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Fifty years of ‘Project Tiger’: How the programme saved Indian tigers

Project tiger was launched by the central government on april 1, 1973, in a bid to promote conservation of the tiger. the programme came at a time when the population of tigers in india was rapidly dwindling..

The number of tigers in India has increased by 6.74 per cent from 2,967 in 2018 to 3,167 in 2022, according to the figures of the 5th cycle of India’s Tiger Census, which was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an event in Karnataka’s Mysuru to mark 50 years of ‘Project Tiger’ on Sunday (April 9).

The PM also released the government’s vision for tiger conservation during ‘Amrit Kaal’, and launched the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA). IBCA will focus on the protection and conservation of seven major big cats of the world, including tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar and cheetah, with membership of the range countries harbouring these species.

A special day, in the midst of floral and faunal diversity and good news on the tigers population…here are highlights from today… pic.twitter.com/Vv6HVhzdvK — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 9, 2023

“It has been 50 years of Project Tiger. Its success has been a matter of pride for not only India but the entire world. India has not only saved the tiger but has also given it a great ecosystem to flourish. It’s a matter of great happiness for us that at a time when we have completed 75 years of Independence, nearly 75 per cent of the world’s tiger population can now be found in India and tiger reserves in the country span 75,000 square kilometres. This has been possible because of everyone’s efforts,” Modi said during his address.

What is Project Tiger?

Project Tiger was launched by the Central government on April 1, 1973, in a bid to promote conservation of the tiger. The programme came at a time when India’s tiger population was rapidly dwindling. According to reports, while there were 40,000 tigers in the country at the time of the Independence, they were soon reduced to below 2,000 by 1970 due to their widespread hunting and poaching.

Concerns around the issue further intensified when the same year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared the tiger as an endangered species. Two years later, the Indian government conducted its own tiger census and found that there were only 1,800 of them left in the country.

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To tackle the problem of hunting and poaching of not just tigers but also other animals and birds, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi promulgated the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972. A year later, after a task force urged the government to create a chain of reserves dedicated to tiger preservation, Indira unveiled Project Tiger.

Launched at the Jim Corbett National Park, the programme was initially started in nine tiger reserves of different States such as Assam, Bihar, Karnataka , Madhya Pradesh , Maharashtra , Odisha , Rajasthan , Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal , covering over 14,000 sq km.

Notably, Project Tiger didn’t just focus on the conservation of the big cats. It also ensured the preservation of their natural habitat as tigers are at the top of the food chain. While inaugurating the programme, Indira, in a statement, said, “The tiger cannot be preserved in isolation. It is at the apex of a large and complex biotope. Its habitat, threatened by human intrusion, commercial forestry and cattle grazing, must first be made inviolate.”

Soon after, the number of tigers in India began to rise and by the 1990s, their population was estimated to be around 3,000. However, the success story of Project Tiger suffered a major setback when the local extermination of tigers in Rajasthan’s Sariska made headlines in January 2005.

This led then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to set up a task force “to shape the future of tiger conservation even before seeing his first tiger — the famed Machhli of Ranthambhore — in May 2005.,” The Indian Express reported. Around a year later, the government reconstituted Project Tiger and established the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

“The NTCA had more power to check poaching and preserve the tiger population. Its mandate included setting up the Tiger Protection Force and funding the relocation of villages from the protected areas.,” wrote V P Singh Badnore, former Governor of Punjab and Administrator, Union Territory of Chandigarh , for the newspaper.

Today, there are 54 tiger reserves across India, spanning 75,000 sq km. As mentioned before, the current population of tigers in the country stands at 3,167 as opposed to 1,411 in 2006, 1,706 in 2010 and 2,226 in 2014.

Speaking to PTI, Additional Director General of Forests SP Yadav, who is also the member secretary of the NTCA, talked about the future of Project Tiger and said, “The goal would be to have a viable and sustainable tiger population in tiger habitats based on a scientifically calculated carrying capacity. I’m not putting a number (to it) as we cannot increase the tiger population of the country at the same pace because that will result in an increase in conflict with human beings.”

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India celebrates 50 successful years of “Project Tiger”

  Syllabus: Environment Conservation

  Source: The Print

  Context: The Indian government will officially mark the 50 th year of ‘Project Tiger’ on 9 April with a three-day event in Mysuru, Karnataka.

Background:

Project Tiger- an initiative to save tigers , was first initiated in the year April 1, 1973 in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand.

About Project Tiger:

About Tigers:

Achievements of Project Tiger

Challenges faced by project tiger:

• As per NTCA, 1059 tiger deaths were in the last 10 years, most in Madhya Pradesh
• Conflict with FRA, 2006: The Forest Rights Act passed by the Indian government in 2006 recognizes the rights of some forest-dwelling communities in forest areas.
• According to a report, nearly 29 per cent of tigers lives outside of the core zone
• From 2001 to 2016, 1,065 cases of human-tiger conflict were recorded including injuries and even fatalities on both sides.

The tiger is a unique animal which plays a pivotal role in the health and diversity of an ecosystem.  However, there is a need for further community involvement through a tiger reserve that is not built with fences and armed patrol guards, but around a  cultural model of conservation i.e. including local tribes like Idu Mishmi in Arunachal Pradesh, who consider Tigers as their elder brother and sacred.

To know about recent measures taken by India, Technological measures, and International efforts for tiger conservation: Click here

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Tiger density in India

Evaluate the various measures initiated towards tiger conservation and protection in India which have resulted in a steady increase in the population of tigers. What are the key learnings from these measures toward the conservation efforts of other species? (15M)

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Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under “Critical Tiger Habitat”?

(a) Corbett

(b) Ranthambore

(c) Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam

(d) Sunderbans

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50 Years of Project Tiger

Published: 6th Apr, 2023

India marked 50 years of Project Tiger on April 1, 2023.

About Project Tiger:

• Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure.
• The project aims at ensuring a viable population of Bengal tigers in their natural habitats, protecting them from extinction, and preserving areas of biological importance as a natural heritage forever represented as close as possible the diversity of ecosystems across the distribution of tigers in the country.
• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and climate change
• The project is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) .
• While it initially covered nine Tiger Reserves ( Manas, Palamau, Simlipal, Corbett, Ranthambhore, Kanha, Melghat, Bandipur and Sundarban ) spread over 18,278 sq km, India now has 54 such reserves covering more than 75,000 sq km (approximately 2.4% of the country’s geographical area).

Facts related to Tigers in India:

• There are 54 tiger reserves in India that are governed by Project Tiger.
• In 2006, there were 1,411 tigers which increased to 1,706 in 2010, 2,226 in 2014 and 2967 in 2018 .
• Every 4 years the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) conducts a tiger census across India.
• The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris ), also called the Indian tiger or the Royal Bengal tiger is native to the Indian subcontinent.
• They are currently found in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.
• It is listed as Endangered in Nepal, India, and Bhutan, While Bangladesh and China list it as Critically Endangered.
• White Tiger, Bengal Tiger and Indochinese Tiger.

Other Tiger Conservation Measures:

• NATIONAL TIGER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY : It was established in 2005, following the recommendations of the Tiger Task. It was given statutory status by the 2006 amendment of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for strengthening tiger conservation, as per powers and functions assigned to it.
• TIGER RELOCATION PROJECTS : The tiger relocation project was initiated in 2018 wherein two big cats, a male (Mahavir) from Kanha Tiger Reserve and a female (Sundari) from Bandhavgarh from Madhya Pradesh were relocated to Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Odisha, to shore up the tiger population
• TIGER SPECIAL PROTECTION FORCE : It will be effective in checking illegal human intrusion into the reserve through villages located on its fringes and serve as a second layer of protection for tigers
• GLOBAL TIGER FORUM : It is an Inter-Governmental international body working exclusively for the conservation of Tigers. Established in 1994, the Global Tiger Forum (GTF) has its headquarters in New Delhi
• GLOBAL TIGER INITIATIVE : Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) was launched in  2008  as  a  global  alliance  of  governments, international organizations, civil society, conservation, and scientific communities, and the private sector, with the aim of working together to save wild tigers
• MSTrIPES : MSTrIPES program uses Global Positioning System (GPS), General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), and remote sensing, to collect information from the field, create a database using modern Information Technology (IT) based tools, analyses the information using GIS and statistical tools to provide inferences that allow tiger reserve managers to better manage their wildlife resources.

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Project Tiger in India

India is the world’s largest home for Royal Bengal Tigers . India hosts more than 70% of the total Tigers in the world. It is no surprise then that we are also prime targets for tiger hunters and poachers. To overcome this threat Project Tiger was launched in 1973 in India.

Since the population of these beautiful big cats is spread across many states in India, the responsibility of protecting those falls upon the government. Project Tiger is the government’s response to this call of duty.

How Project Tiger was started in India?

Back in the early 19th century, There were about 40,000 Royal Bengal Tigers in India. Within seven decades, Royal Bengal Tiger’s population dwindled to a mere 1800.  It was not only shocking and alarming but also a reflection of the neglect that was being heaped upon the National Animal of India . It was an undeniable failure.

In light of the scathing criticism brought on by these stats, the government looked into the issue and initiated steps to revive the tiger population in the country.  Project Tiger in India was launched on 1st April 1973 as a major wildlife conservation project in India. It was launched from the Jim Corbett National Park of Uttarakhand.

The initiative is funded by the Union Govt. of India and administrated under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is the immediate supervising agency.

DOWNLOAD the complete “ list of Tiger Reserves ” in India PDF format with the core area, buffer area, and total area updated till 2019.

