GLOBAL TIGER FORUM IS AN INTER-GOVERNMENTALINTERNATIONAL BODY FOR CONSERVATION OF THETIGER IN THE WILD

GGLLOOBBAALL TTIIGGEERR FFOORRUUMM NEWSVolume 4 No 10 December 2011

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GLOBAL TIGER FORUM GLOBAL TIGER FORUM IS AN INTER-GOVERNMENTALINTERNATIONAL BODY FOR CONSERVATION OF THETIGER IN THE WILD

Volume 4 No 10 December 2011

EDITOR : S P Yadav

Global Tiger Forum SecretariatD-87, Lower Ground Floor, Amar Colony,Raghunath Mandir Road, Lajat Nagar IVNew Delhi 110024

1. Note from the Secretary General (05)

2. Workshop of Experts to Develop Criteria and Indicators (06)

For Monitoring the Global Tiger Recovery Programme

3. News from Countries (12)

Bangladesh

Cambodia

China

India

Indonesia

Malaysia

Myanmar

Nepal

Thailand

Vietnam

U.K.

U.S.A.

4. News from International Agencies/NGOs (32)

INTERPOL

International Fund For Animal Welfare (IFAW)

TRAFFIC International

WWF

Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI)

The Corbett Foundation

Wildlife Conservation Nepal (WCN)

Wildlife Trust of India (WTI)

5. Of the GTF (42)

6. Tiger Mortality and Seizure of Tiger Body Parts, Statistics from India - July to December 2011 (43)

Contents

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04 December 2011

NOTE FROM THE SECRETARY GENERALIn the second half of 2011, the Global Tiger Forum, in collaboration with the Global TigerInitiative, organized a workshop of Experts to develop criteria and indicators for monitoringof the Global Tiger Recovery Programme. The primary objective of this workshop was toestablish a technical and institutional foundation for effective collaboration among the TigerRange Countries and other governmental and nongovernmental partners. This would ensureconsistent, science based monitoring of status of tiger conservation landscapes. Theworkshop was hosted by the Government of Vietnam at Hanoi on 2-4 August, 2011.

The GTF supported TRAFFIC in organizing the first SAWEN capacity building/trainingprogramme of frontline staff of member countries on forensic/investigation of wildlife crimesat Gandhinagar, India, on 11-15 July 2011. Senior level government officials of sevenmember countries attended the training. The participants received comprehensive inputs onthe current scenario regarding wildlife crime and trade in South Asia and its implications forfield conservation. They were also introduced to the latest tools and techniques used instrengthening wildlife law enforcement.

The GTF participated in the Creative Experts' Meeting on Demand Reduction messaging forConsumption of Tigers and other Endangered Wildlife Species, organized by TRAFFIC andWWF at Hong Kong on 22-23 November, 2011. The meeting aimed to develop new strategicapproaches to reduce consumer demand for Tigers and other endangered wildlife species inChina and Viet Nam. The participants concluded that strategies to reduce demand forendangered wildlife species must effectively address the attitudes, motivations and behaviourthat drive demand for tigers and other endangered wildlife. This would lead to new andinnovative approaches for influencing consumer demand.

The GTF sent its technical staff to Lao PDR and Vietnam during 18 to 23 December, 2011, toassist them in finalizing their National Tiger Monitoring Framework and setting up the GTFNational Core Group.

Formal letters have been received from the Environmental Minister of China and Russia thatthey are keenly pursuing the issue of joining the Global Tiger Forum in the near future.The GTF is confident that these efforts would further strengthen the Range Countries inprotecting their wild tigers.

Dr. RAJESH GOPALSecretary General

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The workshop of Experts to Develop Criteria andIndicators for Monitoring of the Global Tiger RecoveryProgramme was organized by the Global Tiger Forum(GTF) in collaboration with the Global Tiger Initiative(GTI) and hosted by the Government of Vietnam inHanoi between 2nd to 4th August 2011. The workshopbrought together government representatives andexperts from all tiger range countries and othercountries supporting tiger conservation

The primary objectives of the workshop was to establisha technical and institutional foundation for an effectivecollaboration among the tiger range countries and othergovernmental and nongovernmental partners inensuring consistent, science based monitoring of statusof tiger conservation landscapes (TCLs) and progress ofimplementation of Global Tiger Recovery Programme

(GTRP) endorsed in November 2010 at St Petersburg,Russian Federation, by the Tiger Range Countries.

A summary overview of the workshop is reproducedhere.

Day 1

Session I: Welcome/Opening Addresses(Chair: Mr. Do Quang Tung)

Mr. Do Quang Tung, Deputy Director, Vietnam CITESManagement Authority, Vietnam ForestryAdministration, introduced the workshop and thankeddelegates and participants from the 13 Tiger RangeCountries (TRCs), the GTI and the GTF, and NGOsincluding WWF, WCS, IUCN, TRAFFIC, and FFI.

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WORKSHOP OF EXPERTS TO DEVELOP CRITERIA AND INDICATORS FOR MONITORING OF THE GLOBAL TIGER RECOVERYPROGRAMME, HANOI, VIETNAM, 2-44 AUGUST 2011

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Dr. Ha Cong Tuan, Deputy Director General of theVietnam Forest Administration, welcomed and thankeddelegates and participants. He noted that in Vietnamthe tiger is a priority species protected by law as it is inother TRCs but that in the last 50 years, tigers havedeclined in numbers and range due to forest reductionand hunting. He noted some recent efforts in Vietnam,including a new interagency committee on lawenforcement and workshops to promote transboundarycooperation with its neighbors. He further commentedthat the TRCs are committed to cooperate in GTRPimplementation and to implement their own NTRPs andthis workshop is to exchange experience and criteria tomonitor the GTRP and NTRPs. He also noted theimportance of conservation to sustainable developmentand adaptation to climate change and that effectiveinternational cooperation to protect wild tigers isimportant. Declaring the workshop open, he offeredwarm thanks to the GTF Secretariat for organizing thisworkshop and expressed his hope that it will besuccessful and give wild tigers a better future.

Mr. S.P. Yadav, Deputy Inspector General of India'sNational Tiger Conservation Authority and acting onbehalf of the Secretary General of the Global TigerForum, welcomed delegates and participants andexplained that GTF is collaborating with GTI and TRCs tostrengthen tiger conservation. He recalled that TRCspresented their ”to-do lists” of priority activities for2011 at the Delhi meeting in March. This workshop is todevelop a framework for monitoring implementation ofGTRP. He commented that the TRCs have demonstratedtheir commitment through development of their NTRPs,which all together form the GTRP. Now the priorities arefinding resources from donors to implement the NTRPsand finalizing a monitoring framework. He noted thatidentification of donors and recasting NTRPs into aproject mode is as important as getting consensus on abroad monitoring framework. Where donor fundingexists in a TRC, the focus should be to channel funds toNTRP priorities. The GTF would like the entire process tobe TRC driven while GTF serves as a facilitator throughcountry-level focal points and core groups. Each GTFmember TRC has been asked to form a national-levelCore Group. He pointed out that the ultimateassessment of the success of the GTRP will be the statusof the tiger population at the global level. Robust,scientific monitoring methodologies already exist andare being employed at various scales and levels ofintensity. TRCs need to determine the best methods touse given their unique conditions. He stated that theGTF can offer assistance to 1-2 TRCs, if they require it,to help in assessment of tigers, co-predators, prey, andstatus of habitat by providing experts and support fromthe Wildlife Institute of India. He concluded by thankingthe Government of Vietnam for hosting the workshop,

which GTF believes will be one more milestone in thetiger agenda.

