Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, known for its thriving tiger habitat in the Vidarbha region, has been chosen to host a major national-level Tiger Conservation Programme organised by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change as part of a nationwide series of wildlife conservation events.
The programme aims to showcase India’s growing global leadership in big cat conservation while promoting the objectives of the International Big Cat Alliance, launched under India’s leadership following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for greater international cooperation in wildlife protection.
According to officials, the thematic events across the country will focus on India’s five major big cat species — Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard and Cheetah — and highlight conservation achievements, ongoing challenges and collaborative efforts by both the Centre and state governments.
Among these initiatives, the Tiger Conservation Programme in Chandrapur will be organised under the theme “Flagship of India’s Forest Conservation.” Officials said the event will underline India’s success in increasing tiger populations through sustained efforts under Project Tiger and the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
India is home to more than 70 per cent of the world’s wild tiger population and is widely regarded as a global model for tiger conservation. The Chandrapur programme will also spotlight Maharashtra’s conservation initiatives in the Vidarbha landscape, especially efforts in Chandrapur and nearby forest regions to strengthen wildlife corridors and minimise human-tiger conflict.
Officials said the event will feature key conservation measures such as expansion of tiger reserves, habitat protection at the landscape level, anti-poaching drives and deployment of Special Tiger Protection Forces. Advanced technologies including camera trapping systems, M-STRIPES monitoring and AI-based wildlife surveillance will also be showcased as part of India’s modern conservation approach.
The programme will further focus on eco-development projects, voluntary relocation of villages from core tiger habitats and initiatives aimed at creating livelihood opportunities for local communities through wildlife tourism and conservation-linked employment.
Wildlife experts, forest officials, policymakers and conservationists from across the country are expected to attend the Chandrapur event, placing the Vidarbha region once again at the forefront of India’s wildlife conservation efforts.
Apart from Chandrapur, other thematic conservation events will be held in Gir for Asiatic Lion conservation, Bhopal for Cheetah conservation, Bhubaneswar for Leopard conservation and Gangtok for Snow Leopard conservation. Officials said these pre-summit programmes are intended to spread awareness, strengthen stakeholder participation and present India’s conservation achievements on the global stage.
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