Aim to start Tiger Project in India

The stated aims of Project Tiger were

• To identify factors causing a reduction in tiger habitats and mitigate them through suitable management practices. The damages already done to the habitat were to be corrected so that the natural ecosystem can be recovered to the extent possible.
• To maintain a viable tiger population for their economic, ecological, cultural, and aesthetic significance

When was Project Tiger launched?

Project Tiger was launched in the year 1973. It was one of the most important conservation efforts initiated to protect  Tigers in India . It was the first of its kind of Project in India to maintain the population of Tigers in India and to protect them from Poaching and other threats.

History of Tiger Project in India

Initially, When Project Tiger was rolled out in 1973 , nine tiger reserves encompassing an area of 9,115 sq km were identified to be brought under special protection. By the late 1980s the number of protected tiger reserves increases from 9 to 15. And a total area of 24,700 sq. km of forested land was reserved for the Tigers.

By 1984, the number of tigers present in Project Tiger reserves reached above 1100. In the next few years, more and more tiger habitats were added to the Project Tiger. By the year 1997 there were 23 tiger reserves stretched over an area of 33,000 sq. km were being protected under Project Tiger in India.

However, even as the range of protected areas continued to expand, the number of tigers didn’t increase considerably.

Tiger Census (Counting of Tigers)

The first Tiger Census of 2006 projected 1,411 tigers were left in the country . Since the census methods used were technology-based, the results were more believable.

The results estimated a total tiger population at 1,411 individuals ranging from 1,165 to 1,657 adult and sub-adult tigers. 2006 Census created a second round of stir and debate around tiger conservation. Protection efforts have increased manifold since then.

Owing to the renewed sincerity to Tiger conservation , the number of tigers consistently increased in the next decade. 2014 Tiger Census-estimated 2,226 Bengal tigers in India and 2018 Tiger Census -estimated 2,967 Tigers.

Karnataka was the state with the highest tiger population in 2014. The recorded tiger count in the state was 408 as per the 2014 tiger census.

But, in 2018 Tiger Census, The crown of the Tiger State of India is been taken away by Madhya Pradesh with 526 Tigers, whereas Karnataka and Uttrakhand were second and third in position with 524 and 442 Tigers respectively.

Whereas in 2022 Tiger Census, Madhya Pradesh retained the crown of Tiger State with 785 Bengal Tiger Population.

The total Tiger Population as per the Tiger Census 2022 is 3,682 Tigers , which was 24% more than the 2018 Census.

Today, Project Tiger looks after 50 tiger reserves spread across 72,749 sq. km . of green cover in an effort to conserve the population of the Royal Bengal Tiger

Popular Tiger Safari Parks

Pench National Park

Kanha National Park

Bandhavgarh National Park

Tadoba National Park

Ranthambore National Park

Project Tiger’s Management

NTCA administers Project Tiger completely. And for the same various conservation units have been established consisting of a field director and a group of technical people to assist. Various conservation units that have been formed to help Project Tiger in India are:

• Eastern Ghats Conservation Unit
• Western Ghats Conservation Unit
• Central India Conservation Unit
• North-East Conservation Unit
• Sariska Conservation Unit
• Kaziranga Conservation Unit
• Shivalik Terai Conservation Unit
• Sunderbans Conservation Unit

Core-Buffer Strategy in Project Tiger

For the sake of efficient management and tiger density-based administration, tiger reserves are created on the basis of a ‘core-buffer’ strategy.

A particular expanse of land is identified and marked as the ‘core area of the reserve . These areas are kept free of all human activities. It usually has the legal status of National Park or Wildlife Sanctuary. No human activity is allowed inside the core area, including tourism. Even everyday tasks such as grazing and wood collection are banned.

The buffer areas usually surround the core area and are comparatively less frequented by the resident wildlife. Hence, limited human interaction here will not harm their habitat. Hence, it is subjected to ‘conservation-oriented land use’ . Certain everyday activities necessary for daily life and living of surrounding villages are allowed.

The buffer area serves twin purposes. One, it serves as a habitat supplement to the spillover population of wild animals from the core area. Two, it becomes a livelihood source for surrounding villages and relieves their impact on the core zone.

The plan of action for each tiger reserve is drawn upon the following key principles:

• Elimination of all human interference from the core area and careful rationalization of activities in the buffer area
• Limiting the habitat management practices to only repair activities for ecosystem damage
• Monitoring the floral and faunal changes overtime for research

To counter poaching, wireless communication systems and outstation patrol camps have been deployed within the tiger reserves. Fire protection is ensured through preventive and control measures. Compensatory developmental works have improved water availability which in turn betters vegetation. Lush vegetation cover helps in increasing the tiger prey base.

Village relocation is one of the significant steps as well as a hurdle to reserve management in core zones. While some villages relocate voluntarily, most others resist giving up their ancestral dwellings. The issue gets even more sensitive in the case of tribal communities.

The Indian Government passed the Forest Rights Act in 2006 which recognized the right of some forest communities to their native forest area. Recognition of this right is bound to have a serious implication of tiger conservation efforts, the extent of which is yet to be determined.

The success of Project Tiger

India was facing a huge challenge in the conservation of Tiger, with only 1200 Tigers left in the wild, It was a great threat to these beautiful Big Cat. But a Great Thanks to NTCA to launch Project Tiger in 1973.

The tiger population now is around 3,000, which is still not healthy and stable, but thanks to Project Tiger. It’s all because of efforts of NTCA and Tiger Project Team

Royal Bengal Tigers population is still a point of concern, but at least it is increasing and more people are coming together to conserve Tigers, many people are now aware of the conservation measures and participating actively in wildlife conservation -related activities.

Facts about Tigers in India

• India hosts a total of 75% tiger population of the world
• The result of the last Tiger Census 2018 was declared on 29 July 2019.
• The total number of tigers in India is 2967 as per the latest 2018 Tiger Census report.
• India is the only country to host three prime members of Big Cats Family ; Lion, Tiger, and Leopards
• India has more than 100 National Parks and 50 Tiger Reserves

List of Project Tiger. Tiger Reserves in India

Below is the list of tiger reserves in India under Project Tiger.

Statewise list of Tiger Reserves in India in PDF Format

Project tiger faqs.

There are a total of 50 Tiger Reserves in India which was governed by Project Tiger.

Project Tiger was started in April 1973 in India.

Jim Corbett was the first national park to come under Project Tiger.

Project Tiger was started by the Government of India in 1973, for the conservation of Tigers in India. All the project tigers are governed and managed by a committee called the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)

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Project Tiger: Objectives, Conservation and Tragedy

In this article we will discuss about:- 1. Introduction to Project Tiger 2. Objectives of Project Tiger 3. Conservation Process 4. Greatest Tragedy 5. Tiger Conservation in West Bengal.

Introduction to Project Tiger:

Tiger (Panthera tigris) has been the inte­gral part to the life and legend of mankind. The tiger has been feared and revered, hunt­ed and worshiped; it has found its way into folklore and lullabies, books of worship, pop­ular fiction and innumerable stories of hero­ism, bravery and adventure.

At present the tiger is an endangered species and has found its way in the Red Data Book. The tiger population has been reduced from 40,000 to 1,827 by 1972, main­ly due to hunting, habitat loss due to deforestation and taming the rivers for human needs.

Considering the fast decline of the tiger population, a special task force was set up in 1970 by the Indian Board for Wildlife to prepare an action plan to conserve the population of tiger in the country. As a result, in 1st April, 1973, Project Tiger was launched.

Objectives of Project Tiger :

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1. To ensure maintenance of a viable population of tigers in India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values.

2. To preserve, for all times, areas of biological importance as a national heritage for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people.

Principles of Tiger Reserves:

In 1973-74 nine tiger reserves were established — located in 9 different states and covering a total area of 13,017 sq. kms.

It was based on the follow­ing principles:

1. Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and disturbance from the core and rationalisation of such activities in the buffer.

2. Limitation of habitat management to repair damage done by man with the aim of restoring the ecosystem as close to its natural functioning as possible.

3. Researching facts about habitat and wild animals and carefully monitoring chan­ges in flora and fauna.

Conservation Process in Project Tiger:

Conservation of tiger (or any other wildlife) requires the following knowledge:

1. The natural habitat of tiger and its food habit.

2. About the breeding habit and bree­ding season of tigers.

3. Its relation with other animals.

4. The number of animals present at any given time; reasons for their diminishing or increasing.

5. Places of drinking water and its arrangement.

6. Places of cover and shelter for tigers.

7. Enactment of the laws for their pro­tection.

Levels of Conservation:

Conservation of tiger is done at the following levels:

The population of the tigers in any reserve is to be determined from time to time. The reasons for either their increase or decrease are to be noted. In case of decrease, the reasons are to be located and appropriate measures are to be undertaken.

If they encounter severe diseases then it should be diagnosed and immediate treatments are to be made. If the decrease in number is due to poaching then constant vigilance is to be maintained to keep poachers away.

The food of tiger comprises of deer, sambar, wild boar etc. as it is a carni­vore. Care should be taken to keep the food animals in sufficient numbers, so that the tiger need not come out of the forest for food and get killed by the hunters.

It is essential to have know­ledge about the breeding season of the tigers and the number of litters born. The litters should be protected from all sorts of danger including diseases. The diseased litters or tigers should be imprisoned and treated and later released into their natural habitat.

Tiger conservation initiatives and success :

The first official estimation of the Indian tiger population was done in 1972. About 1,827 tigers were recorded in the wild. This led to the setting up of a task force under IBWL which ultimately led to the launching of ‘Project Tiger’ in 1973, beginning with nine sites in nine different states (Table 4.53):

The 1989 census showed that the number of tigers had increased to 4,334, both in the tiger reserves and other areas of wildlife (Table 4.54). The highest (269) number of tigers was reported from Sunderbans, followed by Kanha (97), Nagarjunsagar (97), Simlipal (93) and Manas (92).