Mr. Keshav Varma, GTI Program Director, World Bank,welcomed delegates and participants and thanked theGovernment of Vietnam for hosting the workshop andthe Global Tiger Forum for organizing it with GTIsupport. He also acknowledged the scientists who cameto advise and support the TRCs to build consensus on amonitoring framework. He noted that the workshop isabout measuring progress toward the goal of the St.Petersburg Declaration: doubling the number of wildtigers by 2022. Also in the St. Petersburg Declaration,TRC governments committed to convene high-levelmeetings on a regular basis to review progress. TheGovernment of Bangladesh has graciously offered tohost the first such meeting, at a ministerial level, inDhaka in late January. He briefly summarized theGTI/World Bank role: to be accountable to the TRCheads of governments for ensuring that thecommitments of the Declaration are fulfilled. He thenoutlined the three kinds of monitoring to be consideredin the workshop: program monitoring; scientificmonitoring of tigers, prey, and habitat; and evaluationof protected areas management effectiveness.

Dr. Andrey Kushlin, GTI Program Coordinator, outlinedhow we got to this point, reminding the participantsthat monitoring was mandated in the St. PetersburgDeclaration on Tiger Conservation and in the GTRP. Hedescribed the role of the GTF as providing technicalinputs to the GTI Secretariat on two tracks: a commonframework among the TRCs to monitor progress towardTx2 and a monitoring and reporting system for GTRPimplementation.

Dr. Sejal Worah, Workshop Facilitator, WWF, provided abrief overview of the workshop objectives and the threetypes of monitoring to be addressed. She noted that thiswas an historic meeting in that all 13 TRCs wererepresented at a technical meeting. She next outlinedthe expectations of the workshop outcomes, including:

n Each TRC will have a draft of an objective NTRPmonitoring system.

n Regarding biological monitoring, what each TRCneeds and how to get there will be determinedalong with an agreed process fordeveloping/implementing appropriate methodology.

n An understanding of the approaches to evaluatingeffectiveness of PA management.

n The roles of regional/global partners in monitoringwill be outlined.

Session II: Presentation of revised one-yyear objectivesbased on NTRPs and self-aassessment outcomes from

each TRC (Chair: Dr. Andrey Kushlin)

Each TRC presented its to-do list for 2011 and reportedon progress up to August 1. These reportsdemonstrated that significant progress has been madein this very short time. It seems clear that themomentum and political will generated by the Summithas elevated the profile of tiger conservation and iscarrying the TRCs forward very impressively. Thefollowing is a sample of the progress reported.

Bangladesh: 50% of Sundarbans revenue will now go toCommunity Development groups; small water channelsurvey/track survey in 2011 for tiger and preyabundance completed; increased capacity for stray tigerimmobilization so they are not killed by local forestpeople; Tiger Day observed on July 29.

Bhutan: Bhutan Forest and Enforcement Database setup; Tiger Day observed on July 29; capacity buildingprograms were conducted by IFAW/WTI in June andJuly.

Cambodia: CTAP to be published by December 2011;training on wildlife meat identification was conducted;there have been strategic patrols of the Eastern Plainspriority landscape.

China: organized a workshop on monitoring andconservation for all subspecies of tigers in China; pilotimplementation of MIST in GLNP in northeast China; theNational Plan for Recovery Wild Tigers in China has beenrecognized by central government.

India: 12 new tiger reserves in pipeline; ”e-Eye” inCorbett Tiger Reserve launched; studies on economicevaluations of Tiger Reserves approved; all corridorshave been identified.

Indonesia: 2,277 households in 15,527 ha in BBSNP arebeing removed; pilot implementation of MIST in GLNPand BBSNP; encroachment mitigation taskforce forconservation areas set up.

Laos: Xe Pian NPA got US$100,000 to supportmanagement activities; official launch of Lao WEN;completed REDD feasibility study in NEPL and Nam PouyNPAs; started tiger monitoring in Nam Pouy with cameratraps; New Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment set up

Malaysia: improved legislation; implementation ofawareness program; Ministry to coordinate CentralForest Spine; increase patrolling and enforcementactivities; state level participation.

Myanmar: ensured inviolate core in Hukaung by

renewing declaration; attitude survey of local peopleconducted; program for village awareness of wildlife lawbegun; Htamanthi Nature Reserve has tigers.

Nepal: 3 local level transboundary meetings were held;there is an effort to improve coordination of army,police, etc. in wildlife law enforcement; new PrimeMinister has committed more money to special tigerconservation program, reformation of organizationalstructure, promote research, formulate and implementanti-poaching and illegal trade strategy

Russia: Sredneussuriysky ecological corridor to connectSkihote-Alin and Wandashan is in process of approval;there is a regular exchange of results of monitoring tigerand ungulates between experts of Russia and China; 20rangers have been added to strengthen anti-poachingbrigades in Primorsky and Khabarovsky RegionalAdministrations and in federal protected areas.

Thailand: Regional Tiger Conservation and ResearchCenter (RTC) at Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary wasestablished; National Tiger Committee was set up; SmartPatrol System has been extended to other PAs ofWEFCOM (i.e., Mae Wong+Khlong Lan NPs).

Vietnam: has finished survey of tiger habitat in 3 of 5PAs and plan to finish by end of year; celebrated TigerDay on July 29; Vietnam CITES Management Authorityin collaboration with relevant agencies and TRAFFICorganized three transboundary workshops and MOUswere signed between Vietnam provinces andneighboring provinces of Lao PDR and Cambodia toimprove wildlife trade control cross the border.

Session III: Process Monitoring Indicators and Plans(Facilitator: Dr Sejal Worah)

During this afternoon session, the facilitator outlined therationale for monitoring to assess progress, identifyproblems, and adapt strategies if that is necessary. Itwas stressed that monitoring is not about creatingwinners and losers, or punishing anyone for notreaching objectives-it's to inform and improvemanagement and really learn from failure, not sweep itunder the rug.

A framework for GTRP implementation monitoring in amatrix format was presented, consisting of:

n Objectives-each TRC's 2011 Priority Activities;

n Indicators of progress toward completing theactivities;

n Baseline-the current state;

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n Role-who is responsible for the different activitiesand indicators; and

n A simple Green, Yellow, Red traffic light visual toshow at a glance how things are going towardmeeting the Objective.

