas with tiger occupancy.
  • 2014 least-cost pathways.
  • WII studies (2016, 2021).
  • AITE distribution data.
• However, in its latest clarification, NTCA restricted corridors only to 2014 least-cost pathways and TCP records, ignoring updated scientific models.

Potential Beneficiaries

Industrial projects, particularly in Maharashtra, such as:

• Western Coalfields Limited’s Durgapur open cast mines.
• Lloyds Metals & Energy’s Surajgarh iron ore mines in Gadchiroli.

Scientific Concerns

• 2014 NTCA Report itself noted that its corridors were “minimal requirement” and alternative connectivities also needed conservation.
• Newer studies (e.g., Circuitscape modelling, 2025) suggest at least 192 corridors across 10 central Indian states, far beyond the restricted 32.
• Narrowing protection risks fragmentation of habitats, reducing gene flow and increasing chances of local extinctions.

Why is it in the News?

At the Sustainable Finance for Tiger Landscapes Conference, Bhutan and the Tiger Conservation Coalition pledged to mobilize $1 billion for tiger conservation efforts.

About the Tiger Conservation Coalition:

• The Tiger Conservation Coalition is a group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have worked for many years with partners to conserve tigers.
• It brings together leading tiger biologists and experts in wildlife crime, human-wildlife coexistence, policy, finance, development, and communications with unprecedented alignment on achieving tiger conservation at scale.
  • Its member organizations include the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Fauna & Flora, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Panthera, TRAFFIC, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
• It is an independent group of organizations that combines and shares the vast knowledge, on-the-ground experience, and data of its members and partners to support Tiger Range Countries in developing and implementing effective approaches to tiger conservation.
• The Coalition was founded on strong relationships among eminent tiger experts already working together on major tiger assessments, including the latest assessment by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species released in 2022, and the forthcoming Green Status Assessment, and coalesced around a common vision for tiger recovery.
• By engaging national and local civil society organizations from the region, and continuing to support the Global Tiger Initiative Council and the Global Tiger Forum, the coalition aims to further strengthen partnerships and impactful outcomes for tigers.
• In January 2022, the Tiger Conservation Coalition released its vision for tiger recovery through 2034, the next Year of the Tiger.
  • “Securing a Viable Future for the Tiger” presents a set of measurable goals and high-level strategic approaches to achieve the long-term presence of viable and ecologically functional populations of wild tigers.
• Its suggested actions, grounded in the latest science and results, would lead to increasing numbers of tigers secure in current and expanded protected habitats, with distribution and connectivity across their indigenous range.
• Tiger Conservation Coalition members co-developed Tiger Conservation Landscapes 3.0, an integrated habitat modeling system to measure and monitor changes in tiger habitat at range-wide, national, biome, and landscape scales in near real-time.
• This work serves as a model for objective, range-wide, habitat monitoring as countries work to achieve the goals laid out in the 30x30 agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

What is the News ?

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is holding an art exhibition in New Delhi from November 3–5, 2023, titled "Silent Conversation: From Margins to the Center."

Facts About:

• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has been constituted under section 38 L (1) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• It is a statutory body, established in 2006 under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

Objectives:        

• Providing statutory authority to Project Tiger so that compliance with its directives becomes legal.
• Fostering Center-State accountability in Tiger Reserve management by providing a foundation for MoUs with states within the federal structure.
• Including a provision for parliamentary oversight.
• Addressing the livelihood interests of local residents in areas surrounding Tiger Reserves.
• Members of NTCA:

              Minister in charge of MoEFCC (as Chairperson),

              Minister of State in MoEFCC (as Vice-Chairperson),

              Three members of Parliament, the Secretary (MoEFCC), and other members.