However, some alarming decline of tiger population was noted from some tiger reserves like Kanha, Manas. Sariska National Park etc. and in the two north-eastern states of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh (which are outside the tiger reserves).

By 1993 the number of Tiger Reserves had increased to 19 with the census reading (Table 4.54) estimating a total of 3,750 tigers out of which the Tiger Reserve population was 1,266 tigers. M.P. recorded the highest population of 912 tigers, which incidentally was the highest density of tigers anywhere in the world. In 1993 the second phase of Project Tiger was launched to refocus, restructure and reformulate strategies, so as to save not only the tiger and its habitat but also to conserve the entire biodiversity.

The guidelines intro­duced were:

1. To establish guidelines for tourism in the tiger reserves.

2. To provide management of buffer areas so as to ensure availability of adequate firewood and fodder for the people living on the outskirts of the reserves.

3. To integrate local population through ecological development programmes.

4. To establish Nature Interpretation Centres.

At present the Tiger Reserve has increased to 27, distributed throughout the country and covering a forest area of over 37,700 sq. kms (Table 4.55). The new census of the Tiger population is currently being under­taken.

Project Tiger represents the country’s commitment to protecting wildlife and is recognised today as a conservation success story. Under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, a steering committee provides guidelines to the management of the tiger reserves. Such projects have ensured the pro­tection of the entire ecosystems, which have resulted over the years to an increase in the tiger population to more than double.

Greatest Tragedy in Project Tiger:

The Tiger Conservation Project has hit the grea­test tragedy when the Namdapha tiger reserve in Arunachal Pradesh and Sariska in Rajasthan have been swept clean of the majestic beast. The last census (2001-02) had declared 22 tigers at Sariska and 61 at Namdapha.

Officials of the wildlife department in Namdapha are doubting the presence of only a single big cat in the vast reserve spread across 1,985 square kilometers. But even that one tiger that Namdapha now lays claim has not been sighted by forest officials.

The officials are blaming the poor infrastruc­ture and limited frontline staff, where each staff has to cover an area of 65-70 square kilometers. Another reason which has been sighted to the tragedy is the presence of the Lisu tribe who have settled (originally from Myanmar) in the reserve and are the ones who hunt the beasts.

Tiger Conservation in West Bengal:

Currently there are two cites of ‘Project Tiger’ in West Bengal – Sunderbans and Buxa.

Sundarbans:

Sunderbans is considered as the largest pro-grading delta of the world, consisting of small islands traversed by a net­work of rivers, canals and creeks. Situated far south of West Bengal, Sundarbans have been formed by the Ganga-Brahmaputra river sys­tems. The major portion of Sunderbans lies in Bangladesh.

The Indian part covers 9,630 sq. kms. of which Project Tiger covers 2,585 sq. kms. The core area (National Park) comprises 1,692 sq. kms. It has been declared as “World Heritage Site”. The unique mangrove eco­system contains characteristic mangrove vege­tation such as Sundri, Garan, Hetal, Keya etc.

The islands hold the largest single population of tigers and also other animal species like deer, monkeys, various types of poisonous snakes, etc. In the canals and rivers the salt water crocodiles thrive. India and Bangladesh have drawn up strategies to work jointly for the cause of tigers and this could lead to more focused attention of the world.

Buxa is situated in the Dooars in North Bengal and is the critical corridor with Assam and Bhutan. The tiger population here had touched a critical low due to poach­ing. However, Buxa has re-established its pristine status through habitat improvement measures such as canopy opening, plantation of palatable grasses and fodder species, ground water management, fire protection etc. Efforts also have been made to reintro­duce the extinct faunal species.

The success of the Project Tiger has shown that, no species, irrespective of its importance, can be conserved in isolation. The residents of Sunderbans and Buxa are aware that the protection of tigers would only serve their own interest. Moreover, they are aware that the investment under the India Eco-development Project is because of its unique tiger habitat.

The Government of West Bengal has whole-heartedly taken up the cause for the conservation and protection of the Royal Bengal Tiger and its habitat as part of its commitment to renew and protect the state’s glorious heritage.

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• Top 3 International Bodies for Wildlife Conservation
• Wildlife Conservation: Purpose and Methods | Zoology
• Conservation of Ornamental Fishes (10 Aspects)
• Conservation of Wildlife in India: 6 Acts

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• NEWS FEATURE
• 30 October 2019

India’s tigers seem to be a massive success story — many scientists aren’t sure

• Gayathri Vaidyanathan 0

Gayathri Vaidyanathan is a science journalist in Bengaluru.

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A tiger and her cubs leave India’s Bandhavgarh National Park in search of prey, which is scarce inside the reserve. Credit: Steve Winter/National Geographic

Central India — The Maruti Gypsy 44 sped along a jungle track, jolting us out of our seats. We had signed up for a wolf safari, but the trip leader had another quarry in mind. The vehicle barrelled towards a pungent smell on a hillside — a fresh tiger kill.

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Nature 574 , 612-616 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03267-z

Mondol, S., Karanth, K. U. & Ramakrishnan, U. PLoS Genet. 5 , e1000585 (2009).

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Gopalaswamy, A. M., Karanth, K. U., Delampady, M. & Stenseth, N. Chr. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/708628 (2019).

Qureshi, Q., Gopal, R. & Jhala, Y. PeerJ 7 , e7482 (2019).

Thatte, P., Joshi, A., Vaidyanathan, S., Landguth, E. & Ramakrishnan, U. Biol. Conserv. 218 , 181–191 (2018).

Armstrong, E. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/696146 (2019).

Kerley, L. L. et al. Conserv. Biol. 16 , 97–108 (2002).

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Sustainable Eco-tourism Destination - a case study of the Indian Sundarban Region

2021, Indian Journal of Spatial Science, Spring Issue, 12(1)

The organized tourism in the Indian Sundarban began in the mid-1980, after the inception of the conservation programme, 'Project Tiger'. The most important reasons for tourists travelling to Sundarban Tiger Reserve and its surrounding areas are the opportunity to see the varied wildlife, notably the Royal Bengal Tiger, and the world's largest natural mangrove forest. Ecotourism is regarded as the environment-friendly as well as economically profitable tourism that protects the ecosystem. The Sundarban and its adjacent areas have a huge scope for alternative employment opportunities through ecotourism development. However, level of its development is still inadequate to draw the attention of tourists principally due to poor transport and communication, and lack of campaign for promoting tourism. But now, with the coronavirus pandemic shutting down businesses and limiting mobility, villagers of Sundarban don't have the option of moving to other places in search of work and most of the migrant workers had started returning home after losing their jobs. This has greatly affected the entire job market as well as the tourism-related activity and likely to pose serious threats to the Sundarban community in the future. In this situation, sustainable tourism could provide an alternative employment opportunity in and around the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve. It has the potential to bring extra benefit to the local backward and poor communities living on the forest margins. A survey was conducted among 120 tourists, 50 hoteliers and 50 local shopkeepers who sell their products to the tourists.The present paper focuses on the major tourist places as well as discusses the importance of eco-tourism for improving economic development and preservation of ecological balance in the Sundarban.

Related Papers

Ashis Sarkar

Indian Journal of Spatial Science, Spring Issue, 12(1)

Tourism brings the opportunities of economic, social and cultural exchanges among citizens. Modelling and forecasting of tourism demand are necessary for the proper management of individual tourist places. Tourism management has become increasingly important in the post-pandemic days when the safety of both locals and tourists has to be ensured without affecting tourism-related economic opportunities. The present study considers the tourism demand of Manali, located in the Himalayan mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh in India, that attracts both domestic and foreign tourists throughout the year. Tourists coming to Manali opt for visiting the spots along with the popular tourism circuits or routes arranged by the travel operators or visit individual spots selectively. This paper applies regression statistics to check the significance of the variables taken before forecasting and explaining tourism demand of the tourist spots and tourist routes in and around Manali. Based on the tourism demand predicted, suggestions are offered for proper tourism management in the hill station.

The Indian Sundarban (21° - 22°30′N, 88°- 88°29′ E), comprising of 19 community development blocks (6 in North 24 Parganas and 13 in South 24 Parganas) is physiographically a deltaic plain, having an intricate network of creeks. The area is remote in comparison to Kolkata, a leading metropolitan city of India and houses about 4 million people engaged in monocropping and other minor occupation. Pakhiralaya, of Gosaba community development block works as a transit to the trips to Sajnekhali, Sudhanyakhali, Dobanki and Netidhopani and has many tourist lodges and resorts. Land prices have seen a hike after the advent of tourism in the area. The rural economy is thus changing owing to the advent of tourism. The construction of resorts has deforested the area leading to loss of various birds which used to stay at Pakhiralaya and thus gave its name. While the young people opine that tourism is good because some are getting jobs based on tourism, the aged opine that cultural and social changes have come up due to tourism and often tourism influences the society badly. Devoured by the rivers, the earthen embankments of the area have succumbed to the dashing of river water robbing the settlements. Once a forested stretch, some areas of Pakhiralaya were reclaimed in the year 1969. Repeated embankment breaching has caused a settlement shift to interior locations. Ravaged by Aila, the agriculture of the site has been hit hard and people are burdened with a shift in their occupations. This paper addresses the change in employment and livelihood followed by that of settlement after cyclones like Aila and Amphan through oral history. Google Earth imagery has been considered for years 2003, 2016 and 2020 and it has been found that towards Bali, embankments have breached up to 51.8 meters and 94.4 meters while towards Dayapur this breaching is up to 81.8 meters. The concept of self rehabilitation of the people without the help of the government and NGO s has been brought out in this paper.