Individual country groups and resource people thenworked to fill in the table to the extent possible in thetime available. Following the exercise, all agreed it waschallenging as well as a very useful approach. TRCdelegates agreed to continue the work with theircolleagues back home and forward the completedexercise to the GTI and GTF Secretariats by the end ofAugust. The Secretariats will then compile all of the TRCinputs, harmonize the terms used so they are consistentacross TRCs, and take care of formatting details and thelike before returning a draft to the TRC focal points forfinal inputs.

Day 2

Session I:Biological Monitoring

Most of Day 2 was devoted to Biological Monitoring oftigers, prey, and habitat

Dr. John Seidensticker, Smithsonian Institution and GTIAdvisor, opened the session by setting the historicalcontext for biological monitoring of tigers and prey.

Dr. Dale Miquelle, WCS Russia Program Director,presented an overview of the rationale, methods,possible outcomes, and other aspects of scientificmonitoring. Key points are:

n Scale: monitoring is generally at source sites (usuallyPAs, where people work and do interventions) butlandscape-scale monitoring must also be considered.

n Principles: Accountability requires effectivemonitoring; must be honest about successes andfailures; biologically adequate, scientifically rigorous,and agreed-upon methodologies for comparability;transparency of the methods, data, and resultsthrough peer-review and publication.

n Objective: determine abundance of tigers and prey,as well as survival and recruitment at source sites.

n Tools for tiger monitoring: capture-recapture(camera traps, DNA) on a yearly basis.

n Even at very low densities, as in the Russian Far East,capture-recapture can be used if you really know theecology of the tiger.

n Minimum count might be appropriate if capture-recapture won’t work, but it is important to use onlyone method (DNA, photos, sign)--although all of thedata collected should be kept.

n Methods to determine abundance of prey/preydensity: line sampling; occupancy, encounter rates;this should be done annually.

n To survey larger landscapes use occupancy modelingof detection/non-detection of tiger sign; landscapesurveys should be conducted every 3-5 years; dataare valuable for management (identifying corridors,etc) too.

n Must do it right! Get help from experiencedspecialists if necessary.

n Law Enforcement Monitoring to improve onsiteplanning and performance.

n WCS and USGS are preparing a guide book onbiological monitoring protocols, specifically in theGTI process context, to be available by the end of2011. Site-specific workshops to address eachunique situation will be offered.

n Patience and perseverance essential. Tigerpopulation growth may be rapid at first if numbersare very low, then growth will slow-it will take atleast about 12 years to double based on tigerdemography.

Dr. Pete Cutter, WWF Thailand, discussed definingtargets for monitoring. Key points:

n Monitoring is not for numbers alone, it is forimproving management and action or validating thatyou're doing it right.

n Monitoring at different scales answers differentmanagement questions. Monitoring in source sitesand PAs is to answer how many tigers, prey density,carrying capacity, other carnivores, and spatialpatterns/priorities for intervention. In corridors, itidentifies barriers and fragmentation. In the matrix, itlooks at sustainable practices and human-tigerconflict. At the landscape level, it looks atconnectivity and metapopulation structure.

n Different methods of monitoring answer differentquestions and are appropriate to apply at thedifferent scales noted above.

In discussion, a need for master planning of TCLs wasbrought up to address the challenge of PA managersbringing in all the sectors, noting that there are too

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many infrastructure surprises. Also noted was a need formonitoring the state of the habitat, for which baselinedata are needed in all TCLs.

Mr. S.P. Yadav discussed the monitoring program inIndia, noting that monitoring was about ”Keeping thepulse of the ecosystem.” He outlined the methods andresults of the 2010 All-India Estimation of Tigers, Co-predators, and Prey and Status of Habitat. Overallresults: tiger numbers increased over 2006 estimationbut occupied habitat declined by about 12%.

Four case studies of scientific monitoring in differenthabitat types and under different conditions werepresented to give a sense of how diverse challenges canbe addressed.

n Bhutan case study, presented by Mr. LhendupTharchen, Coordinator, Tiger and CarnivoreConservation, Wildlife Conservation Division.

n Sumatra case study presented by Mr. HariyoWibisono (Beebak), Tiger Conservation Coordinator,WCS Indonesia Program.

n Thailand case study, presented by Mr. RonasitManeesai, Forestry Technical Officer, Department ofParks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

n Russia case study presented by Dr. Sergey Naidenco,Leading Scientific Researcher, A.N. SevertsovInstitute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academyof Sciences.

With all of this background, TRC country groups workedto fill in a matrix charting their current biologicalmonitoring activities and methods, their future plans-thekinds of monitoring they would like to implement in thefuture, and their needs in terms of money, training, andtechnical support for biological monitoring of tigers andprey, and law enforcement monitoring. It was lateragreed that the completed matrices would be returnedto the Secretariats on same schedule as the programmonitoring matrices.

Session II: PA Management Effectiveness Evaluation

Mr. Mike Baltzer, Leader, WWF Tiger Network Initiative,Chair, outlined various systems currently employed toevaluate management effectiveness in protected areasincluding:

n WCPA Management Effectiveness

n World Bank/WWF Management EffectivenessTracking Tool

n World Heritage Sites

n ISO Standards

[NOTE: See http://www.wdpa.org/me/tools.aspx for linksto information on these and other tools for evaluatingprotected area management effectiveness.]Mr. S.P. Yadav presented on Management EffectivenessEvaluation (MEE) of Tiger Reserves in India. The mostrecent report is available athttp://www.projecttiger.nic.in/whtsnew/mee_tiger_2011.pdf. Key points:

n PAs cover 10% of land area and are increasing.Given this set aside from economic development, wemust be accountable to stakeholders anddemonstrate good management.

n Evaluation is a tool to assist managers not a tool forpunishment.

n WCPA-MEE Framework: Context, Planning, Inputs,Process, Outputs, Outcome, with 30 headlineindicators, and each large category is weighted in itscontribution to the total score.

n MEE is basically a SWAT analysis + immediate actionpoints.

n GTF will provide technical support to any TRC thatwants to implement MEE.

Mr. Mike Baltzer presented a concept that WWF isdeveloping for a tiger PA certification program or ”goldstandard” and is looking for input from the TRCs onwhether they would be interested in helping to furtherdevelop the program. Currently called PACE - TProtected Area Certificate of Effectiveness (ideas for abetter name were requested), it would define a globalnetwork of outstanding PAs for tigers with certificationas a motivation for effective management. Proposednext steps are to:

n Design standards.

n Establish verification bodies.

n Trial in selected parks.

n Gain first 20 PACE-T certified parks.

n Gain endorsement by GTF.

In discussion, it was proposed that accreditation mightbe a better descriptor than certification. There was alsoa question about whether the program aspired to asetting a very high gold standard or to encouraging PAs

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to achieve minimum standards. This issue is to beresolved.

