*Union Environment Minister addresses Global Tiger Day event in New Delhi, encourages People to respect Nature
*NTCA Eco-tourism webpage launched on Global Tiger Day 2026; NTCA Awards honour exemplary contributions to Tiger Conservation and Protected Area Management
TTT NEWS NETWORK
NEW DELHI | 29 JULY 2026
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav today called for a deeper societal connection with nature and a conservation-focused lifestyle during the Global Tiger Day 2026 celebrations. Hosted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in the capital, the event brought together government officials, wildlife experts, and frontline forest personnel to celebrate India’s milestone achievements in tiger conservation and reaffirm the nation’s collective commitment to protecting endangered habitats. MoS (EFCC) Kirti Vardhan Singh was also present.
Rethinking Our Relationship with Nature:
Shri Yadav emphasized that true conservation extends beyond wildlife protection to fostering a respectful relationship with the natural world. He noted that nature should not be viewed merely as entertainment or a tourism asset, but as a source of peace that demands our respect. Ultimately, he encouraged individuals to draw daily inspiration from the environment and adopt lifestyles dedicated to sustainability.
India’s Conservation Milestones:
The Minister highlighted major conservation achievements under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership. Notably, India’s tiger population has grown to 3,682 across 58 dedicated tiger reserves. Furthermore, the country has successfully expanded its network of elephant reserves, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, protected areas, community reserves, and wetlands over the past 12 years.
While launching the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Eco-tourism webpage, Union Minister Shri Bhupender Yadav lauded the initiative for integrating information on all Tiger Reserves into a single platform. This portal enhances accessibility by offering direct links to official reserve websites for safari and accommodation bookings, thereby advancing responsible and sustainable nature tourism.
Emphasizing the value of documenting conservation journeys, Shri Yadav noted that forest narratives transcend raw data, encompassing traditional wisdom, emotional investment, and decades of field experience from conservationists and officers. He called on forest personnel to document and share these insights to help shape practical, actionable policy frameworks. Additionally, the Minister highlighted the importance of upgrading staff skills through global best practices, underscoring the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) as a key vehicle for global knowledge sharing under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) presented awards to wildlife officers and field contributors for outstanding achievements in tiger conservation and protected area management. The ceremony served as a major platform to honor frontline personnel, whose daily efforts remain central to safeguarding India’s wildlife.
In a parallel initiative, the Union Minister reviewed an exhibition featuring winning paintings, sketches, slogans, and masks created by school children from across the Delhi-NCR region under the theme ‘Save Tiger’. Additionally, the Ministry’s Environment Education Programme launched a nationwide tiger conservation awareness campaign through Eco-clubs, specifically targeting schools located near Tiger Reserves to foster grassroots community engagement.
Five publications were released during the celebrations, reflecting NTCA’s continued emphasis on science-based conservation, knowledge sharing and public awareness. These include the July 2026 edition of NTCA Outreach Journal – STRIPES; the 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, by Shri Chandra Prakash Goyal and Shri Satya Prakash Yadav.
The Global Tiger Day 2026 celebrations reaffirmed India’s enduring commitment to tiger conservation through recognition of excellence, scientific management, capacity building, responsible eco-tourism, knowledge sharing and greater public participation in safeguarding the country’s rich natural heritage.
Background: Global Tiger Day 2026:
A century ago, an estimated 1,00,000 wild tigers roamed across Asia. Today, they occupy less than 8% of their historic range, and three subspecies—the Bali, Javan, and Caspian tigers—have become extinct. The decline in tiger populations has been driven by poaching, illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss and fragmentation, human-wildlife conflict, and climate change.
Recognising the urgent need for collective action, the leaders of the 13 Tiger Range Countries came together at the St. Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010 and launched the Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP). The Summit also established Global Tiger Day, to be observed annually on 29th July, with the ambitious TX2 goal of doubling the global wild tiger population by 2022.
Since then, Global Tiger Day has served as a global platform to raise awareness about tiger conservation, strengthen international cooperation, encourage public participation, and review progress in protecting tigers and their habitats.
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