Glimmer of hope for tiger after Russia summit

Olga Nedbayeva Yahoo News 24 Nov 10;

SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) – A summit of the 13 countries that are home to wild tigers ended Wednesday with an unprecedented show of political support for the beast and a million dollar donation by actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

"It's a historical event. It's like a dream becoming reality," the head of India's delegation Satya Prakash Yadav, an official with the environmental protection ministry, said during the closing session.

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, four of his counterparts from Asian countries China, Laos, Nepal and Bangladesh, along with the president of the World Bank, which supervises tiger protection programme financing, participated in the four-day tiger summit in Saint Petersburg.

Another participant, Hollywood star DiCaprio, was hailed as "a real man" by Putin after he managed to make his million dollar pledge in person despite having to make an emergency landing in New York on his way to the gathering.

The summit in Saint Petersburg is the first meeting of top state officials and international organisations, and is the first step to unblocking funds needed to launch a five-year 350 million dollar plan of action to save the cat.

"The summit will kick start collection of funding," World Bank tiger preservation plan coordinator Andrei Kuchlin told AFP.

"The World Bank and principal donors were waiting for a message from the countries. Now this message has been formulated. I am very optimistic," said John Robinson, vice president of US-based Wildlife Conservation Society.

The forum's main result is "consensus" between countries with tiger populations, Robinson told AFP.

"I've never seen so much enthusiasm for tiger preservation," said John Sellar of CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species).

Wild animal aficionado Putin, who is known for kissing a tigress and tagging polar bears, called on the international community to save the tiger from "catastrophe" and cited Mahatma Gandhi by saying "A country that is good for the tiger is good for everybody."

Participants applauded the forum, which they said must serve as a base for further tiger protection policies and programmes.

"The forum has met its objective, now it's time to transform decisions into actions on the ground," said India's Yadav.

The Indian subcontinent is home to half of remaining animals as well as responsible for 54 percent of all tiger poaching. China is the primary consumer of tiger-derived products, which are used in Chinese traditional medicine.

Russia's Amur tigers, which populate the Far Eastern Primorye region, have also suffered from habitat destruction and become targets for poachers eager to sell them across the Chinese border.

A Primorye court ruled on Wednesday to fine a tiger poacher 150,000 rubles (5,000 dollars) after he killed a tigress in June.

The man has to pay an additional 575,125 rubles (20,000 dollars) to the Russian state in damages, WWF Russia said in a statement.

Summit participants approved on Tuesday a declaration that strives to double the number of tigers before 2022, the next year that will be the year of the tiger according to Chinese calendar.

Tiger numbers dropped from 100,000 to 3,200 in the past century, while three sub-species have been completely wiped out.

Summit agrees tiger recovery plan
BBC News 24 Nov 10;

Governments of 13 countries where tigers still live have endorsed a plan to save the big cats from extinction.

Delegates at a summit in St Petersburg, Russia, agreed to double tiger numbers by 2022.

The countries will focus on protecting tiger habitats, addressing poaching, illegal trade and providing the financial resources for the plan.

In the last 100 years, tiger numbers have dropped from about 100,000 to less than 3,500 tigers in the wild today.

There has been a 40% decline in numbers in a decade, and some populations are expected to disappear within the next 20 years.

The United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) says that the St Petersburg Declaration will strengthen international collaboration to protect the majestic Asian wild cat.

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive-secretary of Unep's Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Secretariat, commented: "Safeguarding international migration corridors and trans-border habitats will be crucial for global efforts to save the tiger."

The declaration sets in motion a strategic plan for tiger recovery; the countries are putting together a roadmap for post-summit action.

They are also discussing the institutional structure which will be set up to implement the aims and objectives of the declaration and its recovery programme.

"There was clearly a loud roar from St Petersburg this week on behalf of the last remaining tigers on our planet," commented John Robinson, chief conservation officer with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

"World leaders rarely find agreements at conferences and summits but the beloved tiger has proven to be a uniting force. And as we save the tiger, we have new hopes to save the world's biodiversity."

Titanic contributions

WCS was one of several groups pledging new money to assist conservation efforts, in this case $50m over 10 years.

The World Bank, whose president Robert Zoellick takes a strong personal interest in the tiger, put in a similar amount, and aims to leverage further funding from governments and the corporate sector.

Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio donated $1m to the effort.