Day 3

Session I: Role of PartnersDr Sejal Worah provided an overview of the role ofpartners. Each partner in attendance then brieflyoutlined what support it could offer.

n WWF can provide support for all monitoringactivities in the 11 countries and 12 landscapes itworks in as well as support resource mobilization.

n GTF can facilitate and provide technical experts fortiger and prey estimation and provide technicalsupport and experts for management effectivenessevaluation.

n WCS's work is site-based, in areas of high impact,with sites in 10 of 13 TRCs. It will collaborate withanyone interested to produce the guide to biologicalmonitoring. It can provide a technical team to helpdesign and implement monitoring systems, and isdeveloping the SMART software for LawEnforcement Monitoring.

n GTI is working to raise resources for the monitoringGlobal Support Program through a developing Multi-donor Trust Fund and may be able to provide seedfunding to trigger early monitoring efforts. It is alsoplanning to bring donors together to fund NTRPs.

n Smithsonian is offering a capacity building program,now directed by Mahendra Shrestra, who will be intouch with each TRC focal point to prioritize theircapacity building needs. Three training sessions areplanned, the first in Nepal later this year.

It was discussed that broadly partners can providesupport in four areas:

n Help with finishing the implementation monitoringplan.

n Help with resource mobilization: either help TRCs toraise money (eg proposal writing) or to give moneydirectly.

n Help with biological monitoring.

n Help with discussing PA management effectivenessand the gold standard.

The TRCs then filled in a matrix indicating what partnersmight be involved in whatever areas they need help in.

Session II: Wrap Up

Action StepsTRCs to complete the matrices on Program Monitoringand Biological Monitoring and return them to the GTIand GTF Secretariats by the end of August or sooner ifpossible. Partners will get back to TRCs with more informationabout management effectiveness evaluation options andcan advise on how to select a method.

New Issues

n A meeting on Law Enforcement Monitoring in thenext few months was agreed to be important

n Andrew Zakharenka reported on the pilot of a Stateof Habitat Report.

n The need to develop 2012 priority activities planbefore the end of the year was discussed.

Closing Comments

Keshav Varma congratulated the TRCs on their evidentcommitment and hard work. Now partners need towork quickly to offer coordinated support. It isimportant to go to Dhaka will heads held high toimpress the ministers and the international community.On Smithsonian capacity building, he noted that TRCsmust make sure it's aligned with their needs. The goalof the proposed State of Habitat Report is to provideauthentic, honest to inform governments, especially forcross-sectoral engagement. On illegal trade andpoaching, there is a need to know trends based ongood data. He hopes to have some resources via theMDTF by the Dhaka meeting and encouraged donormeetings at the country level, to be chaired by WorldBank country directors where possible. Finally hereiterated that the impact of conferences must be onthe ground at the front lines.

Andrey Kushlin reported on the training for senior TRCcustoms/police officials to be provided by ICCWC inBangkok in November.

S.P. Yadav thanked Vietnam for hosting the workshopand also thanked the focal points of GTF and GTI, allTRC delegates, and the resource people.

Mr. Do Quang Tung thanked all participants, especiallyall 13 TRC delegates, and said he was looking forwardto future cooperation.

S.P. Yadav closed the workshop.

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NEWS FROM COUNTRIES

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BANGLADESHSaturday, September 10, 2011

Tiger Conservation: Reality, recognition and rightsDr Mohammad Ali

Tigers are maverick animals. They are supposed to livelong in this world. Instead, they are disappearing rapidly.No doubt celebrating ‘tiger day’ will raise awareness tosafeguard this majestic animal; however, we hope theaffiliated institutions will continue creating a congenialenvironment for safety and sustainability of tigerpopulation.

Commonly such safety and protection are providedthrough declaring protected areas (PAs) like gamereserves, wildlife sanctuary, and even national parks.There are overlapping forest reserves and tiger reservesin the Sunderbans as well. The overlapping is becausewhat is for the Sunderbans is for Tiger and what is forTiger is for the Sunderbans. The Sunderbans and Tigersare inseparable. We wish that the ‘tiger day’ will benefitboth Tigers and the Sunderbans.

However, in Bangladesh situation continuing

relationship between Forest Departments (FD) in chargeof PAs and the local communities living in and aroundPAs are discouraging. The approach of PA managementin Bangladesh is different from western approach.Western PAs constitute creating pristine zones byexcluding local communities whereas Bangladesh PAsinvite active participation of communities. Of coursepeople do participate in western PAs as well but suchparticipation is spontaneous and influenced byconsciousness; whereas, participation in our country isoperational and induced by motivation.

Despite illegitimate human killing is considered as themain reason of tiger disappearance. The Balinese tigerwas extinct long ago in 1930s due to hunting. Caspianand Java tiger are also extinct due to human pressure.The extinction of Java tiger is very recent only in 1970s.In that regard the effort for tiger conservation is notvery old. Presently there are only six sub-species of tiger

remaining in the world. All of them are endangered.The total number of individuals of all tiger speciesaround the world is estimated to be alarmingly low, only 3200. Tigers are visible in only 7% areas of theirnatural home range. Among them the abundance of theBengal Tiger is highest close to 1100 in India andBangladesh. In the Bangladesh part Tigers are availablein the Sunderbans only and their number is less than500.

Although higher in number, the Bengal tiger is moreprone to extinction because they have the highestinteraction with human beings. Ecologically they occupyonly one habitat, the Sunderbans. They often hunt onlivestock and kill people. Many people die in theSunderbans due to tiger attack. All of them increase theprobability of their extinction. They are more vulnerablebecause they are surrounded by about eight millionpeople living around the Sunderbans and troubled bythree million people entering in the Sunderbans everyyear. There is no doubt that if these people do notcooperate there is no possibility that tigers in theSunderbans could be saved.

Albeit, how we arrange participation does matter, themotivational part is very subjective. This is largelybecause the tools we use for motivation are mainlymonetary incentives and NGO perceptive. NGOs ingeneral are very active and successful in their missions;however, in practice they are multilevel profit seekingliaison between the government, people andinternational agencies. If there is no money, there willbe no motivation, thereby, no participation can beexpected. Moreover, the responsibility and liability ofNGOs are minimal. At least the Wildlife Act does nothave such provision. Therefore, the long termconservation of tiger may be affected seriously. Thoughharsh to generalize, we can say motivations are tool-dependent; thereby, motivational participation needssome additional planning for long term solution.

In our country situation of long term perspective is evenbleak, because, NGO involvement is essential tool forany kind of participation. On the other hand, thetraditionalism that the forestry people carry from theirBritish ancestors till now generates mistrust. We do notknow how many ages they will take to achieve the trustof people. Neither have we known whether tigers willlive that long. The least we can say, to save tigersprofessional people have to be trustable to the generalpeople the sooner the better otherwise many things willbe relocated somewhere else including theirprofessionalism. Vis a vis we request the nation toimagine, if any other professional group (e g., Justice)loses the trust of people, as we see with forestry groups,what would be the setback before the nation couldrebuild it again?

Otherwise, the operational participation of people isgood. The hardworking people of our country are verymuch dedicated; however, seldom look atprofessionalism. Once motivated, our politicians do notnecessitate allowing officers and professionals workingin their respective areas. As a result, trainedprofessionals cannot exhibit professionalism andeventually lose the attribute. On the other hand, peopledevelop a peculiar skill for making their boss happy(traditionally called oiling) but not professionalism.Therefore, appropriate skills are replaced by ‘oiling’ andthe professionalism gets relocated from professionals toconsultants. If the consultants are from overseas, thenthe professionalism finds its way seven seas away fromthe host country.

