Overview

• Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said India is demonstrating that ecology and economy can grow together and confirmed a 2026 Global Summit on Big Cat Conservation under the International Big Cat Alliance.
• India reports 3,682 tigers, a rise of over 30% in a decade, and 891 Asiatic lions after a 32% increase since 2020, with the first India-born cheetah of Project Cheetah now reaching adulthood.
• Forest and tree cover expanded by 1,445 sq km to 25.17% of land area, and the protected-area network now stands at 1,022 sites covering 5.43% of the country.
• The number of Ramsar-designated wetlands grew to 91 sites spanning 1.35 million hectares, and Project Dolphin’s nationwide survey estimated 6,327 river dolphins across the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus systems.
• Officials touted mainstreaming of wildlife-friendly infrastructure, citing underpasses and overpasses on NH-44, planned bridges on the Samruddhi Expressway, and a long wildlife corridor on the Delhi–Dehradun Expressway.