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Tiger numbers have decreased 95 percent in the past
century and only 5,000-7,200 tigers still survive in the wild, says World Wildlife Fund.
The World Bank announced the Tiger
Conservation Initiative in early June, as a new
partnership to increase the resources available
for the protection of tigers. This announcement
brought together celebrities from Hollywood and
Asia, and conservation leaders from governments
and civil society to formulate new strategies
for tiger conservation. The high-profile
attention of this Initiative gives wild tigers a
new hope of a range-wide recovery.
Robert B. Zoellick, President of the World
Bank Group, affirmed that the Bank’s commitment
to support tiger conservation will be
comprehensive. This initiative represents a
vital integration of environmental planning and
economic development. The World Bank provides
financial and technical assistance to developing
countries through grants and multi-million
dollar loans.
Zoellick stated that, “Tigers are an umbrella
species….the health of the tiger population is
an indicator of biodiversity and a barometer of
sustainability.” Tiger conservation faces both
environmental and social challenges due to the
complexity of habitat loss and degradation
driven by expanding human populations and
associated economic and development needs for
infrastructure and resources. These threats to
tigers are compounded by a recent surge in
poaching and an active illegal international
trade of tiger parts.
The international scale of the problem
overwhelms the capabilities of individual
countries attempting to solve the localized
pressures on tigers. Zoellick declared, “[the
crisis facing tigers] is a problem that cannot
be handled by individual nations alone.” The
Bank committed itself to five actions to help
conserve wild tigers: 1)review the Bank Group’s
projects in tiger habitats to learn lessons from
the past that will inform future engagement; 2)
facilitate country workshops and partnership to
develop new conservation models; 3) develop
strategies to address illegal tiger trade and
awareness campaigns to counter the demand for
tiger products worldwide; 4) develop alternative
and new funding mechanisms for tiger
conservation; 5) host a 2010 ‘Year of the Tiger’
Summit to review the status of tigers and their
habitat and foster the necessary political
support.
Zoellick also expressed the need to integrate
the priorities of the environment with economic
development activities. Economic development is
necessary to create incentives to conserve land
and to reduce poaching. Some of the World Bank’s
previous investments in critical tiger
landscapes were criticized by conservationists
for having a significantly negative impact. Some
remain skeptical that this initiative will bring
significant change the Bank’s investments and
its to affect the decline in tiger populations.
Importantly, Zoellick called for an
evaluation of the Bank’s projects in tiger
habitats to improve conservation efforts and
mitigate the environmental impacts of projects
supported by the institution. It is imperative
that the development projects value the benefits
of wildlife habitats.
Save The Tiger Fund (STF) staff provided
expert advice to the Bank on the value that its
contribution would provide to the range-wide
recovery of tigers. STF will continue to provide
information to ensure that the Bank’s efforts
have the maximum impact for tiger populations.
John Seidensticker, Chair of the STF Council,
serves as the advisor to the Bank and is a
co-author of the report detailing investment
opportunities available to the Bank to promote
tiger conservation.
About the Save The Tiger Fund
ExxonMobil has committed more than $10 million
over eight years to help save the endangered tiger. The centerpiece of this commitment is
the Save The Tiger Fund, an international program established by ExxonMobil and the
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to support international tiger conservation
projects. Since its founding in 1995, the Save The Tiger Fund has supported more than 100
conservation projects in the areas of field research, habitat protection and anti-poaching
efforts and public education programs in the U.S., Asia and Europe. In addition, the
public has contributed more than $1 million to support these efforts. For more information
on the Save The Tiger Fund, call the Tiger Information Center at 1-800-5TIGERS or visit
the "5 Tigers" web site at www.5tigers.org.
Saving
tigers is ultimately a human issue that involves working constructively with the
communities that surround tiger habitat. The simple reality is that humans and tigers are
neighbors, and it is a relationship fraught with hazards for both sides. To achieve
lasting protection for tigers and their habitats, one must build awareness among local
people that the survival of the tiger means a better life for their communities and
families, and that a live tiger is ultimately worth more than a dead tiger. Achieving this
requires hard work and an innovative approach rather than simply educating villagers about
the importance of healthy ecosystems. "To save tigers in the wild, we have to work with people who
live with the tiger," said Whitney Tilt, Director of Conservation Programs, National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation. "The Save The Tiger Fund is funding projects that work
constructively to link the communities with the tiger habitat they surround." International programs and organizations are working together to
stabilize the relationship between people and wildlife needs. Tiger habitats are being
protected and rebuilt. Poachers are being rehabilitated to become tiger guards.
Legislation has been passed to stop international trade of tiger parts. The effort of
hundreds of international conservationists and projects has made these milestones
possible. One of many international projects is the Khao Yai Conservation
Project (KYCP) in Thailand. Based on a successful model pioneered in Russia that managed
to reduce poaching of the Siberian tiger by 60 percent in just three years, the program
combines sophisticated ranger training and equipment with rural development and community
outreach program to the villages around the park. The program consists of rangers who
upgraded their skills and outreach to workers who will focus their efforts on education
and economic development in the surrounding villages. Professional poachers are highly
knowledgeable about the forest and are recruited by the KYCP to work as rangers or guides. ExxonMobil has committed more than $10 million over eight years to
help save the endangered tiger. The centerpiece of this commitment is the Save The Tiger
Fund, an international program established by ExxonMobil and the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation to support international tiger conservation projects. Since its
founding in 1995, the Save The Tiger Fund has supported 112 conservation projects in the
areas of field research, habitat protection and anti-poaching efforts and public education
programs in the U.S., Asia and Europe. In addition, the public has contributed more than
$1 million to support these efforts. For more information on the Save The Tiger Fund, call
the Tiger Information Center at 1-800-5-TIGERS or visit the "5 Tigers" Web site
at
www.5tigers.org.
DEVELOPMENT OF CONSERVATION
LEADERSHIP IN TIGER RANGE COUNTRIES IS CRITICAL
While Western
contributions to wild tiger conservation efforts are important, strong local leadership in
the tiger-range countries of Asia is the most critical conservation element to affect real
change. "Tigers do not have passports and do not respect national boundaries,"
says Dr. John Seidensticker, Senior Curator at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park,
Washington, D.C., and Chairman of the Save The Tiger Fund Council. "Therefore
national governments, with assistance from non-governmental organizations and corporate
partners, are making plans to protect tigers and other endangered wildlife in sensitive,
transfrontier areas. These areas may prove the most important refuges for wildlife." The Save The Tiger Fund has helped to increase the international
collaboration needed for the survival of tigers in the wild, supporting local programs and
local projects dedicated to habitat restoration/protection, anti-poaching, conflict
resolution and trade reduction. To date, 112 projects in 10 of the 14 tiger range
countries (India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, China,
Russia) have received grants worth more than $7.3 million. Types of projects have
included: field study and management; conservation education; captive management;
anti-poaching, conflict resolution, trade resolution; habitat restoration/protection;
conferences, publication, mapping; community conservation; promotions to generate
awareness about the fund and its projects.