For tiger conservation FD is much dependent on local people. However, they cannot approach localpeople directly. NGOs are essential intermediary. It is a pity that people do not trust them directly. Neither the politicians do. Not to blame almosteverywhere the forestry professionals have beenportrayed not more than burglar of public resources. Ido not know how these professionals will work underthe teeth of saw. Some people have reservation even torecognize them as professionals; particularly, when theyhave repeatedly failed to cater a policy for recruitingtrained professionals. They do not see how otherprofessionals like engineers, doctors, and agriculturists practice their recruitment. If they think thatthey can train people professionally after recruitmentwhen they are supposed to practice, they are in wrongmode. It is political rather than professional. They will be losing productive times (Youthful) and publicresources for training rather than producing. We hopethat our tigers will be saved professionally rather thanpolitically.

The writer is faculty member Department ofEnvironmental Science and Management, North SouthUniversity.

Bangladesh, India sign framework cooperationagreement English.news.cn 2011-09-07

DHAKA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) — Bangladesh and India onTuesday signed the ”Framework CooperationAgreement for Development” along with a number ofagreements, protocols and Memorandum ofUnderstandings (MoUs) between the two South Asianneighbors.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and visitingIndian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed theagreement after one and a half-hour official talks herein Dhaka Tuesday afternoon.

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The two sides also signed a protocol on land boundaryagreement, a MoU on cooperation on renewableenergy, overland transit facilities from Nepal throughIndia to Bangladesh, conservation of the world largestmangrove forests Sundarbans and conservation of RoyalBengal Tigers.

They also signed MoUs on cooperation in the field offisheries, between the Dhaka University and theJawaharlal Nehru University, and between the state-owned Bangladesh Television and the state- runtelevision Indian Doordarshan.

CAMBODIA

GOVERNMENT’S PROTECTED LANDSCAPE OFFICIALS INMONDULKIRI PROVINCE AWARDED EXCELLENCE INLAW ENFORCEMENTSunday, December 18, 2011

Sen Monorom town, Cambodia- ForestryAdministration, Ministry of Environment and ProvincialPolice officials receive award for Best Law EnforcementMonitoring Effort in critical tiger landscape presented bythe WWF’s Tiger Alive Initiative at a ceremony todayattended by Government Officials from these institutionsand from the Governor Office, representatives fromprovincial judiciary and WWF staff.

The award illustrates the importance of the work thatprotected area officials, rangers and WWF teamsachieved on the ground in their mission againstpoaching of tiger, prey and other illegal activities.

In his speech to participants, His Excellency Heng SamNang, Deputy Governor of Mondulkiri province, saidthat this international award was making historybecause this was the first of its kind ever presented tothe provincial enforcement unit.

”With this pride, the enforcement effort needs tocontinue stronger in order to provide security to thelandscape’s significant animal species and protect themfrom wildlife trade,” he added.

Cambodia is among 13 tiger range countries worldwide.The Eastern Plains Landscape in Mondulkiri is one of thefew tiger landscapes together with China, Indonesia,India and Nepal to be rewarded for Excellence forprotection efforts.

Forestry Administration, Ministry of Environment andPolice officials believe the award is a good motivationfor all patrol members and will increase effectiveness intheir enforcement action.

”We are very pleased to receive this award, whichrepresents the values of every piece of our action on theground,” said Mr Keo Sopheak, ForestryAdministration’s Mondulkiri Protected Forest Manager.

Mr Samrangdy Vicheth, Ministry of Environment’sPhnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary Manager, said that theaward honoured the enforcement effort by theGovernment in protected areas management andpreservation of country’s wildlife heritage.

This awarding also excites the WWF’s Cambodian youthtiger ambassadors, who use this opportunity for raisingawareness among other youth about the importance oftiger conservation. They have organized an online forumon facebook from 11th until 13th of December.

Ms Keang Seangly, one of the ambassadors, said thatshe was happy to continue to support global youth tigeractions and promote awareness about tiger amongCambodian young generations.

The Eastern Plains Landscape has the best potential fortiger recovery and prey restoration. Tiger experts say ithas perhaps the highest potential in Asia to help tigerpopulations recover.

With technical support from WWF, a mobileenforcement team led by the Forestry Administrationoperates all over Mondulkiri province to stop the tradein wildlife and forest products. In addition, ForestryAdministration and Ministry of Environment staff patrolregularly inside Mondulkiri Protected Forest and PhnomPrich Wildlife Sanctuary respectively.

”The high levels of law enforcement effort by nearly 60rangers patrolling regularly inside and outside protectedareas is a big deterrent for poachers,” said Ms MichelleOwen, Conservation Programme Manager with WWF-Cambodia. ”However much more effort is needed inorder to eradicate poaching in this critically importantlandscape,” she continued. (From WWF)

CHINA

‘It’s really good stuff’: undercover at a Chinese tigerbone wine auctionPosted by Jonathan Watts Tuesday 6 December 201111.18 GMTguardian.co.uk

Sales of such products are forbidden - but buyers turnedup in droves and uniformed police were conspicuous bytheir absence

Is China serious about ending the trade in tigers andother endangered animals?

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14 December 2011

The question posed itself last Saturday as I sat at anauction in Beijing watching the hammer go down oncases of spirits and tonics fortified with tiger, rhino hornand pangolin.

Sales of such products are forbidden by Chinese lawand international convention, yet even though the eventat the Kunlun hotel had been advertised the previousnight on state television and flagged up by outragedconservation groups, uniformed police were initiallyconspicuous by their absence.

The buyers, however, had turned up in droves, or moreprecisely in Audis and BMWs, for this was a sale aimedvery much at the affluent middle class.

Nobody could be mistaken about the contents. Theauction house -Googut - had devoted more than adozen pages in their catalogue to tiger bone wine.Many other liquors up for sale included tiger as amedicinal ingredient to ”stave off chills, improvecirculation and eliminate fatigue”. The starting pricesranged from 5,000 yuan (£500) to 200,000 yuan(£20,000) per case.

On the screen at the front of the hall, a photograph ofeach item flashed up on the screen and a counter infour currencies clicked upwards as the auctioneer calledout bids from the audience.

I watched silently at first, recalling that exactly one yearearlier I had been listening to the Chinese primeminister, Wen Jiabao, reaffirm his country’s ban on suchproducts at a global tiger summit in St Petersburg. I alsoknew that overhead two giant pandas were being flownin a chartered plane to Edinburgh zoo, where theywould be presented as symbols of China’s commitmentto conservation.

I decided to reveal that I was a journalist so I could askthe backroom auction staff about the apparent illegalityof the items on sale. They told me they were producedbefore the State Council banned all trade in tiger andrhino horn products in 1993 and are therefore legal. Butthis was a half truth. The State Council also ordered thatolder items be sealed and removed from sale. Ahead ofthe auction, conservation groups raised this issue withthe government.