Indian Journal of Spatial Sience, Spring Issue, 12(1)

The paper tries to analyse the spatial distribution of Covid-19 cases in India and the fundamental determinants behind this pattern. Some pre-identified factors that are responsible for rising infection rate are analysed thoroughly through geographically weighted regression to identify the level of the association behind the spatial variation of Covid-19 cases in Indian states. Migration and international mobility are having a strong positive relationship with the rising of Covid-19 cases in north Indian states. In contrast, Chronic morbidity is the most influential factor in shaping the trajectories of infection in southern states of India. The major proportion of cases was confined within the Urban and metropolitan cities in India indicating the correlation between the level of urbanization and population density with raising the cases; which is highly significant for Delhi-NCR region and Mumbai metropolitan region. On the contrary, irrespective of an increased level of immunization it is not positively associated in arresting the rate of infection of Covid-19.

Water is regarded as one of the mostessential liquids due to its multipurpose usages like cooking, bathing, performing rituals and most importantly for drinking not only by humans but also by all the living beings on Earth.The flowingwater in general and Ganges water in particularpronounced as a benefactor of purity and miracles. Ganges is one of the longest and holiestrivers across the world, but unfortunately, it is dying due to several anthropogenic activities such as dumping of garbage, ashes, corpses, idols, plastic items, garlands,human faecal and industrial effluents.The main objective of the research is toidentify and analyse people's perceptions about Ganges and what kind of existential threats are being faced by the river through multiple anthropogenic activities. For the purpose of data collection, both primary and secondary database have been used in the present research, which is based on descriptive and analytical approach. Based on the various research findings, papers, reports and journals, a household survey was conducted on the selected clusters and Ghats of Banaras district of Uttar Pradesh in December 2018. After the analysis, it was concluded that Ganga is not just a river, but it is a culture from birth to death all the human activities are performed along the river banks andghats within Banaras city. It has social, political, economic and cultural significance from the time immemorial. The river acts as the lifeline for Banaras/Varanasi. However, Ganga is well-regarded in the city, but it also carries away untreated waste materials ofaround 50 million people who are living in its catchment area.These waste materials are one of the major reasons for dying mother Ganga.

The issue of gender disparity is a violation of human rights. The present study is an attempt to examine the scenario of gender disparities from socio-economic and demographic perspectives in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The variables include sex ratio, child sex ratio, literacy rate, work participation rate, child-women ratio and dependency ratio. Further, rural-urban disparity has also been computed to explain the prevailing gender inequality. The methodology employs indices like Z- Score, Kendall's Rank Score and Sopher's Index. Suitable cartographic techniques have been used to illustrate the findings with the help of Arc GIS 10.2 and M.S. Office. It is found that the gender gap is higher in Barrackpore-I & II CD Blocks and low in the Blocks of Bagda, Sandeshkhali-I & II and Hingalganj. The efficacy of those variables is higher in Barasat-II, Deganga and Sandeshkhali-I than in the other parts of the district. The composite disparity index (CDI) is lower in terms in the southern and western parts than in the other parts of the study area. Necessary policy recommendations have been suggested to reduce the inequality for sustainable gender equity in the prevailing gender-dissimilar society.

Enrolment is one of the parameters to measure educational development. Higher the enrolment rate, higher the participation in the educational system and ultimately, it produced a skilful, thoughtful citizen who is beneficial for societal and economic development. However, the RTE Act (2009) guaranteed the free and compulsory education of the children aged 6-14. The spatio-temporal variation of the enrolment of Scheduled Caste (SC) shows a different picture at various educational levels in Birbhum district. To display the enrolment status; the percentage of SC enrolment to total, to show the share of females in the enrolment process, Gender Parity Index, and show the proportionate representation of SC enrolment, Social Equity Index has been taken into account. There is a substantial spatial variation of the enrolment of SC at different educational levels in this district. The percentage of SC enrolment to total is decent up to the secondary level but decreases in the higher secondary level. The Social Equity Index also supports this fact. The share of female enrolment has progressed much during the last five years, but it has restricted to the secondary level. In this paper, an attempt has been made to show the spatial variation of SC enrolment at various educational levels.

The current article aims to highlight the spatial pattern of the Quality of Life of the rural women in Haora district. Women are still vulnerable in the society, so their quality of life has become a key to the developmental issue and a challenging matter for framing the societal policy. Sixteen indicators have been considered in this paper for assessing their quality of life. Spatial variations of these indicators brought the spatial variations in the quality of life of rural women. Based on these variations, the status of the selected villages has been highlighted in this research paper also. The present study aims to find out the spatial variation in the quality of life of the rural women based on the variation in education, health, housing, employment, decision-making pattern, marriage and family-related issues.

On account of rapid urbanization, vegetation cover of the earth's surface has been declining day by day. To study the spatial and temporal changes of vegetation cover we can use remote sensing and geographic information system. The present study aims to analyze and detect the spatial and temporal changes of NDVI of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). The researcher used the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to detect the spatio-temporal changes of the vegetation cover of the KMC from 1991 to 2011. It is computed by using the visible and near-infrared bands of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS). For this, multi-spectral remote sensing data have been used. The results show that the city of Kolkata is experiencing a declining trend of green cover; it is more prevalent in the added area of the KMC, i.e. the area covered by Wards No.101 to 141.

North 24-Parganas is the 2nd-most populous district in the 2nd-largest populated nation of the world. It bears unique dualities as well as diversities in different aspects. One of the significant challenges it faces is that it has to cater to the needs of about 11% of the total population of West Bengal within about 4.6% of the state's total area. High population density and a high rate of increase in population are indeed a problem for the district. In 2021, the problem may outbreak in all situations. Therefore, the pattern of trends in growth and spatial distribution needs analysis in terms of centrality. For this, like progressive growth rates, concentration index and mean centers of population in different periods have been used. It is found that the population may grow to about 20 million by 2069. Between 1951 and 2011, the population of the district grew more than three times and in 2021, it would be about 11,282,156. The district shows four distinct stages of population growth based on the average annual growth rate of population, i.e., pre-1931, 1931-1961, 1961-2001, and post-2001. During 1971-81, the rural growth rate was negative whereas, the urban growth rate was more than 90%. The weighted mean centers of population shifted significantly within the Habra-I block. The analysis will be more significant for the upcoming periods to chalk out the development and planning for the district.

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• Tiger Conservation India

Tiger Conservation in India

In July 2020, the Ministry of Environment released the Tiger Census Report on the eve of Global Tiger Day (29th July). India has 70 percent of the world’s tiger population. It has been announced that Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS) framework will be extended to all 50 Tiger Reserves of India.

As per the 4th All India Tiger Estimation (AITE), there are 3,167 tigers in India. Get more details on its conservation and check the tiger reserves in India map for quick revision for UPSC 2023 .

Tiger Conservation Latest News

The tiger population “part report” was published to mark the 50th anniversary of Project Tiger in April. Read more on this development in the link here .

RSTV – Big Picture: Importance of Tiger Conservation – Aspirants can check the linked article to get more points on the topic from Rajya Sabha TV discussion (Aug 2020).

Table of contents:

Tiger Symbol for Power and Energy

Tiger is the National Animal of India and also has a significant position in Indian culture.  Tiger usually symbolizes Power and enormous Energy.

Some interesting facts related to Tigers in India:

• Nagpur is also known as the ‘Tiger Capital’ of India 
• There are 13 tiger reserves in Vidharbha (including the Nagpur division of eastern) alone.
• The national parks around Nagpur include Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary, Pench National Park, Nagzira-Navegaon Tiger Reserve, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, Melghat Tiger Reserve, and Bor Tiger Reserve.
• The Climatic condition of this forested region is very appropriate for tiger conservation.
• First white tiger sanctuary – Madhya Pradesh (The maiden ‘White Tiger Safari’ was inaugurated in 2016.)
• Tiger IUCN Status – Endangered

Get more interesting facts about the National Animal of India in the linked article.

The list of tiger reserves in India is given below:

Tiger Conservation in India Notes:- Download PDF Here

Tiger Reserves in India Map

The geographical location of Tiger Reserves in India [Map] is shown below:

As seen on the map, it is evident that the tiger reserves in India are mostly in the Central and Eastern parts. It is necessary on the part of the inhabitants to help the government to establish more Tiger reserves in the Western areas as well.

Related Links:

New Tiger Reserves in India

Recently, the National Tiger Conservation Authority has agreed to the formation of four new tiger reserves in:

• Sunabeda (Odisha),
• Ratapani (Madhya Pradesh)
• Orang (Assam)
• Guru Ghasidas (Chhattisgarh)

The respective state governments have been directed to send the proposal for announcing Suhelwa(Uttar Pradesh), Cauvery MM Hills (Karnataka), Mhadei(Goa), Srivilliputhur Grizzled Giant Squirrel (Tamil Nadu) and Dibang (Arunachal Pradesh) as tiger reserves.

Critical Tiger Habitat

The Critical Tiger Habitats (CTHs) as per Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, are core areas of the tiger reserves meant to be “kept inviolate for the purpose of tiger conservation.” For recognition of critical tiger habitat, an expert committee is constituted and the final decision is notified by the state government.

In Forest Rights Act, 2006 , there is a mention of ‘Critical Wildlife Habitats’ which are part of reserves and sanctuaries meant to be kept inviolate for wildlife conservation (not just tigers). In the case of Critical Wildlife Habitats, Gram Sabhas and affected stakeholders have to give consent for the notification.

