Conservation in the background of rapid decline in wildlife population and forestry has become essential. But why do we need to focus on the conservation of wildlife and forest? Conservation preserves the ecological diversity and our life support systems � water, air, and soil. It also preserves the genetic diversity of plants and animals for better growth of species and breeding.

For example, in agriculture, we are still dependent on traditional crop varieties. Fisheries too are heavily dependent on the maintenance of aquatic biodiversity.

In the 1960s and 1970s, conservationists demanded a national wildlife protection program. The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act was implemented in 1972, with various provisions for protecting habitats. An all-India list of protected species was also published.

The thrust of the program was towards protecting the remaining population of certain endangered species by banning hunting, giving legal protection to their habitats, and restricting trade in wildlife. Subsequently, central and many state governments established national parks and wildlife sanctuaries about which you have already studied.

The central government also announced several projects for protecting specific animals, which were gravely threatened, including the tiger, the one-horned rhinoceros, the Kashmir stag or hangul, three types of crocodiles � freshwater crocodile, saltwater crocodile, and the Gharial, the Asiatic lion, and others.

Most recently, the Indian elephant, blackbuck (chinkara), the great Indian bustard (godawan), and the snow leopard, etc. have been given full or partial legal protection against hunting and trade throughout India.

Project Tiger

Tiger is one of the key wildlife species in the faunal web. In 1973, the authorities realized that the tiger population had dwindled to 1,827 from an estimated 55,000 at the turn of the century. The major threats to the tiger population are numerous, such as poaching for trade, shrinking habitat, depletion of prey base species, growing human population, etc.

The trade of tiger skins and the use of their bones in traditional medicines, especially in the Asian countries left the tiger population on the verge of extinction. Since India and Nepal provide habitat to about two-thirds of the surviving tiger population in the world, these two nations became prime targets for poaching and illegal trading.

�Project Tiger�, one of the well-publicized wildlife campaigns in the world, was launched in 1973. Initially, it showed success as the tiger population went up to 4,002 in 1985 and 4,334 in 1989. But in 1993, the population of the tiger had dropped to 3,600.

There are 27 tiger reserves in India covering an area of 37,761 sq km Tiger conservation has been viewed not only as an effort to save an endangered species but with equal importance as a means of preserving biotypes of sizeable magnitude.

Corbett National Park in Uttaranchal, Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal, Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan, Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam, and Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala are some of the tiger's reserves of India.

The conservation projects are now focusing on biodiversity rather than on a few of its components. There is now a more intensive search for different conservation of wildlife and forest measures. Increasingly, even insects are beginning to find a place in the conservation of wildlife and forest planning. In the notification under the Wildlife Act of 1980 and 1986, several hundred butterflies, moths, beetles, and one dragonfly have been added to the list of protected species.

Read More: Conservation of Forest and Wildlife: National Park and Biosphere Reserves