”It doesn’t matter whether the tiger bone products arepre-ban or not, their trade is forbidden by theConvention on International Trade inEndangered Speciesand domestically in all tiger range states,” said Grace GeGabriel of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

”Moreover, the sale of tiger products of any kindconfuses the public, stimulates market demand and

fuels poaching of tigers.”The NGO protest made a difference. On the day of theauction, the security bureau of the State ForestryAdministration ordered Googut to halt the auction oftiger bone wine.

But it was only a partial clampdown - and I wonder howseriously it would have been taken if the auctioneershad not realised that there was a reporter present. Upuntil the moment I revealed I was a journalist, theauctioneer had coasted through an earlier part of thecatalogue, covering cases of spirits (not wine) thatcontained tiger ingredients.

Once my journalistic identity was known, however, thepolice arrived and made a show of locking one of thedoors. The staff quietly insisted I leave the hall because Iwas not a buyer. I do not question their right to do so,but I doubt their motives. (I was not the only personwatching without a bidders’ card and nobody had caredabout my presence before I started asking questions). Iwhispered back that I wanted to stay a few extraminutes so I could be sure that the bidding for tigerwine would be halted, as the authorities had ordered.Three plain clothes security men then flanked my chairand kept nudging me to leave.

I quietly held my ground, guessing they would bereluctant to make a fuss in such upmarket company.Soon after it was clear that I had no intention ofmoving, one of the backroom staff went to the frontand whispered something to the auctioneer. It may havebeen mere coincidence, but a few minutes later, just asthe sale of the tiger wine was due to begin, theauctioneer announced a postponement. There wereaudible groans among the audience.

”It’s a real pity,” one man told me as he walked back tohis car. ”I came here just for the tiger bone wine. It’sreally good stuff, but I haven’t been able to buy any fora long time.”

Looking back, the curtailed auction was encouragingand disturbing. Conservationists have rightly praised thegovernment for taking action. But serious questionsremain. Why didn’t the authorities intervene earlier?Why did the sale of some tiger products go ahead whileothers were halted? Will the unsold bottles now eitherbe confiscated or will ”pre-ban items” be sold on thequiet?

The authorities acknowledge outstanding difficultieswith enforcement. ”We don’t know yet whether theliquor will be taken off the market for good,” said anofficial at the State Forestry Administration, whodeclined to give her name. ”We cannot guarantee that.All I can say is that we are trying to take measures to

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stop it.”The auction showed that demand is strong, but - morehopefully - the risks to suppliers and middlemen arerising.

Googut staff said they had not yet decided what to doabout the tiger wine. When the Guardian posed as acustomer and called them, one member of staff said itmay be possible to arrange a sale directly from theowner. Another later said this would not be allowed.”Tiger wine causes us too much trouble. I don’t thinkwe will sell any after this.”

That kind of corporate thinking could make a difference.The chief executive of Googut, Liu Xiaowei and(knowingly or not) the management of JinjiangInternational - the company behind the Kunlun hotel -surely have more to lose than to gain through theirinvolvement in an illegal trade that is killing off one ofChina - and Asia’s - best-loved animals. Saving the tigershould be good business sense.

ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY wrote tothe State Forestry Administration, Government of thePeople’s Republic of China, commending them fortaking action to halt the auction of tiger bone wine onthe 3rd December 2011, and to alert them to onlineauction adverts that suggest further sales of tiger bonewine scheduled to take place at the end of 2011. EIAurged the State Forestry Administration to once againintervene. The sale of tiger bone wine sends a mixedmessage to consumers and traders, seriouslyundermining the government of China’s efforts toeliminate demand. EIA appealed to the State ForestryAdministration to ensure that action is taken to stop anyfurther sale of tiger bone wine, to consolidate anddestroy remaining stocks, and that appropriateenforcement action is taken against those who havebreached the State Council order prohibiting the sale oftiger bone products.

INDIA

Tiger trailDec 29, 2011, 12.00AM IST, TOI

The latest tiger population census showed the numbersrising from 1,411 in 2008 to an estimated 1,706. Yetthe National Tiger Conservation Authority seems not tobe taking any chances. It`s to conduct yearly censuses inIndia`s 39 tiger reserves, besides the customaryheadcount every four years. While it`ll provideequipment like camera traps to capture data foranalysis, field workers will train for upgraded trackingexercises. With periodic alarms raised about vanishingtigers - recall Sariska or Panna - and credible information

about their plight in our tiger belts often hard to comeby, the move makes sense. Annual counts will make theconservation effort more accountable, simply by keepingfield personnel on their toes.

While success in tiger conservation has been unevenacross India, 12% of tiger habitat has been lost in justfour years thanks to encroachment. Poaching remainslucrative business, not least due to enduring demand fortiger parts in places like China. Nor is the poacher-forestofficial nexus a secret. It`s no wonder tiger-richKarnataka is to form a Special Tiger Protection Force, afirst in India. Taking on poachers and smugglers, STPFpatrols must feature in other tiger-dense states too. Let`salso boost well-regulated tourism to nurture both tigersand the ecosystem that the big cats are part of. Byattracting resources and attention to commerciallypackaged reserves, conservation will offer its owneconomic incentive. The more cocooned protectedzones are, the less transparently they`re managed. Let`smake the tiger accessible to wildlife enthusiasts. Thatway, we`ll spread awareness about the endangeredanimal and raise collective stakes in its protection.

State to requisition trap cameras for tiger countAnindo Dey, TNN Nov 11, 2011, 06.53AM IST

Jaipur: The state will shortly be requisitioning more trapcameras from the National Tiger Conservation Authority(NTCA) as it embarks on Phase IV of the All India TigerEstimation exercise along with other tiger reserves of thecountry. The Phase IV tiger estimation comprisesintensive, annual monitoring of important ‘source’populations of tigers through trap cameras.

According to state forest officials, this process has beenon at the Ranthambore national park and some otherreserves for the past three or four years. ”This year forthe first time it will be carried out at all tiger reservesacross the country,” officials said.

We will be needing about 280 trap cameras forRanthambore and 110 cameras for the Sariska reserve.We already have 100 cameras at Ranthambore and 10at Sariska. For the remaining we will be writing to theNTCA who will fund us for the same,” said U M Sahai,chief wildlife warden, Rajasthan.

The NTCA initiative will be implemented across 41protected areas and is being seen as an importantmilestone in tiger conservation. Officials said the annualmonitoring at each tiger reserve will help get regularupdates on the number and health of tiger populationacross the country, instead of getting the same afterthree or four years.

The Phase IV estimation is expected to begin in

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December, but before that field director of all thereserves have been called for a workshop in Delhi by theNTCA on November 25.

Officials revealed that though the data will be collectedat the reserve level under the chief wildlife warden withhelp from NHOs but it will be analysed by the WildlifeInstitute of India in Dehradun. ”This is the mostscientific process to be followed till now for estimationof the tiger population. Trap cameras will be set upevery 5 sq km. These cameras will detect any movementand take pictures thus helping us to exactly identifyeach individual tiger,” officials said.

