Jaipur, June 29 -- Union environment, forest and climate change minister Bhupender Yadav on Sunday said the Sariska tiger reserve has transformed from a landscape where tigers had become locally extinct in 2005 into one supporting 56 big cats today, calling the revival a landmark in global wildlife conservation. Addressing the National Workshop on Tiger Re-introduction: Opportunities and Challenges in Alwar, Yadav said the Sariska model has emerged as a global example of species restoration achieved through scientific management, sustained conservation efforts and active community participation. The workshop, organised by the National Tiger Conservation Authority in collaboration with the state government, brought together chief wildlife wardens, field directors and wildlife experts from across India's tiger landscapes to prepare a science-based roadmap for future tiger recovery programmes. The minister said India's tiger conservation story has registered remarkable progress over the past decade, with the number of tiger reserves increasing from 46 to 58. He also highlighted that India achieved the St. Petersburg Declaration target of doubling its wild tiger population by 2022, reaffirming the country's leadership in global tiger conservation. Emphasising that conservation efforts cannot succeed without local support, Yadav said the successful reintroduction of tigers in Sariska and Panna was possible because local communities became partners in conservation. In contrast, he said, similar efforts in Odisha's Satkosia Tiger Reserve could not achieve the desired outcome due to inadequate community participation. He added that Project Cheetah has also benefited significantly from local involvement and stressed that tourism development must go hand in hand with the welfare and interests of communities living around protected areas. Yadav also underlined the need to strengthen ecological connectivity, particularly in landscapes where tiger and elephant habitats overlap. He urged experts to identify potential source and sink areas for tiger populations and evolve scientific management strategies for reintroduction programmes. "Our priority is to ensure that our tigers are protected, our forests remain green and healthy and local communities continue to prosper," he said. He said the government's conservation vision extends beyond protecting tigers to ensuring that no species becomes extinct and that threatened wildlife populations are scientifically restored wherever possible. He said conservation decisions must be guided by both scientific evidence and human values. Yadav also released 'Road Map on Active Management of Tigers in India', 'Booklet on Reintroduction and Recovery of Tigers in India', and the Annual Report of Project Cheetah (September 2024-December 2025). The roadmap provides a framework for managing tiger populations by identifying potential source and sink habitats and prescribing management interventions based on ecological conditions. The booklet documents India's experience in restoring tiger populations through planned reintroductions in reserves....