At the Anil Agarwal Dialogue 2026, Qamar Qureshi highlighted India's conservation achievements, particularly in tiger recovery, but warned of ecological and social limits.
With reserves at capacity and habitat fragmentation increasing, he advocated for landscape-scale governance to sustain gains, emphasizing the need for habitat restoration, corridor security, and integrated ecological planning.
India’s conservation story is often told through the recovery of the tiger. At the Anil Agarwal Dialogue 2026, wildlife biologist Qamar Qureshi acknowledged this achievement but pointed out that the country is entering a more complex phase.
India now has an estimated 3,682 tigers distributed across five major landscapes, up from around 1,400 in the early 2000s. According to Qureshi, this rebound has been driven by strong “source populations”, which are large reserves with high prey density and stable breeding. Corbett, Kaziranga, the Western Ghats complex and parts of central India function as such sites, producing dispersing individuals that recolonise surrounding areas.
But, he emphasised, tiger recovery is tightly bound to prey availability. Based on established predator-prey equations, sustaining a single tiger requires roughly 349 ungulates annually. Where chital, sambar and gaur densities are low, carnivore populations cannot persist. Many reserves are now operating at realised carrying capacity, meaning available prey and space are already fully utilised.
While some reserves could hold additional animals, Qureshi cautioned that pushing numbers higher without restoring habitat would intensify conflict. Habitat recovery, which entails removal of invasives, grassland restoration, water management and prey augmentation, takes over a decade of sustained effort, as seen at Kuno.
Connectivity, he argued, is crucial. Tigers disperse instinctively to avoid inbreeding, often travelling hundreds of kilometres. Corridors are, therefore, ecological necessities, not optional additions. Although tiger corridors now have some legal backing, linear infrastructure and mining continue to fragment landscapes, especially in central India, the only region with substantial room for future expansion.
A similar pattern emerges with elephants, according to the expert. India’s elephant population is estimated at 22,446, with the largest numbers in the Western Ghats. Yet high levels of crop damage, property loss and human casualties reveal the strain on social tolerance. Fragmented corridors and habitat degradation have altered movement routes, increasing encounters with people.
Riverine systems are also under pressure. The Gangetic river dolphin population is currently estimated at 6,327. While this is higher than previously assumed, heavy water extraction, barrages and expanding inland navigation disrupt the species’ sonar-based communication. In parts of the Ganga, especially upstream of major confluences, dolphins are sparse due to altered flows.
Grassland species are faring worse. The Great Indian Bustard may number only 100-150 individuals. Power lines pose a major threat, and research shows that mortality along transmission corridors is high, Qureshi said. Undergrounding high-risk lines and strengthening conservation breeding programmes are urgent measures, but habitat loss continues.
For species such as wolves, lions, hangul and khur as well, the underlying challege is fragmentation, declining forest quality and shrinking social acceptance. Protected areas, he suggested, are becoming ecological islands. “There is no solution for conflict in the way we are going.”
The next phase of conservation, the expert advocated, must move beyond reserve-centric protection to landscape-scale governance that integrates prey recovery, corridor security and ecological planning into development decisions from the outset. Without that shift, India’s conservation gains may prove difficult to sustain.
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