The exercise will also include prey population monitoringand will be done only in tiger reserves. The fourth phasewill help know mortality, dispersal, breeding and otherpopulation dynamics of tigers. During the first eightdays, sign survey will be conducted. Depending onresults, camera traps will be deployed at probable sites.The exercise will be conducted every year, officials said.

No tourism in core area, NTCA to SCVijay Pinjarkar, TNN Nov 4, 2011, 12.36AM IST

NAGPUR: All eyes are on the Supreme Court which isset to decide the special leave petition (SLP)implementing ban all kinds of tourism in core and tiger

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PHOTO : WWW.TIGERSINTHEFOREST.COM

reserves on November 9.

The case has become more interesting after the NationalTiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) filed an affidavitadmitting that core/critical tiger habitats (CTHs) wouldnot be used for any form of tourism, and the ongoingtourism activities in such areas should be phased outinfringe and buffer.

The NTCA’s affidavit has been filed by Sanjay Kumar,assistant inspector general (AIG), on a SLP by AjayDubey, the secretary of Bhopal-based environmentprotection NGO Prayatna.

The NTCA has submitted that Section 38 (V) 4 (I) of theAct provides that ”core or CTHs of national parks andsanctuaries be kept as inviolate for the purpose of tigerconservation, without affecting the rights of thescheduled tribes or such other forest dwellers, andnotified as such by the state government in consultationwith an expert committee constituted for the purpose”.

”The word ‘inviolate’ has to be read in toto i.e. afternotification of the core or CTH by the governmentunder Section 38-V of the WPA 1972, the areas shouldkept inviolate for tiger conservation. ‘Inviolate’ meanswithout any disturbance by human beings. There is alsoan ecological necessity to conserve critical corridorconnectivity for saving the tigers,” the NTCA affidavitstates.

The respondent further stated that the amendment hasstrengthened the hands of chief wildlife wardens toachieve mainstream tiger conservation in otherproduction landscapes for avoiding human-tiger conflict,besides addressing the ‘source-sink’ dynamics of tiger,which requires an inviolate space of 800-1,200 sq kmarea for viable population.Submitting the revised guidelines of ‘Project Tiger’, theNTCA said that core/critical tiger habitats have to bekept inviolate and only management interventions canbe allowed by the state government in the said area. Insuch areas, if tourism activities are taking place, they arerequired to be phased out in the fringe and bufferareas.

”The development of tourism related facilities in thebuffer zones of tiger reserves will continue with inputsunder Project Tiger. The opportunities for stakeholderswill include management of low cost accommodationfor tourists, providing guide services, providing saleoutlets, managing excursions and organizing ethnicdances,” the NTCA says.

The NTCA also submitted that from time to time it hasissued several directions to the state governments forprotection of tigers. ”Park officers or state authorities

are bound to comply with the directions,” the NTCAsaid.

Tiger, tiger burning bright in OrangNaresh Mitra, TNN Nov 19, 2011, 01.42PM IST

GUWAHATI: It’s a time of glory for Rajiv Gandhi OrangNational Park. The latest National Tiger ConservationAuthority’s (NTCA) report on tiger density that wasreleased recently pegged Orang, which lies on thenorthern bank of Brahmaputra and about 150 km from here, as boasting the second highest tiger densityin the country after Corbett Tiger Reserve inUttarakhand.

According to the NTCA report - ‘Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India, 2010’ - Corbett leads intiger density with 17.83 tigers per 100 square km whileOrang comes in a close second with 17.68 per 100square km.

Kaziranga, which had the highest tiger density last year,is in the fourth position after Bandhavgarh tiger reservethis year. The NTCA report said Kaziranga’s tiger densityis 15.92 per 100 square km while Bandhavgarh’s is16.25 per 100 square km.

Last year’s camera trap analysis for tiger densityestimation in Kaziranga, carried out over an area of 144square km, threw up a figure of 32 tigers per 100square km. Kaziranga National Park has a total area of430 square km.

”Last year, Kaziranga’s tiger estimate was done over144 square km and the density was recorded at 32tigers per 100 square km, which is the highest amongtiger reserves in the country. The latest NTCA report,however, covers 433 square km of Kaziranga’s area andhas revealed a tiger density of 15.92 per 100 squarekm,” said M Firoz Ahmed, one of the wildlife biologistsinvolved in tiger estimation in the state.

The densities of two other tiger reserves in the state -Manas and Pakke-Nameri - are 1.79 per 100 square kmand 7.13 per 100 square km respectively.

The high tiger density in the 74 square km area ofOrang indicates a healthy big cat population in thenational park. ”We are extremely happy that Orang hasthe second highest tiger density in the country. Twotiger cubs, about three months old, with their motherwere also spotted by our staff at Jhaoni camp of thepark in the past 10 days. The new births have added tothe big cat population and brought cheer to all of us,”Mangaldoi wildlife divisional officer, Sushil Kumar Daila,said.

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On the flipside, the increased tiger density has becomealso a cause for concern for the Orang authorities.”Tigers often stray out of the park and kill cattle infringe villages because of high density of population.This has led to retaliatory tiger poisoning by villagers.There have been seven cases of tiger poisoning in thearea over the past six years,” Daila said.

Last year, 12 cattle were killed by tigers outside thepark. There was only one case of tiger poisoning lastyear while there has been no such case this year so far.”We signed an MoU with WWF-India last year forpaying ex-gratia at the rate of Rs 2,500 per cattle killedby tigers outside the park. All 38 pending ex-gratiacases since 2007 will also be covered under the MoU.The money has been received and will be disbursedamong the cattle-owners shortly,” Daila added.Conservationists have raised the ante for declaringOrang a tiger reserve. However, the small geographicalarea of the park has thrown a spanner in the works andhas prevented the park from being declared a tigerreserve.

4 new-bborn tiger cubs spotted in TadobaPradip Kumar Maitra, Hindustan TimesNagpur, November 21, 2011

The birth of four more tiger cubs in Tadoba tigerreserves in Chandrapur, some 150 kms from Nagpur ineastern Maharashtra announced the ‘roar’ing successfor the tiger conservation efforts. The field director ofTadoba tiger reserves, Vinaykumar Sinha, said that fournewborn tiger cubs were spotted in a camera trap(automated camera to capture photographs of wildanimals) last week in Moharli forest range. With this,Tadoba has probably become the first tiger reserve inthe country where 32 newborn tiger cubs were spottedsince January 2010.Sinha said that the population of big cats in thereserves, including its buffer zone, has now reached 69.”There is more hope for India’s tiger conservation,” hesaid and informed that 17 cubs were spotted in April-July last year alone.

The four cubs were seen over the past two months inMoharli area, the latest sighting being on Wednesday,Sinha added. It is believed that a tigress gave birth inSeptember this year.

The camera trap also captured tigress moving aroundwith her two-three month cubs. A tigress takes her cubsout in the open only when they were strong enough, hepointed out.

”When the news of newborn cubs came to us, thewildlife wing installed cameras to know the position andmovement of the tigresses and the cubs. The forest

guards were monitoring the movements of the tigressand the cubs regularly in the range,” Sinha said. Morecamera traps have been installed in the forest areas toconfirm if there were more cubs.

