Madhya Pradesh is now becoming the first choice for those who wish to view nature. The State has become a new place of natural beauty with the joining together of wildlife tourism and biodiversity tourism. The habitat where wild animals like tiger, leopard, gharial, vulture, chital, barasingha reside presents many breathtaking dimensions of biodiversity.
The number of tourists is increasing in the national parks like Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Panna and Satpura. In these, the process of advance booking by tourists has been started. In the last two years, despite an epidemic like corona, about 2.87 lakh tourists visited the Kanha Tiger Reserve area and about 9.97 crore and one lakh 69 thousand tourists visited Pench Tiger Reserve, thus the management received an income of Rs 5.96 crore.
Similarly, 33,000 tourists arrived at Eco Center Deori in Morena district and Chambal Safari Rajghat. As a result, the management earned an income of Rs 2.20 lakh.
It is noteworthy that the National Chambal Sanctuary is known for Gharials, Turtles, Dolphins and more than a hundred types of migratory / resident birds.
Madhya Pradesh is the Tiger Capital not only of the country but to the world. Management in Kanha and Pench Tiger Reserves is considered as the best in the country. Panna Tiger Reserve has attracted the attention of the whole world in increasing the population of tigers. It is a unique example in the contemporary wildlife conservation history of the world. Now Madhya Pradesh is also at the fore in India in the number of leopards.
The State Government and the Forest Department are continuously making efforts to increase the number of tigers and as a result of active management, the number of tigers is increasing continuously. The landscape of central India is very important for the survival of tigers. The tiger reserves of North India and South India are connected through the corridor of Madhya Pradesh.
A large area has been freed from biological pressure by resettling about 190 villages for the habitat of tigers. At present, all the villages in the core areas of Kanha, Pench and Kuno Palpur have been resettled. More than 90 percent of the core area of the Satpura Tiger Reserve has also been freed from biological pressure.
There is an opportunity to see nature closely in the about 5,000 square km buffer zone of Tiger Reserves of the state- Bandhavgarh, Panna, Pench, Kanha, Satpura and Sanjay Tiger Reserve. Madhya Pradesh Forest (Recreation and Wildlife Experience) Rules 2015 have been made for the purpose of planned and controlled development of botanical tourism activities. With these efforts, illegal logging, quarrying and grazing in the forests of the state is being stopped. Efforts to raise the standard of living of the villagers living around the buffer zone have also been added to this chain.
Due to non-availability of tiger sightings in the core area to the tourists, a tiger interpretation area is being built in the buffer zone. Through these, tourists coming from remote areas can see the tiger up close in its natural surroundings. Efforts are on to inculcate sensitivity towards the environment among the youths and to connect them with nature, such as bird watching, nature trails, botanical knowledge, adventure sports and boating etc.
