S P Yadav, the Director General of the International Big Cat Alliance, has been awarded the prestigious Crystal Compass Award for his outstanding contribution to restoring the Bengal tiger population from the brink of extinction.

Often referred to as the "geographical Oscar", the award was established by the Russian Geographical Society in 2012. It recognises exceptional achievements in geography, ecology and the preservation and promotion of natural, historical and cultural heritage.

Yadav received the award at a ceremony held at the Moscow International House of Music on May 29.

India launched Project Tiger in 1973 to protect the Bengal tiger, which was facing a serious threat of extinction due to poaching, habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict.

Since its launch, the project has grown from nine tiger reserves covering 18,278 square km to 58 reserves spread across 84,488 square km.

Today, India is home to the largest population of wild tigers in the world. The All-India Tiger Estimation 2022 recorded a minimum of 3,682 tigers, up from 2,967 in 2018. The tiger population in the country is increasing at a rate of 6 per cent per year.

Vyacheslav Rozhnov, a senior scientist from the Russian Academy of Sciences who presented the award, said Yadav played a key role in bringing back the Bengal tiger population in India and also helped promote tiger conservation globally.

"This award recognises the achievements of our government, which supports this project, the institutions with which we actively cooperate and the thousands of people working for the benefit of this cause," Yadav said.

He said one of the primary reasons why Project Tiger was successful in restoring the tiger population and became a model of wildlife conservation in the world is the continuous support from the government for this initiative.

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