There are only about 3,200 tigers in the wild, down from 20,000 in the 1980s and some 100,000 a century ago.
Towards the end of this month, environment ministers from 13 tiger range states will meet in Thailand.
“The process will culminate in a heads of state Tiger Summit in Vladivostok in Russia in September to be hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and co-chaired by the World Bank’s president Robert Zoellick,” said the Worldwide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) Greater Mekong Programme
Tiger conservation programmes across Asia and Russia’s Far East are fighting a losing battle as development encroaches into tiger habitats, and also as the insatiable appetite for tiger body parts and pelts grows.
According to the WWF, tigers are found in 13 countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. Nowhere are they safe.
Share This Post - TypePad Knowledge Base