Two nature reserves in Nepal have been recognised for their success in involving local communities to conserve their tiger habitats.
Bardia National Park in Nepal and the Khata Forest Corridor in the western Tarai have been awarded for contributing to Nepal becoming the first tiger range country to fulfil an international pledge to double its tiger population.
Bardia and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in India won this year's TX2 Award for doubling their population of wild tigers since 2010, while Khata Forest Conservation Area in Nepal that serves as a transboundary connectivity for tigers between Nepal and India, won the Tiger Conservation Excellence award.
“They demonstrate what can be achieved through long term commitments to tiger conservation,” said Stuart Chapman of the Tiger Alive Initiative of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). “The dedication of field teams, conservation partners and communities living with tigers are behind these extraordinary results.”
WWF Nepal Country director Ghana Gurung said the award is a testament to the continuous effort, dedication and commitment shown by the government, communities, buffer zone and the national park for tiger protection. "I also deeply appreciate the enormous role communities of Khata corridor that live alongside the tigers and thrive under challenging conditions have played in establishing Khata as a globally recognized and functional corridor," he added.
The awards celebrate the upcoming launch of the 2022 Lunar Year of the Tiger. In September, tiger range countries will convene at the second Global Tiger Summit in Vladivostok to assess progress towards the ambitious TX2 goal to double the number of tigers in the wild. The conference will also identify tiger conservation priorities for the next 12 years.
The tiger population in Bardia National Park did not just double, but increased almost five-fold from less than 20 tigers in 2009 to almost 90 in 2018 — an astounding achievement given it is situated in one of the most densely populated regions of the world.
“Successful tiger conservation involves continuous management and improvement of habitats at the landscape scale, rigorous monitoring of tigers and their prey, and working extensively with local communities, said Sugoto Roy of the Integrated Tiger Habitat Programme at the International Conservation Union (IUCN). “All of these criteria have been met with excellence, giving us these globally significant results.“