India embarked on a historic journey in 2022 with the launch of Project Cheetah, an ambitious wildlife conservation initiative aimed to reintroduce the cheetah, the fastest big cat, declared extinct in India in 1952 due to indiscriminate hunting during the colonial era and significant habitat loss. The arrival of cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa marked not just the return of a species, but an attempt to reintroduce wildlife in their
natural habitats.
PM Modi faced much flak at that time from the opposition with the death of Cheetahs who couldn’t acclimitize to their new homes. However, the recent birth of five Cheetah cubs at the Kuna National Park has silenced naysayers.
Restoring trophic cascades
The reintroduction of the cheetah is premised on the principles of rewilding. As articulated in works like “Rewilding Our Future: Restoring Natural Processes to Our Landscapes” by Daniel H. Janzen and Paul S. Martin, rewilding aims to restore natural processes, including the vital trophic cascades that define healthy ecosystems.
As an apex predator, the Cheetah is crucial for biodiverse ecosystems in the following ways:
● Regulating Prey Populations: Cheetahs primarily prey on medium-sized herbivores. By controlling their numbers, they prevent overgrazing, which can degrade grasslands and impact plant diversity.
● Ecosystem Balance: Their presence helps maintain the overall health and balance of grasslands and open forest ecosystems, influencing vegetation structure, nutrient cycling, and the populations of smaller species by keeping herbivores in check.
● Umbrella Species: A thriving cheetah population signifies a healthy prey base and undisturbed habitat. Conservation efforts focused on cheetahs effectively provide an “umbrella” of protection for numerous other species, both flora and fauna, that share their unique grassland ecosystems.
● Biodiversity Restoration: Reintroducing an extinct species helps restore a missing piece of India’s natural heritage, completing the intricate web of life that was broken decades ago.
India’s Cheetah conservation efforts, guided by robust planning and adhering to IUCN Guidelines on reintroduction and translocation, signify a bold commitment to ecological restoration. By bringing back the cheetah, India is actively working to mend its ecosystems, strengthen its biodiversity, and reaffirm its role as a global leader in wildlife conservation. The success of Project Cheetah will resonate far beyond Kuno National Park, offering a beacon of hope for rewilding initiatives worldwide.
A new era of flagship conservation
Under the Modi government, there has been a noticeable shift towards launching comprehensive, dedicated initiatives for specific endangered species, complementing and building upon the foundational efforts of previous administrations.
This strategic emphasis is evident in projects like:
● Project Lion (2020): A robust, dedicated program for the conservation of the Asiatic Lion, the last wild population of which exists solely in India. As per a 2020 Lion Census in Gujarat, the number of lions increased to 674 from 523 in 2015.
● Project Dolphin (2020): A pioneering initiative focused on the protection of both riverine (like the Gangetic Dolphin) and oceanic dolphins across India’s aquatic ecosystems.
● Project Great Indian Bustard (GIB): The Great Indian Bustard is India’s most critically endangered bird species, with a global population estimated to be fewer than 150, almost entirely concentrated in Rajasthan. The project is a special, targeted intervention, including ex-situ conservation and critical mitigation of power line threats, to save one of the world’s most critically endangered bird species.
While previous governments, such as the UPA (2004-2014), focused on continuing established programs like Project Elephant or initiating long-term visions like Indian Rhino Vision 2020, the current administration has demonstrated a more proactive approach in establishing these new, high-profile “Project X” initiatives.
Strengthening the conservation framework
India’s renewed conservation drive extends beyond individual species to encompass a more holistic and robust policy framework.
● National Wildlife Action Plan (2017-2031): This forward-looking plan provides a comprehensive roadmap for conservation, explicitly addressing contemporary challenges like the impacts of climate change, escalating human-wildlife conflict, and the vital need to integrate conservation efforts with sustainable development goals.
● National Guidelines for Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation (2021): Recognizing the growing complexities of coexistence, these dedicated guidelines provide a comprehensive policy framework for addressing human-wildlife conflict, a pressing issue across the country.
Since 2014, there has been a coordinated effort towards wildlife conservation, rewilding, and restoring the natural habitats and population of extinct species. Through flagship, forward-looking schemes, stricter enforcement, and technological intervention, wildlife conservation efforts have gained momentum. There has also been an emphasis on community engagement. With flagship initiatives and stronger policy frameworks, India is restoring ecosystems, protecting endangered wildlife, and empowering communities. Together, these efforts position India as a global leader in modern, future-ready conservation.