Threats to Tiger Population

The Tigers are seen largely in the tropical forests of Asia. The recent reports generated by different international organizations show the tiger population is decreasing. According to the IUCN Red list , the tiger is listed as an endangered animal. The major threat faced by this species are Poaching, destruction of habitat, insufficient prey, etc. the tigers are killed for skins, bones, and meat.

The list of major threats to the Tiger Population are:

• Man- animal conflict
• Hunting, poaching and illegal trade
• Habitat and loss of prey species

Man-animal conflict

Due to anthropogenic activities, the tiger population has lost its habitat. The loss of habitat resulted in the reduction of their prey species. They started coming out of the forest and come to the village in search of prey.

Tiger those who came in search of its prey they attacked domestic animals, and human beings. In vengeance, tigers are often killed by angry human beings.

Read in detail about Human-Wildlife Conflict from the linked article.

Hunting, illegal trade and poaching

Hunting of tigers is a huge issue faced by the tiger population from ancient times. Hunting stands as a symbol of status. The people used the bones, teeth of the tiger for commercial purposes which can also be named as illegal trade.

The body parts are used for medicinal purposes also. This has caused the utmost decline in tiger populations since 1930. Poaching is the next threat to the leftover tiger population.

Anthropogenic Activities

The anthropogenic destructive activities that have caused the devastation of habitat and prey species are the main long-term threats to the continuation of the declining tiger population in the country.

Man and animals compete for finding their habitat. Tigers need large territories. Along with the habitat, tigers have also experienced a severe loss of prey species populations such as antelopes and deer.

The man has acquired the forest land for human settlements and industrial activities. This has ultimately resulted in complete destruction of animal habitats.

The same affected the climatic condition, harmony, and poses a threat to the existence of human beings. The Ken-Betwa River interlinking project which intends to irrigate the drought-hit Bundelkhand region is also a reason for the declining Tiger population in India. According to the wildlife experts, the Panna Tiger Reserve which is located near this place will have a greater impact due to the project.

Rise in Population of Tiger

Recent years have seen a rise in the population of wild lions and tigers in India. The government has initiated many programs related to the conservation of the Tiger population in the country.

According to the World Wildlife Fund and the Global Tiger Forum, the figure of wild tigers has gone up to 3,890 which earlier was 3200.

The wildlife policy of India embraces conservation and protection through the provision of national parks and sanctuaries. This has assisted their sustainable growth and a drastic declining man-animal conflict. A proactive judiciary has shaped a well-built restriction against poachers.

India is now home to 70% of the total Global Tiger Population. The various strategies that are planned for implementation include:

• Tiger reintroduction
• Landscape conservation, and habitat management
• Scrutinizing protocols, strategies for anti-poaching
• Resource Mobilization, and
• Modern equipment and technology for monitoring.

The anti-poaching strategies are also planned for implementation. The latest censuses show an augment in the number of tigers across the country in different National Parks which is evidence that preservation efforts do have an optimistic impact on the environment and wildlife.

Reasons for the rise in the population of Tiger

• Establishment of various programs and institutions like TraMCA, Project tiger, Project snow leopards, NGT, aiming at the protection of the tiger and its habitat.
• TraMCA is a joint initiative of India and Bhutan for transboundary biodiversity preservation established in 2008.
• Providing suitable habitat with the availability of prey, water bodies, etc. So that Tiger doesn’t come out which results in man-animal conflict.
• Limiting the tourists to peripheral areas and not core areas where Tiger mate and small cubs generally are taken care of.
• Better trained and efficient Forest administrators and rangers to deal with the issue of hunting and poaching.
• People participate in the conservation of tiger and establishments of Vanya Prani Saathi for the same.

Tiger conservation initiatives in India

A vigorous Tiger population shows the strength of the ecosystem and self-sustenance which are the key objectives of Project Tiger under the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

By launching the Project Tiger , the Government of India has taken a revolutionary initiative for conserving its national animal. It was launched in 1973. It is a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

The Project Tiger is administered by The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). It is a statutory body of the Ministry with an overall supervisory and coordination part, performing capacities as gave in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Project Tiger

The Project Tiger launched in 1973 is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme. It gives fund help to the ‘tiger range States’, for in-situ conservation of tigers in the chosen tiger reserves. It has put the endangered tiger on a guaranteed path of revival by protecting it from extinction. The Project Tiger aims to promote an exclusive tiger agenda in the core areas of tiger reserves, with inclusive people participation.

The habitats covered under Project tiger are:

• Central India conservation unit
• Shivalik-terai conservation unit
• North East conservation unit
• Sariska conservation unit
• Sunder bans conservation unit
• Eastern Ghats conservation unit
• Western Ghats conservation unit

Objectives of Project Tiger

• To guarantee a viable population of tigers for financial, scientific, aesthetic, social, and ecological values.
• Limit the elements which lead to the reduction of tiger habitat and to tone down them by suitable strategy.
• Site-particular eco-development to decrease the dependency of local individuals and indigenous people on tiger reserve

Core and Buffer Area

• Core Area: The core area has the legal status of a Wildlife Sanctuary or National Park. These areas are free of all forestry operations and human activities.
• Buffer Area: These multi-purpose areas consist of forest and non-land and subjected to conservation-oriented land use.

Benefits of Project Tiger

The Project Tiger has put the tiger on a certain course of revival from the edge of destruction. The population of tigers in the country has been augmented considerably after the establishment of the project. It has contributed to numerous indescribable environmental profits to society. The project has opened a wide door of tourism and thereby employment opportunities. This initiative has brought the participation of local people and their participation has made the habitat to revive.

International Cooperation for Tiger Conservation

• To control the Transboundary illegal trade in wildlife and conservation, India signed a bilateral understanding with Nepal.
• A tiger conservation protocol was signed by India with China
• For the conservation of tigers in the Sunderban region, India has signed a protocol with Bangladesh.
• With Russia, India has constituted a group on tiger and leopard conservation.
• India is a stakeholder of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
• India doesn’t support captive breeding of tigers.

UPSC previous year Questions

The UPSC has asked a question regarding tiger reserve in UPSC civil service main examination. This shows the importance of the topic. Along with that, we are providing probable UPSC question for practicing.

The issue of tourism in core areas of tiger reserve forests in the country is a subject matter of debate. Critically examine various aspects of this issue, keeping in view relevant recent judicial pronouncements.

Click here to get the UPSC Previous Year Question Paper

Practice questions for UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam

Practice question for UPSC IAS Prelims Exam

Match the following

• Sanjay Dubri             A. Uttar Pradesh
• Palamau                    B. Jharkhand
• Namdapha                C. Madhya Pradesh
• Amangarh                  D. Arunachal Pradesh
• Dampa                        E. Mizoram

Choose the correct option.

• 1-B, 2-C, 3-D, 4-A, 5-E
• 1-A, 2-B, 3-D, 4-C, 5-E
• 1-C, 2-A, 3-E, 4-B, 5-D
• 1-C, 2-B, 3-D, 4-A, 5-E

Get the previous years’ Topic Wise UPSC Prelims Questions PDF in the linked article.

Practice question for UPSC IAS Mains Exam

With reference to man-animal, what are the socio-economic impacts of man-animal conflicts and the reason for increasing the man-animal conflicts, and what are the steps taken by concerned authorities?

Related Links

Frequently Asked Questions on Tiger Reserves and Conservation in India

Q 1. how many tiger reserves are there in india, q 2. which state has the highest tiger reserves in india.

Ans. As per the Tiger Reserve in India map, Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of Tiger Reserves. There are six tiger reserves in the state:

• Kanha Tiger Reserve
• Pench Tiger Reserve
• Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve
• Panna Tiger Reserve
• Satpura Tiger Reserve
• Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve

Q 3. Which city is also known as the tiger city in India?

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• Project Tiger
• Wildlife Conservation
• Testimonial

Explore The Wildlife Adventure of India

• Wildlife Safari
• Tiger Safari
• Wildlife Adventure Safaris
• Birding Tour
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• Weekend Tours

Ranthambore National Park

Bandhavgarh national park, kanha national park, kaziranga national park, manas national park, sunderbans national park.

• Gir National Park

Corbett National Park

Periyar national park.

• Desert National Park
• Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary
• Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
• BR Hills Wildlife Sanctuary
• Sambhar Wildlife Sanctuary
• Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary
• Gahirmatha Turtle Sanctuary
• National Chambal Sanctuary
• Tal Chhapar Blackbuck Sanctuary
• Indian Elephants
• Indian Tiger or Royal Bengal Tiger
• Asiatic Lion
• Indian Rhino

As the number of tigers is decreasing day by day, we need to take preventive measures to save them from getting extinct. Numerous efforts are being carried out to save their species, and Project Tiger is an important movement aimed at the Wildlife conservation of tiger in India .

The habitat required by the Tigers should be made proper, and any cutting of trees in that area should be avoided. Being the national animal of India, it is our duty that we safeguard the wildlife properly. Many projects taken by India has led to a decrease in the depletion of tigers.

Many conservation areas were created to make sure that no human could enter the area and do any harm to the tiger or its habitat. Project Tiger was first initiated in the year April 1, 1973, and is still going on.

This project was started to save tigers. The much-needed project was launched in Jim Corbett National Park , Uttrakhand under the leadership of Indira Gandhi. The objectives of the Project Tiger was clear- saving Royal Bengal Tigers from getting extinct.

The major cause of their depletion is humans, and so all the conservation areas are made human free. They made sure that the place that tigers lived in was also safe and secure.

Project Tiger has been successful in increasing the population of the tigers. The number has increased from 1200 to around 5000. The project team has been doing its work with full dedication, and all national parks are putting efforts in doing the project. There are around fifty national parks and sanctuaries that are involved in this project.

