WWF report highlights tiger population gains for the Year of the Tiger
来源：World Economic Forum;发表于:2022-02-15;人气指数:377
WWF
report highlights tiger population gains for the Year of the Tiger
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/02/wwf-tiger-population-wildlife-lunar-new-year/
Tiger populations
have increased for the first time in over a century.
Image: A G/Unsplash
10 Feb 2022
Paige Bennett
Writer, EcoWatch
*The global tiger
population is finally increasing after more than a century of gradual decline,
a new study from WWF reveals.
*Since the last Tiger
Summit of 2010, several restoration efforts have contributed to the animal's
recovery.
*However, the WWF
warns that they still face serious threats, with tigers likely extinct in
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Reported concurrent
with the Lunar New Year and Year of the Tiger on February 1, 2022, a study
from World Wildlife Fund (WWF) shows that tiger populations are finally
showing an increase after more than a century of steady decline.
The study notes that
since 2010, or the last Year of the Tiger, tiger populations have increased, in
part due to several restoration efforts. During that time, the first Tiger
Summit gathered experts to determine ways to conserve tiger populations across
13 countries. The first record of recovering tiger populations happened in
2016, the first uptick in over a century.
“The 2010 Tiger
Summit launched an unprecedented set of tiger conservation initiatives,” said
Stuart Chapman, head of the Tiger Summit. “The results show what can be
achieved through long-term partnerships for species recovery. The dedication of
field teams, conservation partners and communities living in tiger territories
has led to these extraordinary results.”
In the new Impact
on Tiger Recovery 2010-2022 report, WWF outlines tiger conservation
successes, including numbers that have tripled in Land of the Leopard, a national
park in Russia and a new, designated tiger protected area, the world’s largest,
in China.
To improve tiger
population numbers, WWF and its partners have implemented several tactics:
restoring tiger habitats, combating the illegal wildlife trade and poaching,
expanding the tigers’ range and allowing them to safely cross borders between
nations, carefully relocating tigers to reserves to improve breeding, and
training volunteers on handling human-tiger conflicts, among several other
methods.
“India, Nepal,
Bhutan, Russia and China have demonstrated what it takes to increase wild tiger
numbers and conserve their habitat,” said said Ginette Hemley, senior vice
president of wildlife conservation at WWF-US. “As these countries show, the
communities living alongside tiger habitats are instrumental stewards of the
nature around them and their partnership is vital. Hopefully, the success of
these countries will inspire others, particularly in Southeast Asia, to step up
efforts to protect wild tigers and secure the species’ future beyond 2022.”
In a recent survey of
PT Alam Bukit Tigapuluh (ABT), or The Thirty Hills Forest Company, in Sumatra,
WWF and its partners were able to identify five critically endangered
Sumatran tigers and 14 other protected species, showing the importance of
these conservation areas. Experts believe there could be more Sumatran tigers
in the Thirty Hills area.
“The discovery of
three adult female and two male tigers along with prey and many other endangered
and threatened species shows that the surveyed area is an important habitat for
the survival of Sumatran tigers and other wildlife,” said Dody Rukman, CEO
of the ABT company.
While the Impact
on Tiger Recovery report and the survey of wildlife in Thirty Hills is
encouraging for tiger conservation, WWF warns that these animals are still
facing serious threats. Tigers are likely extinct in Cambodia, Laos and
Vietnam, and populations faced decline in Malaysia over the past 12 years.
Their range is still declining, and WWF estimates their current range to be
about 5% of their historic range.
The second Tiger
Summit is slated for September 2022 in Vladivostok, Russia. The goal is to
determine the next phase of the Global Tiger Recovery Plan, with a focus on
setting goals to further expand range and reintroduce tigers to their former
habitats.