LUCKNOW: Time for a loud cheer for the
Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
(PTR) and the state forest department. The PTR has been awarded the coveted TX2 Award for doubling the number of tigers in four years against the target of 10 years.
PTR is the first reserve to receive the award among 13 tiger range countries. The award is significant since it has not only brought international recognition for the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve but will also bolster the tiger conservation programmes in the state and the country.
Naveen Khandelwal, deputy director of PTR, said he had applied for the award in September this year after the tiger census figures for India were released. Khandelwal said no other tiger reserve among all 13 tiger range countries could succeed in doubling the big cat population in 10 years. PTR achieved this goal in just four years — from 25 tigers in 2014 to 65 in 2018.
He said as per the tiger estimation report, PTR had 57 resident and eight transit tigers in 2018. This figure excluded the tiger cubs below the age of one. The growth of 40 tigers in a short span of four years was recognized for TX2 Award, said Khandelwal.
Global target of doubling tiger population set in 2010He attributed the success to rigorous patrolling with constant use of MSTrIPE monitoring system for tigers, stringent action against wildlife criminals and poachers and forest and grassland management. The efforts of forest staff, local stakeholders and wildlife enthusiasts in tiger conservation paid off, added Khandelwal.
The award was virtually presented to the principal chief conservator of forest, wildlife, UP, Sunil Pandey, by UN Development Programme chief of ecosystems and biodiversity, Mindori Paxton. Pandey said the global target of doubling the tiger population was set in 2010 by the partners in TX2 award — UNDP, Global Tiger Forum, International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Wide Fund for Nature, Conservation Assured/ Tiger Standards and Lion’s Share.
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