Last call to save the tigers
Plans to fight the extinction of tigers in the wild and to double the number of specimens by 2022 have been examined at the International Tiger Forum, which started yesterday in St. Petersburg, Russia.
It is the first ever international political summit whose agenda is focused entirely on one species.
The four-day meeting, organised by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and World Bank president Robert Zoellick, gathered representatives from the 13 countries of the world where tigers can still be found in the wild.
Points to be discussed at the summit are protection of the habitat, tackling poaching and smuggling, and financing conservation. Donations are being collected with the hope of raising £220m for the cause.
Experts say it is of strategic importance that the various measures are carried out simultaneously. Tackling poaching and smuggling has to be followed by a systematic campaign of raising awareness, especially in countries where the practices are still engaged in.
According to the WWF, the tiger population in the area of the Greater Mekong – which includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – has diminished from an estimated 1,200 in 1998 to about 350 today.
Over the last 100 years the tiger population has decreased by 97 per cent, with only 3,200 specimens believed to be left in the wild. Experts estimate there were more than 100,000 tigers a century ago.
The WWF has warned that the big cat could face extinction in the next 12 years if the countries where it can still be found do not tighten protection measures and ensure poaching is effectively eliminated.
A recent joint report done by the WWF and Traffic, the global wildlife trade monitoring organisation, warned about black market and illicit trade in tigers and other endangered species in a network that involves Myanmar, Thailand and China.
The findings of the report, with data collected from more than 10 years of investigation, leave no doubt about the need for immediate international action.
“Illegal trade poses the most immediate and dire threat to the survival of tigers. Moreover, it puts all Asia’s big felines at serious risk,” said William Schaedla, Traffic Southeast Asia Regional Director.
“Wildlife laws in Myanmar and Thailand clearly prohibit trafficking in tigers and other big cats. We urge authorities to bring the full weight of the law to bear upon traffickers.
“With as few as 3,200 wild tigers worldwide, the ongoing large-scale trade documented in this report cannot be taken lightly.”
The report highlights the traffic of body parts as a flourishing business. Skins, bones, paws, penises and teeth are among the items that are sold in provincial markets and outlets in Mong La and Tachilek – Myanmar towns close to the Chinese and Thai border.
“A critical part of saving wild tigers must be to shut down the illegal trade in tiger parts,” said Michael Baltzer, head of WWF’s Tigers Alive initiative. “Illegal trade such as this must stay front and centre in the [summit] negotiations.”
State representatives from Myanmar, China and Thailand are due to take part in the St. Petersburg summit.
Peter Cutter, Coordinator for WWF Greater Mekong Region’s tiger conservation in Thailand, said it is crucial that these countries agree to a conservation plan: “There is an urgent need to step up efforts if the region is to save its declining tiger populations.
“Alarmingly, the landscape between Myanmar and Thailand holds the greatest hope for tiger population recovery in this region. But this can only happen if there are unprecedented and coordinated regional efforts to tackle illegal wildlife trade.”
2010 is the international year of biodiversity and the Chinese year of the tiger.
(Read the full article on The Fresh Outlook)
Nov 2010
It is the first ever international political summit whose agenda is focused entirely on one species.
The four-day meeting, organised by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and World Bank president Robert Zoellick, gathered representatives from the 13 countries of the world where tigers can still be found in the wild.
Points to be discussed at the summit are protection of the habitat, tackling poaching and smuggling, and financing conservation. Donations are being collected with the hope of raising £220m for the cause.
Experts say it is of strategic importance that the various measures are carried out simultaneously. Tackling poaching and smuggling has to be followed by a systematic campaign of raising awareness, especially in countries where the practices are still engaged in.
According to the WWF, the tiger population in the area of the Greater Mekong – which includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – has diminished from an estimated 1,200 in 1998 to about 350 today.
Over the last 100 years the tiger population has decreased by 97 per cent, with only 3,200 specimens believed to be left in the wild. Experts estimate there were more than 100,000 tigers a century ago.
The WWF has warned that the big cat could face extinction in the next 12 years if the countries where it can still be found do not tighten protection measures and ensure poaching is effectively eliminated.
A recent joint report done by the WWF and Traffic, the global wildlife trade monitoring organisation, warned about black market and illicit trade in tigers and other endangered species in a network that involves Myanmar, Thailand and China.
The findings of the report, with data collected from more than 10 years of investigation, leave no doubt about the need for immediate international action.
“Illegal trade poses the most immediate and dire threat to the survival of tigers. Moreover, it puts all Asia’s big felines at serious risk,” said William Schaedla, Traffic Southeast Asia Regional Director.
“Wildlife laws in Myanmar and Thailand clearly prohibit trafficking in tigers and other big cats. We urge authorities to bring the full weight of the law to bear upon traffickers.
“With as few as 3,200 wild tigers worldwide, the ongoing large-scale trade documented in this report cannot be taken lightly.”
The report highlights the traffic of body parts as a flourishing business. Skins, bones, paws, penises and teeth are among the items that are sold in provincial markets and outlets in Mong La and Tachilek – Myanmar towns close to the Chinese and Thai border.
“A critical part of saving wild tigers must be to shut down the illegal trade in tiger parts,” said Michael Baltzer, head of WWF’s Tigers Alive initiative. “Illegal trade such as this must stay front and centre in the [summit] negotiations.”
State representatives from Myanmar, China and Thailand are due to take part in the St. Petersburg summit.
Peter Cutter, Coordinator for WWF Greater Mekong Region’s tiger conservation in Thailand, said it is crucial that these countries agree to a conservation plan: “There is an urgent need to step up efforts if the region is to save its declining tiger populations.
“Alarmingly, the landscape between Myanmar and Thailand holds the greatest hope for tiger population recovery in this region. But this can only happen if there are unprecedented and coordinated regional efforts to tackle illegal wildlife trade.”
2010 is the international year of biodiversity and the Chinese year of the tiger.
(Read the full article on The Fresh Outlook)
Nov 2010