Context: Recently, the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) and the Uttar Pradesh Forest department won the first-ever international award TX2.

• The award has been given for doubling the number of tigers in 4 years against a target of 10 years.

About TX2 programme

• It was launched by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) at the 2010 St Petersburg Tiger Summit, Russia.
• Under the programme, 13 tiger range countries had agreed to double the world tiger population by 2022.

Aims and Objectives

• To drive political momentum to ensure tigers remain top priority for world leaders, professionalise wildlife protection by training rangers.
• To develop conservation standards and smart technology to achieve zero poaching, tackle illegal wildlife trade of Tiger through partnership with TRAFFIC.
• To focus efforts in key tiger landscapes and ensure there is space for both tigers and people in future.

About Pilibhit Tiger Reserve

• It is located in Pilibhit district, Lakhimpur Kheri District and Bahraich District of Uttar Pradesh.
• It was declared a reserve in September 2008 on the basis of its special type of ecosystem with vast open spaces and sufficient feed for the elegant predators and is India’s 45th Tiger Reserve Project.
• Its northern edge lies along the Indo-Nepal border while the southern boundary is marked by the river Sharada and Khakra.
• According to a study by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) it has high conservation value as it represents the only tiger population with the ecological and behavioral adaptations of the tiger unique to the Tarai region.
• It is home to a habitat for over 127 animals, 326 bird species and 2,100 flowering plants

About Project Tiger

• It is one of the major projects launched for the protection and conservation of tigers in India.
• It was started in 1973 with 9 tiger reserves. Presently, there are 50 tiger reserves in India.

Aim: To aid and facilitate the breeding of tigers within a safe environment and then transport these tigers further afield so that the world’s population can be increased.

• It works under the administrative control of the National Tiger Conservation Authority(NTCA).
• NTCA is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. 
• It is constituted under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• It established the Tiger Protection Force with the aim of seizing the poachers and stopping the illegal killings of tigers.