The Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) is a major conservation institution, designated as the twenty-second Tiger Reserve of India and the fifth in Madhya Pradesh, spanning the Panna and Chhatarpur districts in the Vindhyan Ranges. The area was historically a hunting preserve for the princely states of Panna, Chhatarpur, and Bijawar. It was first established as the Panna National Park in 1981, covering an area of 542.67 square kilometers, and was declared a Project Tiger Reserve by the Government of India in 1994. The reserve's core area, the Critical Tiger Habitat, is 576.13 sq km, and the total area, including the buffer zone, is 1578.55 sq km.
The PTR's mechanism for conservation is governed by the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which mandates a Tiger Conservation Plan (TCP) under Section 38 V. The reserve gained international attention when its entire tiger population was declared extinct in 2009 due to poaching, making it a glaring example of conservation failure. This crisis led to a significant change: the government initiated a successful tiger reintroduction program between 2009 and 2011, translocating seven tigers from Kanha and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserves. This program, which included habitat restoration, prey-base enhancement, and the voluntary relocation of 13 out of 16 villages from the core area, is now celebrated as one of India's most successful conservation stories. By 2020, the tiger population had rebounded to over fifty individuals, and the reserve was included in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
The PTR is currently connected to a major national debate through the proposed Ken-Betwa River Link Project, India's first river interlinking initiative. The project's Daudhan Dam is expected to submerge a significant portion of the reserve, with estimates suggesting the loss of around 10% of the Critical Tiger Habitat, or approximately 58.03 sq km to 98 square kilometers of forest, raising serious environmental concerns. The Ken River, which flows through the reserve for about 55 km and is the ecological backbone of the ecosystem, is central to this controversy.