Mr DiCaprio arrived in St Petersburg on Tuesday after two problems with his flights.

One plane was forced into an emergency landing after losing an engine, the other had to make an unscheduled stop after encountering strong headwinds.

Mr Putin described the actor as a "real man" - or "muzhik" - for his persistence in getting to the summit.

World's first tiger summit ends with £330m pledged amid lingering doubts
Millions promised to protect tigers at summit attended by Vladimir Putin, Wen Jiabao, Leonardo DiCaprio and Naomi Campbell, but campaigners remain unconvinced
Jonathan Watts guardian.co.uk 24 Nov 10;

The world's first tiger summit wrapped up today with lingering concerns about the fate of the endangered predator despite donor pledges of almost $330m (£208m) aimed at making the great cat worth more alive than dead.

The high-profile conservation conference called by Russian president Vladimir Putin and World Bank chief Robert Zoellick mobilised political, financial and celebrity support behind a goal of doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022.

Celebrities, including film star Leonardo DiCaprio – who pledged $1m of his own money – and supermodel Naomi Campbell rubbed shoulders with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and leading conservationists at the event in St Petersburg.

The leaders endorsed the Global Tiger Recovery Programme, an action plan to strengthen reserves, crack down on poachers and provide financial incentives to maintain a thriving tiger population.

Currently, a poached tiger is believed to fetch between $25,000 and $50,000 for the carcass, penis and bones. Largely as a result of this lucrative, illegal trade, there are estimated to be only 3,200 tigers left in the wild – down from 100,000 a century ago.

During the summit, major donors – including Germany, WWF, the Wildlife Conservation Society and international financial institutions – promised $329m over the next five years as a first step towards doubling the population. The 13 tiger range nations – defined as countries where the animals roam freely – are spending considerably more themselves on related projects.

At first glance, this appears to be more than $100,000 per animal, but much of the money has been diverted from existing commitments, which means the multi-purpose donations will also go towards forestry preservation and carbon sequestration. Bhutan and Laos expressly said they would struggle to double tiger numbers without adequate financial support.

Beyond the money, World Bank officials said the tiger initiative had forced the institution to change direction on development.

"The tiger has made the world realise that there is a crisis in nature taking place," said Keshav Varma, director of the Global Tiger Initiative at the World Bank. "Our development philosophy needs to find a balance between the economy and nature. There is so much more consciousness now that projects should not have a negative impact."

The endorsement of the Global Tiger Recovery Programme by heads of government and tiger range countries was widely seen as an important step forward.

"This summit has created the high-level government backing that we needed to create a platform to immediately reverse the decline of wild tigers, which is threatening them with extinction," said Michael Baltzer, head of WWF's Tigers Alive initiative. "We need governments to lead the charge forward and maintain this political enthusiasm and intensity, because the tiger cannot wait for our help."

But the summit also ended with concerns remaining about financing and concrete action. Several states are sceptical that the World Bank – which has funded many hydropower and other infrastructure projects that have eroded tiger habitats – has genuinely changed its spots. India sent a relatively low-level delegation in a sign of its unease. The summit was unable to agree on a new multi-donor funding mechanism under the World Bank. There will be four more meetings next year to try to co-ordinate spending.

Conservationists warned that any delay will mean more tigers are killed. "Overall, this summit has been positive for tigers, but it won't stop poaching and trafficking because they haven't put in place a mechanism to support enforcement," said Steven Galster, director of Freeland, an organisation that helps to train wildlife authorities in south-east Asia. "They spent $1.4m on this meeting. Why not spend $7m to set up an emergency fund to support enforcement?"

There was also disappointment that China – the main market for tiger products – had not made a stronger public commitment to crack down on the illegal trade. The attendance of Prime Minister Wen was, however, taken as an encouraging sign of engagement by China.

Debbie Banks, head of the Environmental Investigation Agency, said that despite the promises of money and political support, it was too early to determine whether the summit was a success. "None of us are jumping for joy and saying the nut is cracked," she said. "It'll be what happens when leaders go home that makes a difference. Will they engage the public? Will they call a meeting of police and customs to say wildlife is a priority and personnel will be assigned to it? That will show that they have not just come here and read a statement, but that they really want to move away from business as usual."

Participants have a mixed record on fulfilling their promises. John Sellar of wildlife convention CITES said more than half of the range states had failed to provide information on the illegal tiger trade, as they agreed to do in 2009.