January-February , 2022 | @ Forest
COVER STORY
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The loss of tigers knows no geographical , cultural and political boundaries . In this time of need , let us , as the TRCs and partners , work together in the spirit of a world family to save our tigers !”
– Prime Minister Dato ’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob
means to set realistic , actionable targets in their bid to achieve tiger recovery goals .
He added that member countries would further deliberate the Financial Resource Mobilisation Assessment . It would include financing plans for tiger conservation which Southeast Asian countries might use when carrying out tiger conservation efforts .
“ I would like to reiterate Malaysia ’ s firm pledge to protect the tiger and its habitats that was made in the St Petersburg Declaration 2010 . Malaysia will continue to strengthen its tiger conservation efforts and support various global initiatives , including those recommended through the AMC4 .”
The full text of the Kuala Lumpur Joint Statement on Tiger Conservation can be retrieved from the Facebook page of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Malaysia ( KeTsa ).
The statement emphasised that the TRCs , being custodians of the last remaining tigers in the wild , had a common goal of stabilising and strengthening wild tiger populations and their prey across their historical ranges . — @ Forest
Wildlife Alliance , said Cambodia had lost its tiger since 2007 .
“ There were two last known sightings during that year , and since then , the government has published that tigers are extinct in the landscape . That ’ s why the Royal Government of Cambodia is committed to reintroducing tigers back into its priority landscapes . The priority landscape is the Cardamom Rainforest landscape in Southwest Cambodia ,” she explained .
She said the government chose the landscape because it had effective law enforcement , such as patrolling by welltrained professional rangers . The patrolling itineraries were recorded every 100 metres by the global positioning system ( GPS ) and reported for the geographic information system ( GIS ) mapping .
“ Most importantly , tigers need to have a sufficient prey base . In the Cardamom Rainforest landscape , we have conducted four systematic camera trap surveys ,” said Gauntlett before emphasising the importance of sustainable financing and community engagement .
Natural tiger range expansion
Gray , the Tiger Recovery Lead of WWF- Greater Mekong , shared that tigers currently were in less than six per cent of their historic range . He said there used to be tigers in Mongolia , Georgia and Cambodia . Now , breeding tigers were only present in 10 countries , less than a third of the historic tiger range countries .
Gray stated that the Global Tiger Summit in September 2022 would provide an opportunity to reflect on whether ‘ TX2 ’ - doubling the number of wild tigers had been achieved and help identify new and bold goals for tiger conservation across the next 12 years of a tiger cycle and beyond .
“ There ’ s an increasing call for such goals to involve tiger range expansion . New landscapes , new countries , ( are ) returning tigers to the ecosystems they ’ re absent from ,” said Gray , sharing that increasing prey populations and generating community support were critical in this effort .
“ Prey translocations and prey recovery is perhaps the single most important tiger conservation and range expansion activity in many landscapes ,” he added .
Gray shared that WWF ’ s Tiger Alive undertook an analysis to identify areas across the former range of tigers with similar levels of human activity to areas currently occupied by a tiger . The data from the analysis was used to extrapolate where else in the countries tigers could be put back . He then showed the map where a potential tiger range expansion might happen .
“ Of course , many of these expansion areas on this map may not be possible for ecological , political or social reasons . But , we hope that a map like this , an analysis like this , can provide a blueprint for governments , civil society and the public to help identify new and ambitious goals for tiger conservation .”
Tiger ’ s return to Kazakhstan
Mazmaniants , the Director of the Central Asian Programme of WWF-Russia , then
shared the tiger reintroduction programme in Kazakhstan . He said Kazakhstan promised to return the roar to the country in 2010 during the International Tiger Forum in St Petersburg .
The determination was supported by the then Prime Minister of Russia ( now President ), Vladimir Putin , who promised to donate some tigers to Kazakhstan for the reintroduction programme . From 2010 to 2016 , the programme was developed together with WWF . In 2017 , the WWF and Kazakhstan government signed a memorandum on the agenda .
According to Mazmaniants , the programme would be carried out in stages , such as :
• 2018 to 2022 : Ecosystem restoration , increasing the density of ungulates
• 2025 to 2030 : First tigers release
• 2030 to 2034 : Monitoring of population
• 2035 and above : Goal to reach 100 tigers “ In 2018 , the State natural reserve , Ile-
Balkhash , was established , and the size is 415 K ha . There was around 700 K ha of sanctuaries . Additionally , the Balkhash- Kapchagay regional ecological corridor was created . From 2018 , the protection ( effort ) has been established . Modern technologies have been introduced ,” he said .
He further explained that some technologies included SMART patrolling , UAV monitoring and satellite fire control .
“ During these four years , the population of ungulates , especially wild boars , increased from five to eleven individuals per 1000 ha .”