Jim Corbett, Bandipur, Ranthambore, Nagarhole, Nazgira, Dudhwa, Gir, Kanha, Sunderbans, Bandhavgarh, Manas, Panna, Melghat, Palamau, Similipal, Periyar, Sariska, Buxa, Indravati, Namdapha, Mundanthurai, Valmiki, Pench, Tadoba Andhari, Dampa, Bhadra, Pench (Maharashtra), Pakke, Nameri, Satpura, Anamalai, Udanti- Sitanadi, Satkosia, Kaziranga, Achanakmar, Dandeli Anshi, Sanjay- Dubri, Mudumalai, Nagarhole (Karnataka), Parambikulam, Sahyadri, Bilgiri, Kawal, Sathyamangalam, Mukandra, Srisailam, Amrabad, Pilibhit, Bor, Rajaji, Orang and Kamlang are the national parks in India involved in the Project Tiger.

Recent additions to this project are are: Ratapani Tiger Reserve(Madhya Pradesh), Sunabeda Tiger Reserve (Odisha), and Guru Ghasidas (Chhattisgarh).

There were many obstacles in the project like poaching and the Forest Rights Act, but all were handled well by the government, and the project is running in full speed.

The success of Project Tiger:

The journey of increasing tiger population has not been easy. Around the 1970s the tiger count was only one thousand and two hundred, but according to the recent census, it has increased to five thousand. In fact, there has been a thirty per cent rise in the population in the last eight years.

This says a lot about the efforts put in by the government and the national parks. While the whole world is seeking methods of increasing the number of tigers, India has already started achieving milestones through Project Tiger.

From turning hunting grounds to tiger reserves , India has shown its magic of conserving wildlife in general. They have also updated the acts regarding forest and wildlife. Any kind of illegal trading of animals has been banned.

Human interference in any of the reserves and forests is not allowed. A proper habitat has been created for the Tigers to hunt, live and survive. The world has recognised this project as the ‘Most successful project’.

The project is still going on and will continue until the Tigers don’t come out of the endangered species category. The next recording of the population is going to be in 2019 and the number recorded will be a mark of success.

Challenges faced by the government for Project Tiger:

Any successful project has to bear a lot of pressure and has to face many challenges. Making Project Tiger into a successful piece of work, there are efforts and dedication of various government officials. During ancient times, it was difficult to take off the lands that were used for hunting. Many didn’t like it and raised objections. But the project happened nonetheless.

Another major challenge was poaching. Many individuals use to sell tiger bones and skin to international markets. This was a major business for them and earned good money. After all the initiatives taken by the project, they couldn’t stop illegal trading of animal skin. Individuals used to break the law and sell them to international buyers. This triggered the depletion of tigers. The government officials made strict law and grounded the problem.

During the building of sanctuaries and reserves, the human population living over there faced the problem and therefore raised their voice against it. They passed out a Forest Rights Act in which they stated their difficulty. They wanted to have space for them as well and did not want to move from their original area.

In some national parks, humans still reside on the outskirts of the park. They have come in peace with the Project Tiger and understood its importance. Though some individuals are not very sure about the decision, the project is happening in full speed.

Employment generated by the Project Tiger:

With the increasing success of the project, the demand for human help came into the picture. Starting from building national parks to handling it, every aspect of it generated employment.

When the grounds were converted into national parks, general labourers got work. And as the project is still exceeding, there is always a need for labour. Other than that, builders and architects are needed to plan the area. The Project Tiger made a point to appoint the best worker, new or old.

After the work was done and the wildlife was settled, the national parks require management. There is a conservation team for every state. In that team, managers, supervisors and employees were recruited.

To make people aware about the existence of the Project Tiger and to make them realise the importance of the problem, a marketing team was hired. Posters, banners, television commercials and social media helped in spreading the word.

The breeding of the animals is done by the experts. This part of the job is ever increasing due to the spread of the project. They make sure that all the facilities, species and everything is proper for the breeding of the tigers.

The most significant job that gets majority profit is the tourism industry. With national parks exceeding and rare animals being conserved, tourists visit the place often. The national parks have started to keep an entry fee and also has safaris for extra income. The local guides are getting more opportunities to do their jobs.

This way the Project Tiger was not only useful for tigers, but for humans as well.

How Project Tiger helped in protecting other wild species?

After seeing the success of Project Tiger, the government updated the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 . This made sure that along with tigers, other wildlife also gets protected. One by one, every national park took an initiative to save endangered species. For, e.g.: Gir conserves lions, and Kaziranga conserves one-horned rhinos. The project made people realize the importance of other wildlife.

As hunting was banned to save tigers, other animals were also saved from the brutal clutches of the game. Eventually, the population of many animals started increasing. Tiger reserves also have various other animals. So along with the tigers, even they are conserved.

All decisions taken in accordance with Project Tiger helped in the growth of other species. Many national parks started having their own individual projects. Despite all the challenges, the project made sure to save animals from the hands of humans.

Government became more aware of the species that are depleting. The awareness made them realize to do something about the other endangered species as well. Now along with the national animal of the country, all the other species are also being saved.

Conclusion:

Project Tiger has been undertaken by more than fifty national parks, and every park is putting an equal effort to save the endangered species.

Increasing four thousand tigers in the past few years is one of the landmark achievement of the project. Humans have stopped hunting and illegal trading of tiger skin to a very large extent, it has almost stopped.

The project has made sure that tigers do not have to suffer because of selfish human needs. All the other animals that were depleting because of human interference has stopped.

The national parks are taking initiatives to save and conserve every animal. People have become more aware of the wildlife problem and have taken steps to stop them from decreasing.

Project Tiger also generated jobs for many individuals. The wildlife has been facing little fewer problems since the project started. Project Tiger has saved not only tigers but also saved other aspects of wildlife!

This is where the project started and is one of the oldest tiger reserves of India. The forest was set up in 1936, much before independence and it became a tiger reserve in 1973. There are zones in Jim Corbett for tigers- Dhikala, Bijrani, Jhirna, Domunda and Sonanadi. They are well kept, and the regulations regarding the tigers are very strict. Other than tigers, Corbett has varied types of birds and animals.

The place which was the favourite hunting spot for kings has now turned into one of the largest tiger reserves in India. The jungle was created into a tiger reserve in the year 1973. The reserve is home to various other animals and birds. Apart from tigers, Ranthambore is known for its population of leopards, sloth bears, hyenas, fox and jackals. The reserve covers more than thousand square feet of area. If you want a maximum number of tigers, then you should come in the months of February and March.

Spread around an area of 2585 sq. km, you can see the highest number of Royal Bengal Tigers living here. It is one of the largest mangrove forest and tiger reserve. The tree “Sundari” is in excess here and covers the majority of the forest, that is why the name Sunderban. According to the old census, Sunderban approximately consists of four hundred tigers. It also preserves other animals, birds and aquatic animals.

Another national park with the highest population of tigers. The park is the most beautiful place to watch animals and birds, the wildlife species residing here are varied and huge in number. Many people know this place because of a tigress named Sita, the most photogenic tiger. They have not only the highest number of tigers, but also the most attractive ones. Visit in the months of March and April, and you’ll be able to enjoy looking at various animals. Tala zone in the park has the most number of tigers.

Sariska National Park

The habitat of dry deciduous forest and hilly pathways suits the lifestyle of tigers. The animals that are in abundance here are tiger, leopard and crocodiles. There is also a fort inside the tiger reserve named as Kankarwadi fort. The place provides timely breeding of tigers to increase the existing number. The park turned into a national park in 1978 and had been doing a great job since then. You should visit Sariska in the month of November or December for a thrilling and amazing experience.

Panna National Park

Not the biggest national park, but is titled as the most maintained national park of India. The authorities make sure that the park is left clean after tourists have left and have strict rules on cleanliness. The park took part in the Project Tiger in the year 1994. The park also shelters leopards, wild dogs and various other animals. Along with that, there are two hundred species of birds residing here. The national park is also known for its breathtaking views, caves, perennial springs, waterfalls and mind-blowing nature.

Situated in Kerala, this national park has to be one of the best places to nurture nature and explore wildlife in India. The park is mainly known for its population of tiger and elephants. The park is actually built around the Periyar lake and is the extension for the same. There are only thirty to forty tigers right now in reserve, but the breeding process will soon increase the number. Visit this national park during winters because the climate is very soothing and calm. Along with spotting wildlife, there are other various activities that you can do in Periyar National Park.

Bandipur National Park

It roughly covers around eight hundred square kilometres, but it conserves many endangered species. Situated in Bandipur, the national park started conserving tigers from the year 1973. The journey of turning a private hunting ground into a national park with amazing wildlife has been tough, but it managed to survive the obstacles. Along with the wildlife, the park is also rich in nature. A wide variety of flowers and herbs can be found here. There are various activities which happen in and around the park, which makes it a good tourist spot.

Nagarhole National Park

The park is close to Mysore and is one of the most scenic parks you’ll ever visit. The count of tigers is not very high, just forty-eight, but the park is trying to increase the number. Another speciality of the park is that it holds the largest number of plant-eating animals in Asia. Along with rich nature, Nagarhole also accommodates various valleys and waterfalls. The entry fee is minimal, and the service is also amazing. Individuals should plan their trip to Nagarhole in the month of October or November.

Pench National Park

The national park was turned into tiger reserve in the year 1992 and is situated near Satpuda hills. Currently, the number of tigers present in the park is twenty-five. Though the numbers are less, the chances of spotting a tiger is a little high. The area of the park is comparatively smaller, and the animals hunted by the tiger are on the banks of the Pench River. So if you want to spot a tiger, you can spot it near this river.

