India, June 2 -- Over the past five decades, the scale of conservation under Project Tiger has expanded considerably. From nine tiger reserves at its inception, the network grew to 23 reserves by 1997 and 39 by 2010. India now has 58 tiger reserves covering 78,000 sq km of forest. Conservation itself has also changed. Earlier efforts focused largely on securing habitats within protected areas, while current conservation approaches include maintaining wildlife corridors, monitoring dispersing animals, mitigating conflict, research, supporting frontline staff and promoting coexistence across larger landscapes. Project Tiger's implementation framework also requires resources for habitat management, protection measures, research and landscape...