Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in India and Bardia National Park in Nepal won this year’s TX2 award for doubling the population of wild tigers since 2010.

Nepal’s Khata Forest Conservation Area – which provides cross-border tiger connectivity between Nepal and India – also won the award for excellence in tiger conservation.

Congratulating Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve on the achievement, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav tweeted: “The award is a testament to the dedication of field staff to protecting our tigers and the policies of the Government of India. for the conservation of tigers”.

Also Read: Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve Receives TX2 Award

Awards were presented by Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS), Fauna and Flora International (FFI), Global Tiger Forum (GTF), IUCN Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Program (ITHCP), Panthera, UNDP, The Lion’s Share, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and WWF.

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of all 13 Tiger Range countries committed to doubling the world’s wild tiger population by 2022, the award recognizes the efforts of state governments and local communities, which have played one of the most important roles in transforming a relatively new tiger reserve into one of the source populations of tigers in India.

Tigers may have numbered 100,000 a century ago in India, but dropped precipitously to 3,200 in 2010.

Their numbers have slowly recovered to about 3,900, according to estimates from tiger range countries compiled in 2016.

The Nilgiri Biosphere Landscape, of which the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) is a part, is currently home to the largest population of tigers in the world. Sathyamangalam was declared a tiger reserve in 2013 and now has around 80 individuals in the area.

This tiger reserve is an important link between the landscapes of the Nilgiris and the Eastern Ghats. It is connected to other well established tiger habitats like Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Bandipur Tiger Reserve and BR Hills Tiger Reserve.

Adjacent areas such as Erode Forest Division, Coimbatore Forest Division and Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary are also becoming important tiger habitats, creating a mosaic that allows big cats to move around easily. in search of food and new territories, according to a statement from the Global Fund. India (WWF India) said.

Also Read: Erode likely to become Tamil Nadu’s sixth tiger reserve

Secretary General and CEO of WWF India, Ravi Singh, said, “The TX2 Awards celebrate the outstanding contributions made by government agencies, NGOs and local communities to strengthen tiger conservation. Honoring a recently notified tiger reserve like Sathyamangalam with the award is a step forward in inspiring others to work to preserve this magnificent species and its habitats.”

In September this year, tiger range countries will meet at the second Global Tiger Summit in Vladivostok, Russia, to assess progress towards the ambitious goal of TX2 – to double the number of tigers in the nature – and identify tiger conservation priorities for the next 12 years.

Khata Forest Conservation Area in Nepal, the Khata Corridor where community conservation efforts, including a network of 74 community forests covering 202 km2, have ensured safe passage for tigers between Bardia National Park in Nepal and the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in India.

Over the past five years, 46 individual tigers have been detected using the corridor along with other iconic and endangered mammal species including the Asian elephant and the greater one-horned rhinoceros.

Stuart Chapman, head of WWF’s Tigers Alive initiative, said: “The commitments made in 2010 demonstrate what can be achieved through long-term commitments to tiger conservation. The dedication of field teams, conservation partners and communities living with tigers is behind these extraordinary results.

Sugoto Roy, Coordinator of IUCN’s Integrated Tiger Habitat Programme, said: “Successful tiger conservation involves continuous management and improvement of landscape-scale habitats, rigorous monitoring of tigers and their prey and intensive collaboration with local communities. All of these criteria were met with excellence, giving us these globally significant results.”

The TX2 target is one of the most ambitious conservation targets ever set for a single species.

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