Project Cheetah about correcting historical wrong committed by humanity, says Bhupender Yadav

If even one species vanishes, the chain breaks.

Project Cheetah is not just about conservation but also correcting a historical wrong committed by humanity, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Saturday.

The minister was speaking during the launch of the book, 'Bringing the Cheetah Back to India', authored by Ambassador Prashant Agrawal, who led the negotiations that made the cheetah's return to the country possible.

The minister said that the Earth has never been meant for any single species, and humans cannot survive on the planet without coexistence.

''We have no right to let any species go extinct because every species is part of an evolving process that takes millions of years. If even one species vanishes, the chain breaks. We must protect nature to maintain the balance of life using nature-based solutions and lifestyles,'' said Yadav.

He also highlighted that the ministry is currently in talks with the West Bengal government to build an elephant rescue centre in North Bengal and to carry out a tiger reintroduction programme in Buxa.

The book is an account of the diplomatic effort to restore cheetahs in India, and has been published by Hachette India.

The cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. Hunting and loss of habitat due to human activities were considered the main reasons for their extinction.

Launched in 2022, Project Cheetah involved bringing cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa and releasing them at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, the world's first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project.

As of now, the cheetah population at the park stands at 53, of which 33 are India-born.

In his speech, Agrawal said, ''Now, many countries are looking towards India as a blueprint for launching their own re-introduction programme for [extinct] species.''