Dr. Rajesh Gopal is a globally recognized conservation leader, renowned for his four decades of expertise in wildlife management and, most notably, his pivotal role in the “tiger turnaround” in India. He has been instrumental in the creation of key institutions such as the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), and introduced technological advancements including year-round tiger monitoring, e-surveillance, and the establishment of a national repository for tiger photo databases. During his tenure at the helm of the NTCA, he spearheaded transformative changes: adopting double sampling methods using camera traps for countrywide tiger assessments, revising national legislation to include dedicated provisions for tiger conservation, and increasing Project Tiger coverage from 25 reserves in 2001 to 47 in 2015.
These concerted efforts under Dr. Gopal’s leadership have brought about a paradigm shift in tiger conservation, resulting in a strengthened, exclusive ‘tiger agenda’ for core areas, and an inclusive approach in buffer zones and corridors to address human-tiger co-occurrence agenda. Dr. Gopal’s contributions include authoring three books, publishing numerous research papers, and earning several awards, including the prestigious JN Fellowship. Presently, as Secretary General of the Global Tiger Forum, he continues to advocate for and strengthen tiger conservation efforts across tiger range countries, working closely with international partners to secure the future of this iconic species. Under his guidance, the GTF has become a technical knowledge hub on landscape scale planning and providing contemporary solution to conservation challenges across multiple development sectors.
Dr. Gopal also Chairs the Project Cheetah Steering Committee.