WWF Wants Tiger Action Plan To Get Bite Out Of 10th Malaysia Plan

Bernama 20 Feb 10;

BANTING, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- The National Tiger Action Plan (Ntap), aimed at protecting the Malayan tiger, should get a bite out of the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP).

This is the fervent hope of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma that the Ntap, which was launched in 2008, would get some allocation from the 10MP.

He said the action plan to tackle the issue, like stepping up enforcement against poachers, carrying out scientific research on the species and its habitat management could be done and were achievable.

However, Dr Sharma noted, such actions needed funding.

He said this after the launch of WWF-Malaysia's 'Tx2: Double or Nothing' campaign here Saturday.

The campaign is aimed at creating awareness among Malaysians to protect the tiger -- symbol of the country -- which was currently left with about 500 residing in the Malaysian rain forest.

The Ntap, formulated by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, spelled out a whole range of details to protect the animal which formed the Malaysian crest (jata negara), including environmental awareness and education for people in tiger conservation.

To date, there are just slightly more than 3,000 tigers left in the world.

-- BERNAMA