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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_russia_saving_tigers
13 NATIONS SIGN DECLARATION TO SAVE TIGERS IN THE WILD
ST.
PETERSBURG, Russia – Officials from the 13 countries where tigers live
in the wild have signed a declaration Tuesday aimed at saving the iconic
big cats from extinction.The new accord stipulates that the nations
will strive to double the tiger population by 2022, crack down on
poaching and illicit trade in tiger pelts and body parts.Tigers once
roamed most of Eurasia from the Tigris River to Siberia and Indonesia.
But in the past century, the number of countries that are home to tigers
has dropped to 13 from 25, while three of the nine tiger subspecies
have become extinct. Experts say there are now only about 3,200 tigers
left in the wild.The nations — most of which are in Southeast Asia —
agreed to preserve and enhance tigers’ habitats and involve local
communities in their conservation efforts.”The goal is difficult, but
achievable,” Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told the participants
of the “Tiger Summit” in St. Petersburg.Russia’s Far East is home to
Siberian tigers, the largest tiger subspecies. Putin has bolstered his
image by posing with a cuddly cub and placing a tracking collar on a
full-grown female.The number of tigers worldwide has plunged
some 95 percent over the past century. The Global Tiger Recovery Program
estimates the 13 nations countries will need about $350 million in
outside funding in the first five years of the 12-year plan.Many of the
countries with tigers, such as Laos, Bangladesh and Nepal, are
impoverished, and saving tigers may depend on sizable donations from the
West. The nations will be seeking donor commitments to help finance
conservation measures, the agreement said.”It is difficult to solve the
problems of wildlife conservation in these countries,” Putin said.He
said Russia could help revive tiger populations in neighboring countries
such as Iran and Kazakhstan.Russia was the only nation where
the number of tigers has increased in recent decades — from several
dozens in 1947 to some 500 now. Putin said.Russian wildlife experts say,
however, that Siberian tigers are still endangered. Their pelts, bones
and meat are prized in traditional Chinese medicine, and some 100 of
them are killed annually to be smuggled to China, a senior inspector
from a natural preserve in the Primorsky region said.Rampant
deforestation of cedars contributes to massive migration of animals and
forces tigers to forage villages and farms, where they often get killed,
Anatoly Belov said.
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