The Supreme Court issued new directions in 2025 to curb rising Human–Wildlife Conflicts caused by habitat degradation, unregulated tourism, and fragmented corridors.
The Court allowed tiger safaris only in non-forest or degraded forest land within buffer zones and prohibited safaris in core areas and tiger corridors.
Night tourism was banned in all core and critical tiger habitats to reduce disturbance to wildlife.
Activities such as commercial mining, polluting industries, major hydro projects, exotic species introduction, low-flying aircraft, and commercial firewood extraction were barred in buffer and fringe areas.
The Court directed that Eco-Sensitive Zones for all tiger reserves must be notified by the Union Environment Ministry as per the 2018 guidelines of the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
States were instructed to prepare or revise Tiger Conservation Plans on time and to notify core and buffer areas within 6 months.
The Court ordered states to treat Human–human-wildlife conflicts as a natural disaster to enable rapid relief measures.
A uniform compensation of ₹10 lakh was mandated for human deaths arising from Human–Wildlife Conflicts.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was directed to draft Human–Wildlife Conflict mitigation guidelines within 6 months and ensure nationwide implementation.