Tiger recovery plan to be drafted next week

In an effort to save the world’s remaining tiger population, thirteen “tiger-range countries” will meet at the Indonesian island of Bali to draft a global recovery plan starting Monday, July 12th and continuing until Wednesday, July 14th. Officials are optimistic that the draft plan will form the basis of a Global Tiger Recovery Program which will be discussed at the larger “tiger summit” being held in Russia on September 15th through the 18th.

There is no doubt that the world’s tiger population is in dire straights. Two of the three tiger species in Indonesia, the Javan and Balinese, are already extinct, while the Sumatran tiger is only believed to have 4000 left in the wild. On the global level, tiger populations have fallen from around 100,000 to only 3,200 in just the past century. If action is not taken soon, it will be too late to save the tiger from extinction and it appears that global leaders are understanding the tiger population’s plight.

The chief reasons for declining tiger populations are poaching, hunting and loss of habitat. The conflict between tiger and man is a huge problem to tackle as the two fight over land. Timber is constantly cut down to either make way for human development or used for the production of palm oil. As a result, both tigers and elephants have been forced to live in close proximity to villages. Indonesian conservation official Harry Santoso made the following statement:

“If we do nothing, tigers around the world, including Indonesia, will be extinct by 2035...Our program will focus on mitigation of human-animal conflict and law enforcement to stop tiger poaching. We will impose stricter punishments for criminals.” Santoso also added that the tiger’s habitats will also be protected.

The countries invited to attend the September summit include Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The countries of the United States, Australia, Germany and the organizations of World Bank and Asian Development Bank are expected to provide funds for the Tiger Recovery Plan’s implementation.