Madhya Pradesh seems to be having a good number of tiger population. The soil which covers the land of Kanha is of a particular type known as Kanhar and hence the name. The flora that covers the park is mesmerizing, and because of the vegetation surrounding Kanha, it is titled as one of the most beautiful tiger reserves of India. The streams that flow in Kanha just adds to the beauty of it. Another animal which is endangered and can be found here is Barasingha, the swamp deer. Other than this, Kanha shelters a large number of wildlife and birds.

Kaziranga was built like a tiger reserve in 2008. With its area of 430 sq. km, this place is the most visited wildlife destination of India. Covered with meadows, marshy tidal ponds, and thick backwoods this place shelters varied wildlife. Exploring wildlife is fun when you are in Kazaringa as the place gives something different with every step you take. The Tigers are increasing in Kaziranga because of the conservative steps were taken by them. It is one of the most visited national parks in India due to the variety it presents to the tourists. It is a heritage site of the world with two third of one-horned rhinoceroses over here. Everywhere you can see the pug mark of tigers and this territorial marking will definitely keep you thrilled and amazed. The park is open from October to May depending on the condition of the weather and the road. Continuous efforts are being put to preserve the magnificent species of tigers from extinction. This national park is a heaven for the safety of tigers.

Rajaji National Park

This Tiger Reserve was taken in the project in the year 2015. The reserve is situated in the midst of Shivalik Ranges and the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Few endangered species also finds a home here. After tigers, another animal which attracts the majority of the tourists is a Himalayan black bear. The chance of spotting a tiger is good in Rajaji, and one should have a keen eye to spot it. April, May and November are the most suitable months to visit Rajaji National park. It is a wonderful place for photographers and nature enthusiasts. The amazing diversity of flora and fauna that you’ll see over here will keep you captivated for a long time. You can see the royal tiger roaming proudly in the park. The safaris over here give you an opportunity to soak up into the adventure of this place. The snow capped dense mountains and glaciers offers the bird trekkers and adventure lovers the joy of their life.

The park in total accommodates six districts and six rivers in Assam. It is situated across the foothills of the dense Himalayas and is a world-famous reserve for the protection of the tiger. Extended over an area of 500 sq. km this park has enriched biodiversity. The park is an attraction because it mainly conserves tigers and elephants. Rivers flowing through dense forests, hills and wildlife is what makes a scenic spot for tourists. Other than gazing at wildlife, Manas has various other activities like elephant safari, boating and tiger spotting to name a few. It is a house to many other endangered species. The best time to visit Manas is from October to April; the climate is clear during these months. Rainfall is heavy in Assam, and so the national parks mostly remain close. It also holds the prominence for being the only park that offers excursion opportunities at night so that you can explore the entire wildlife and its pristine beauty.

Tadoba National Park

Being one of the oldest homes of tigers the name Tadoba comes from a deity who lost his life while having a terrifying war with the tiger. Spread across 625 sq km, you’ll have a lot to see and explore once you’re over here. It is the 28th Tiger Reserve Project of India and is an absolute galore for the wildlife lovers. You can find March crocodiles also over here along with the sprinkling blue lake where you can find water birds like Jacanas, Ratel, Cattle Egrets, and flying squirrel. The main attraction of Tadobal National park are tigers that attract the tourists to come over here. You can find many other species of wild animals over here like Chichewa, Dhawada, Bija, Bel, Behada, Ain, Arjun Phetra, Salai, Semal and Surya. The tracks of this natural wildlife wonder are one in a lifetime experience. If you’re lucky, you can also find Palm Civet wandering at the night. The best time to visit this park is from October to June. You can also have the glimpse of the bewildering beauty of this national park during the monsoon.

Dudhwa National Park

In 1958 Dudhwa National park was declared as a wildlife sanctuary. It then became a national park in 1977 and tiger reserve project in 1988. It extends in an area of 11 Sq. KMS consisting of marshes, dense jungles and grasslands. Swamp deer and tiger are the major attraction of this place. You’ll be glad to know that there are more than 1600 tigers over here and is the home of 38 varieties of mammals. You can also find diverse species of colourful birds over here. The Bahera Terminalia Balerica, Shisham Dalbergia Sissoo, Jamun Syzygium Cumini and Sal Shorea Robusta are the major floras of this park. Different varieties of fishes can also be found over here. It consists of two core regions named as Kishanpur wildlife sanctuary and Dudhwa National Park. The best time to visit this park is between mid-November to June.

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Table of Contents

Understanding project risk management, definition and explanation of project risk management, 4 key components of project risk management, risk identification, risk assessment, risk response planning, risk monitoring and control, 5 project risk management case studies, gordie howe international bridge project, fujitsu’s early-career project managers, vodafone’s complex technology project, fehmarnbelt project, lend lease project, project risk management at designveloper, how we manage project risks, advancements in project risk management, project risk management: 5 case studies you should not miss.

May 21, 2024

Exploring project risk management, one can see how vital it is in today’s business world. This article from Designveloper, “Project Risk Management: 5 Case Studies You Should Not Miss”, exists in order to shed light on this important component of project management.

We’ll reference some new numbers and facts that highlight the significance of risk management in projects. These data points are based on legit reports and will help create a good basis of understanding on the subject matter.

In addition, we will discuss specific case studies when risk management was successfully applied and when it was not applied in project management. These real world examples are very much important for project managers and teams.

It is also important to keep in mind that each project has associated risks. However through project risk management these risks can be identified, analyzed, prioritized and managed in order to make the project achieve its objectives. Well then, let’s take this journey of understanding together. Watch out for an analysis of the five case studies you must not miss.

Risk management is a very critical component of any project. Risk management is a set of tools that allow determining the potential threats to the success of a project and how to address them. Let’s look at some more recent stats and examples to understand this better.

Statistics show that as high as 70% of all projects are unsuccessful . This high failure rate highlights the need for efficient project risk management. Surprisingly, organizations that do not attach much importance to project risk management face 50% chances of their project failure. This results in huge losses of money and untapped business potential.

Additionally, poor performance leads to approximated 10% loss of every dollar spent on projects. This translates to a loss of $99 for every $1 billion invested. These statistics demonstrate the importance of project risk management in improving project success rates and minimizing waste.

Let us consider a project management example to demonstrate the relevance of the issue discussed above. Consider a new refinery being constructed in the Middle East. The project is entering a key phase: purchasing. Poor risk management could see important decisions surrounding procurement strategy, or the timing of the tendering process result in project failure.

Project risk management in itself is a process that entails the identification of potential threats and their mitigation. It is not reactionary but proactive.

This process begins with the identification of potential risks. These could be any time from budget overruns to delayed deliveries. After the risks are identified they are then analyzed. This involves estimating the probability of each risk event and the potential consequences to the project.

The next stage is risk response planning. This could be in the form of risk reduction, risk shifting or risk acceptance. The goal here is to reduce the impact of risks on the project.

Finally, the process entails identifying and tracking these risks throughout the life of a project. This helps in keeping the project on course and any new risks that might arise are identified and managed.

Let’s dive into the heart of project risk management: its four key components. These pillars form the foundation of any successful risk management strategy. They are risk identification, risk analysis, risk response planning, and risk monitoring and control. Each plays a crucial role in ensuring project success. This section will provide a detailed explanation of each component, backed by data and real-world examples. So, let’s embark on this journey to understand the four key components of project risk management.

Risk identification is the first process in a project risk management process. It’s about proactively identifying risks that might cause a project to fail. This is very important because a recent study has shown that 77% of companies had operational surprises due to unidentified risks.

There are different approaches to risk identification such as brainstorming, Delphi technique, SWOT analysis, checklist analysis, flowchart. These techniques assist project teams in identifying all potential risks.

Risk identification is the second stage of the project risk management process. It is a systematic approach that tries to determine the probability of occurrence and severity of identified risks. This step is very important; it helps to rank the identified risks and assists in the formation of risk response strategies.

Risk assessment involves two key elements: frequency and severity of occurrence. As for risk probability, it estimates the chances of a risk event taking place, and risk impact measures the impact associated with the risk event.

This is the third component of project risk management. It deals with planning the best ways to deal with the risks that have been identified. This step is important since it ensures that the risk does not have a substantial effect on the project.

One of the statistics stated that nearly three-quarters of organizations have an incident response plan and 63 percent of these organizations conduct the plan regularly. This explains why focusing only on risks’ identification and analysis without a plan of action is inadequate.

Risk response planning involves four key strategies: risk acceptance, risk sharing, risk reduction, and risk elimination. Each strategy is selected depending on the nature and potential of the risk.

Risk monitoring and control is the last step of project risk management. It’s about monitoring and controlling the identified risks and making sure that they are being addressed according to the plan.

Furthermore, risk control and management involve managing identified risks, monitoring the remaining risk, identifying new risks, implementing risk strategies, and evaluating their implementation during the project life cycle.

It is now high time to approach the practical side of project risk management. This section provides selected five case studies that explain the need and application of project risk management. Each case study gives an individual approach revealing how risk management can facilitate success of the project. Additionally, these case studies include construction projects, technology groups, among other industries. They show how effective project risk management can be, by allowing organizations to respond to uncertainties and successfully accomplish their project objectives. Let us now examine these case studies and understand the concept of risk in project management.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is one of the projects that demonstrate the principles of project risk management. This is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in North America which includes the construction of a 6 lane bridge at the busiest commercial border crossing point between the U.S. and Canada.

The project scope can be summarized as: New Port of Entry and Inspection facilities for the Canadian and US governments; Tolls Collection Facilities; Projects and modifications to multiple local bridges and roadways. The project is administered via Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, a nonprofit Canadian Crown entity.

