Bangkok--15 Dec--WWF Thailand
The historic decision last month in St. Petersburg, Russia by countries where tigers still roam to double their numbers by 2022 represents a groundbreaking commitment to the world’s largest cat. The 13 countries are to be commended for their participation in the International Tiger Conservation Forum, and their unified efforts throughout the year to draft their own national plans for tiger conservation and an overarching global plan which is ambitious in its solutions and scope.
It is ironic that while Asia experiences rapid economic growth and renewed global leadership in many fields of technology, industry and business, the wealth and diversity of its natural ecosystems is falling and losing its global significance. Nothing exemplifies this decline better than the present fate of the tiger. This species, a magnificent symbol of the power and energy of the region, and a national icon for many of the countries in Asia, stands on the precipice of extinction. How is it that this emblem of strength and vitality is suffering so badly just as Asia gains the capacity to save it? Can a region truly be said to be prosperous and successful when it lets go of its natural heritage?
The truth is that the tiger is at the heart of the continent’s identity and we do have the power to save it. We have the position and authority now to show to the people of Asia and the world at large that Asia can grow while maintaining its majestic and beautiful natural symbol. To make it happen, though, governments and conservationists need to think big — strike immediately on the promises at St. Petersburg and its resultant plan, the Global Tiger Recovery Programme (GTRP). Solutions are simple, but just need to be applied with the same determination and vision that is leading the region to its new economic and political position of leadership.
Using St. Petersburg’s energy, we can start immediately. Already, Thailand has demonstrated leadership in the region through its role in hosting and advocacy for the ASEAN-WEN (Wildlife Enforcement Network), as well as implementation of smart patrolling techniques in the Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM).
A few problems, however, need to be fixed, and fortunately the solutions are well defined. These include restoring habitats as well as “corridors,” so that isolated tiger populations can link up, stopping poaching and the lucrative black market tiger trade, and enhancing protection for both the tiger and its prey species and the ecosystem as a whole. Tackling these is a relative simple equation of funding plus will.
Specifically, Thailand needs to take the following actions to recover our dwindling tiger populations: strengthen management effectiveness and law enforcement in protected areas including improved policies for protected area personnel; establish a regional training and research centre; and strengthen ASEAN-WEN and THAI-WEN links.
Protecting tigers means not just protecting a species. It means protecting entire ecosystems. The benefits are not merely notional, they are quantifiable. Hundreds of rivers spring from tiger habitat and tiger tourism can be worth tens of millions of dollars. Tiger habitat forests are carbon sinks, acting as brakes on anthropogenic or human-made global warming. Healthy forests with healthy tiger populations provide a myriad of ecosystem services to communities both near and afar. In short, healthy tiger populations need healthy forests, and healthy forests provide a raft of benefits for local families, and even those living in other countries and on other continents.
In 2010, the Chinese Year of the Tiger, this worldwide icon has garnered plenty of attention. Over the next few months and throughout 2011, tiger range countries will attempt to capitalize on St. Petersburg’s promise and flesh out the skeleton of the Global Tiger Recovery Programme which they endorsed. It is therefore time for Asian countries to step up to the plate and save their native icon. This includes not only communities, NGOs and governments, but also non-traditional allies, such as Asia’s thriving corporate sector, whose capacity to make a difference has yet to be realised.
Tigers are indeed everywhere this year — except in the jungles where they are supposed to be. Can Asia’s economies truly continue to roar without their most famous symbol of tenacity and strength? Let’s preserve Asia’s icon for Asia and the world, before it is too late. After all, no Asian country can be said to be prosperous and wealthy when it loses its national symbol.
WWF Greater Mekong, Thailand Country Office
Email:
[email protected]