Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Initiative, Objectives, Features

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has launched the Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Initiative to address the growing presence of tigers outside notified Tiger Reserves and promote safe coexistence between humans and wildlife across shared landscapes.

About Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Initiative

The Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Initiative, launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), is a pilot programme aimed at conserving tigers in human-dominated landscapes outside notified Tiger Reserves through a science-based, landscape-level and coexistence-oriented approach.

The Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Initiative has been launched in response to the increasing number of tigers dispersing beyond protected areas due to habitat saturation and population recovery.

Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Initiative Need 

India’s remarkable success in tiger conservation has created a new conservation reality. The tiger population has increased from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2022, making India home to over 70% of the world’s wild tigers. As tiger populations recover, many disperse beyond Tiger Reserves into villages, agricultural lands and forest fringes in search of new territories. According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), nearly 35-40% of India’s tigers now live outside Tiger Reserves, leading to increased human–tiger interactions, livestock depredation, rescue operations and public anxiety.

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Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Initiative Objectives

Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Initiative seeks to promote safe and sustainable coexistence between people and tigers across shared landscapes through a science-based approach.

• Establish a scientifically grounded, landscape-based framework for conserving tigers outside Tiger Reserves.
• Shift from reactive conflict response to proactive, technology-driven conflict prevention.
• Reduce human-tiger conflict while safeguarding human lives, livelihoods and tiger populations.
• Strengthen surveillance, monitoring, rescue infrastructure and rapid response mechanisms.
• Promote community participation, awareness and timely compensation to build public trust.
• Generate field-based evidence through pilot implementation to guide future national policy.

Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Initiative Key Features 

Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Initiative adopts an integrated approach that combines scientific management, technology and community participation to manage tigers across shared landscapes.

• Pilot-based implementation: Introduced initially in 40 forest divisions across nine States – Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Assam to generate field-based evidence before nationwide expansion.
• Dual implementation strategy: Built on two complementary pillars – strengthening conflict mitigation and field protection, and promoting long-term human-tiger coexistence through community engagement.
• Technology-enabled conservation: Utilises camera traps, GPS-enabled monitoring, drones and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for surveillance, early warning and evidence-based decision-making.
• Strengthened institutional capacity: Enhances communication systems, rapid response teams, rescue infrastructure and coordination among forest departments during conflict situations.
• Community-centric approach: Promotes awareness programmes, local participation and partnership with villagers, recognising that conservation outside protected areas depends on community trust.
• Improved compensation mechanism: Encourages timely and simplified compensation for human casualties, livestock loss and crop damage to reduce resentment and strengthen public confidence.
• Capacity building: Focuses on training forest personnel, veterinarians and wildlife rescue teams to improve preparedness and professional response.
• Adaptive policy framework: Uses continuous monitoring and lessons from the pilot phase to refine future conservation strategies for tigers outside protected areas.

Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Initiative Significance

The Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Initiative reflects India’s shift from reserve-centric conservation to landscape-level conservation.

• Secures tigers beyond reserves: Recognises that a large share of India’s tigers now live outside Tiger Reserves and need dedicated conservation measures.
• Promotes human-tiger coexistence: Focuses on preventing conflict while protecting both human lives and tiger populations.
• Conserves wildlife corridors: Protects dispersal routes that maintain genetic diversity and healthy tiger populations.
• Strengthens conservation governance: Improves monitoring, rapid response, institutional capacity and technology-driven management.
• Supports sustainable development: Balances biodiversity conservation with local livelihoods through community participation and timely compensation.
• Strengthens India’s global leadership: Builds on the success of Project Tiger and contributes to SDG 15 (Life on Land) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.