Specifically, one of the project challenges associated with the fact that the project was a big one in terms of land size and the community of interests involved in the undertaking. Governance and the CI were fundamental aspects that helped the project team to overcome these challenges.

The PMBOK® Guide is the contractual basis for project management of the project agreement. This dedication to following the best practices for project management does not end with bridge construction: It spreads to all other requirements.

However, the project is making steady progress to the objective of finishing the project in 2024. This case study clearly demonstrates the role of project risk management in achieving success with large and complicated infrastructure projects.

Fujitsu is an international company that deals with the provision of a total information and communication technology system as well as its products and services. The typical way was to employ a few college and school leavers and engage them in a two-year manual management training and development course. Nevertheless, this approach failed in terms of the following.

Firstly, the training was not comprehensive in its coverage of project management and was solely concerned with generic messaging – for example, promoting leadership skills and time management. Secondly it was not effectively reaching out to the need of apprentices. Thirdly the two year time frame was not sufficient to allow for a deep approach to the development of the required project management skills for this job. Finally the retention problems of employees in the train program presented a number of issues.

To tackle these issues, Fujitsu UK adopted a framework based on three dimensions: structured learning, learning from others, and rotation. This framework is designed to operate for the first five years of a participant’s career and is underpinned by the 70-20-10 model for learning and development. Rogers’ model acknowledges that most learning occurs on the job.

The initial training process starts with a three-week formal learning and induction program that includes the initial orientation to the organization and its operations, the fundamentals of project management, and business in general. Lastly, the participants are put on a rotational assignment in the PMO of the program for the first six to eight months.

Vodafone is a multinational mobile telecommunications group that manages telecommunications services in 28 countries across five continents and decided to undertake a highly complex technology project to replace an existing network with a fully managed GLAN in 42 locations. This project was much complex and thus a well grounded approach to risk management was needed.

The project team faced a long period of delay in signing the contract and frequent changes after the contract was signed until the project is baselined. These challenges stretched the time frame of the project and enhanced the project complexity.

In order to mitigate the risks, Vodafone employed PMI standards for their project management structure. This approach included conducting workshops, developing resource and risk management plan and tailoring project documentations as well as conducting regular lesson learned.

Like any other project, the Vodafone GLAN project was not an easy one either but it was completed on time and in some cases ahead of the schedule that the team had anticipated to complete the project. At the first stage 90% of migrated sites were successfully migrated at the first attempt and 100% – at second.

The Fehmarnbelt project is a real-life example of the strategic role of project risk management. It provides information about a mega-project to construct the world’s longest immersed tunnel between Germany and Denmark. It will be a four-lane highway and two-rail electrified tunnel extending for 18 kilometers and it will be buried 40 meters under the Baltic Sea.

This project is managed by Femern A/S which is a Danish government-owned company with construction value over more than €7 billion (£8. 2 billion). It is estimated to provide jobs for 3,000 workers directly in addition to 10,000 in the suppliers. Upon its completion, its travel between Denmark and Germany will be cut to 10 minutes by automobile and 7 minutes by rail.

The Femern risk management functions and controls in particular the role of Risk Manager Bo Nygaard Sørensen then initiated the process and developed some clear key strategic objectives for the project. They formulated a simple, dynamic, and comprehensive risk register to give a more complete risk view of the mega-project. They also created a risk index in order to assess all risks in a consistent and predictable manner, classify them according to their importance, and manage and overcome the risks in an appropriate and timely manner.

Predict! is a risk assessment and analysis tool that came in use by the team, which helps determine the effect of various risks on the cost of the construction of the link and to calculate the risk contingency needed for the project. This way they were able to make decisions on whether an immersed tunnel could be constructed instead of a bridge.

Lend Lease is an international property and infrastructure group that operates in over 20 countries in the world; the company offers a better example of managing project risks. The company has established a complex framework called the Global Minimum Requirements (GMRs) to identify risks to which it is exposed.

The GMRs have scope for the phase of the project before a decision to bid for a job is taken. This framework includes factors related to flooding, heat, biodiversity, land or soil subsidence, water, weathering, infrastructure and insurance.

The GMRs are organized into five main phases in line with the five main development stages of a project. These stages guarantee that vital decisions are made at the ideal time. The stages include governance, investment, design and procurement, establishment, and delivery.

For instance, during the design and procurement stage, the GMRs identify requisite design controls that will prevent environment degradation during design as well as fatal risk elimination during planning and procurement. This approach aids in effective management of risks and delivery of successful projects in Lend Lease.

Let’s take a closer look at what risk management strategies are used here at Designveloper – a top web & software development firm in Vietnam. We also provide a range of other services, so it is essential that we manage risks on all our projects in similar and effective ways. The following part of the paper will try to give a glimpse of how we manage project risk in an exemplary manner using research from recent years and include specific cases.

The following steps explain the risk management process that we use—from the identification of potential risks to managing them: Discovering the risks. We will also mention here how our experience and expertise has helped us in this area.

Risk management as a function in project delivery is well comprehended at Designveloper. Our method of managing the project risk is proactive and systematic, which enables us to predict possible problems and create successful solutions to overcome them.

One of the problems we frequently encounter is the comprehension of our clients’ needs. In most cases, clients come to us with a basic idea or concept. To convert these ideas into particular requirements and feature lists, the business analysts of our company have to collaborate with the client. The whole process is often a time-waster, and having a chance is missed.

To solve this problem, we’ve created a library of features with their own time and cost estimate. This library is based on data of previous projects that we have documented, arranged, and consolidated. At the present time when a client approaches us with a request, we can search for similar features in our library and give an initial quote. This method has considerably cut the period of providing the first estimations to our clients and saving the time for all participants.

This is only one of the techniques we use to mitigate project risks at Designveloper. The focus on effective project risk management has been contributing significantly to our successful operation as a leading company in web and software development in Vietnam. It is a mindset that enables us to convert challenges into opportunities and provide outstanding results for our clients.

In Designveloper, we always aim at enhancing our project risk management actions. Below are a couple examples of the advancements we’ve made.

To reduce the waiting time, we have adopted continuous deployment. This enables us to provide value fast and effectively. We release a minimum feature rather than a big feature. It helps us to collect the input from our customers and keep on improving. What this translates into for our customers is that they start to derive value from the product quickly and that they have near-continuous improvement rather than have to wait for a “perfect” feature.

We also hold regular “sync-up” meetings between teams to keep the information synchronized and transparent from input (requirements) to output (product). Changes are known to all teams and thus teams can prepare to respond in a flexible and best manner.

Some of these developments in project risk management have enabled us to complete projects successfully, and be of an excellent service to our clients. They show our support of the never-ending improving and our capability to turn threats into opportunities. The strength of Designveloper is largely attributed to the fact that we do not just control project risks – we master them.

To conclude, project risk management is an important element of nearly all successful projects. It is all about identification of possible problems and organization necessary measures that will result in the success of the project. The case studies addressed in this article illustrate the significance and implementation of project risk management in different settings and fields. They show what efficient risk management can result in.

We have witnessed the advantages of solid project risk management at Designveloper. The combination of our approach, powered by our track record and professionalism, has enabled us to complete projects that met all client’s requirements. We are not only managing project risks but rather mastering them.

We trust you have found this article helpful in understanding project risk management and its significance in the fast-changing, complicated project environment of today. However, one needs to mind that proper project management is not only about task and resource management but also risk management. And at Designveloper, our team is there to guide you through those risks and to help you realize your project’s objectives.

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A Case Study of Megaproject Success: The KCI Terminal

• Conference paper
• First Online: 21 May 2024
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• Giuseppe Sassano 14 ,
• Alexander Budzier 15 &
• Tiffany Hadley 14  

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering ((LNCE,volume 493))

Included in the following conference series:

• International Workshop “A Multidisciplinary Approach to Embrace Complexity and Sustainability in Megaprojects

This paper is written based on an independent assessment and case study of the performance of the “New Single Terminal & Parking at KCI – Terminal Modernization Project”.

The independent review found that the KCI Project performed better than 90% of projects of a global benchmark of 46 projects for both cost and schedule. At a national level, the KCI Project’s cost performance was better than 91% of US benchmark projects.

Moreover, the KCI Project is in the top 4% of airport projects that met both their cost and schedule targets, as quantitatively evaluated. When considering the benefits dimension (as qualitatively evaluated), KCI is placed in the 0.5% of projects globally, which characterizes megaprojects that meet expectations in terms of cost, schedule, and benefits achieved.

The qualitative analysis, based on 10 interviews with senior leaders and decision-makers of the KCI project, cross-referenced with project files such as financial disclosures, meeting minutes, project plans, independent reports of benefits shared by Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate and validation documents from Kansas City Aviation Department, found that the most important critical factors behind the success were: Capable leadership and project teams; rigorous decision-making behaviors which reduced optimism bias; proactive stakeholder engagement and management.

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Oxford Global Projects, Oxford, OX4 4GP, UK

Giuseppe Sassano & Tiffany Hadley

Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 1HP, UK

Alexander Budzier

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Dipartimento di Scienze economiche e sociali, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy

Franca Cantoni

Department of Management, University of Turin, Torino, Italy

Laura Corazza

DISES, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy

Ernesto De Nito

Dipartimento di Economia, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy

Primiano Di Nauta

DIG, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

Edoardo Favari

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Sassano, G., Budzier, A., Hadley, T. (2024). A Case Study of Megaproject Success: The KCI Terminal. In: Cantoni, F., Corazza, L., De Nito, E., Di Nauta, P., Favari, E. (eds) Complexity and Sustainability in Megaprojects. MERIT 2023. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 493. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-59703-9_13

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-59703-9_13

Published : 21 May 2024

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