Sinha said there could be possibilities of newcomers inthe reserves in the days to come. He, however, denieddisclosing the location of two big cats for securityreasons. The two tigresses are being keenly monitoredsince then, he informed.

The Tadoba Tiger Reserve is spread over 623 sq kms ofhigh hills and lush valleys covered with dense teak andbamboo forests. The reserve is also home to wild dogs,leopards, sloth bears, bisons, and hyenas and junglecats, apart from 69 tigers.

Meanwhile, a full-grown tiger was found on Sundayevening near Bothbahattar village, adjacent ofTipeshwar wildlife sanctuary, some 210 kms fromNagpur in Yavatmal district.

A preliminary investigation revealed that it might be thehandiwork of poachers. The chief conservator of forests(Wildlife), A Ashraf, confirmed the death of tiger andinformed that a four-member committee wasconstituted to investigate the cause of the death ofbeast.

INDONESIAIndonesia urged to take effective measures to protectthreatened speciesEnglish.news.cn 2011-10-07 13:20:56

JAKARTA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) — Environmental activistshave derided the Indonesian justice system as ineffectualin protecting the country’s most recognizablethreatened species, the Sumatran tiger, afterprosecutors demanded just 3 million (about 340 USdollars) in fines in a poaching case. Local media reportedon Friday.

In a rare case of an endangered species trader actuallyending up before a judge, the suspect was caught red-handed with a Sumatran tiger skin in Payakumbuh,West Sumatra, in March. ”In the Payakumbuh case, thetrader purchased the tiger skin for 25 million rupiah(about 2,799 US dollars) in cash, while the sentencingdemand was just 3 million rupiah. Meanwhile, he wasplanning to sell the skin on for 150 million (about16,700 US dollars). A fine of just 3 million rupiah is ajoke for someone like him,” Retno Setiyaningrum, alegal and policy officer for conservation organizationWorld Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia said on Thursday.

The trader is thought to be a ”big fish” in the illegal

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trade, buying skins from poachers and selling them onto wealthy buyers, possibly overseas.

Sumatran tigers are considered a subspecies, geneticallydistinct from mainland tiger populations due to around12,000 years of isolation after the Holocene sea levelrose. There are estimated to be less than 400 individualssurviving in the wild, while two more subspecies havealready become extinct, the Bali tiger in the 1950s andthe Javan tiger in the 1970s.

Activists say a larger fine is needed to provide adeterrent against poaching of the endangered species.Retno asked whether the justice system was seriousabout defending the interests of wildlife in Indonesia.

”The speed at which the Sumatran tiger is headed forextinction isn’t taken into account, so there’s nodeterrent effect,” she was quoted by the Jakarta Globeas saying.

Retno added that the law allowed for fines of up to 100million rupiah (about 11,190 US dollars) and prisonsentences of up to five years. The recent prosecution inthe Payakumbuh case requested a prison term of threeyears. Another WWF staffer, Osmantri, gave examplesfrom Riau, which contains much of the remaining tigerhabitat. ”From 2001 to 2011, there were five arrestsmade for trade in Sumatran tigers in Riau province, butonly one made it to court,” Osmantri said. From 2005to 2010, at least 40 tigers were known to have beenkilled in the province.

Greenpeace finds massive deforestation at Sumatrantiger habitatEnglish.news.cn 2011-09-23 20:07:44

JAKARTA, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) — Greenpeace announcedFriday that it had found apparent forest destructionevidence in Indonesia’s Riau forests, home toendangered Indonesia’s Sumatran tiger species.

On Friday, activists from Greenpeace, the internationalnature conservancy organization, found anddocumented the evidence of forests destruction inSumatra, during the organization’s ”Tiger Tour”program for saving Sumatran tiger from extinction.

Five Greenpeace activists witnessed several trucks loadedwith forest timber going back and forth without anyauthorization during their operation en route fromPekanbaru to Rokan Hilir on Thursday, the statementsaid.

The wood on the trucks are not industry timber butnatural forest wood, proving that the destruction ofnatural forests is still ongoing nearby.

On Friday, the activists tried to see the condition ofimportant tiger habitat forest, Senepis Forest in RokanHilir District, Riau Province. But when the activists arrivedat Senepsis Forest, they saw only destroyed forests, thestatement said.

In 2007, the Ministry of Forestry designated Senepis,which is a peat forest, to be a conservation forest forthe Sumatran Tiger. However, the forest is now ownedby three companies belonging to Sinar Mas’ Pulp andPaper Division (PT. Ruas Utama Jaya and PT SuntaraGaja Pati) respectively.

Greenpeace activists then managed to get inside theconcession of PT. Ruas Utama Jaya. Again, they sawdestroyed forests. The company had also built canalsresulting in the drying out of carbon-rich peatlands.

”What we have witnessed in the last two days is indeedsad. The Sumatran tigers’ forest home continues to bedestroyed. But seeing this destruction has made us moredetermined than ever to save Indonesia’s last remainingforests,” said Rusmadya Maharuddin, GreenpeaceSoutheast Asia forest campaigner in the statement.

”We must fight to save Indonesia’s remaining forests.We’re presenting the evidence of the destruction, andinviting all the people of Indonesia to join us and be a‘Tiger Eyes’. The companies responsible must stop theirdestructive practices and shift to more responsibleoperations, while the Government must review allexisting concessions and protect peatland immediately,”Rusmadya added, referring to the name ofGreenpeace’s activities to save Sumatran tigers fromextinction.

According to the existing data, only around 400 tigersleft in the wild in Sumatra forets. The Indonesiangovernment estimated that more than one millionhectares of forest were being cleared every year.

With the current rates of forest destruction, thismagnificent animal that has inspired Indonesia’s richculture, is likely to follow its predecessors, the Javaneseand Bali tiger, into extinction.

Five rare wild cat species caught on cameraThe Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 11/17/2011 8:05 AM

After an amazing five of the seven wild cat speciesfound in Sumatra were recently caught on camera intracts of forest being rapidly lost to deforestation, WWF-Indonesia is urging companies and authorities to takeimmediate action to protect the area.

Conducted in a forest of rich biodiversity known asBukit Tigapuluh or Thirty Hills, the WWF survey captured

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on camera the Sumatran tiger, clouded leopard, marblecat, golden cat and leopard cat.

All of the wild cats were found in an unprotected forestcorridor between the Bukit Tigapuluh forest landscapeand the Rimbang Baling Wildlife sanctuary in Riauprovince. The area is threatened by encroachment andforest clearance for industrial plantations.

”Four of these species are protected by Indonesiangovernment regulations and are listed as threatened byextinction on the IUCN Red List,” Karmila Parakkasi,coordinator of the WWF-Indonesia Tiger Research Team,said in a statement made available to The Jakarta PostWednesday.

”This underscores the rich biodiversity of the BukitTigapuluh landscape and the forest corridors thatconnect to it. These amazing cat photos also remind usof how much we could lose as more of these fragileforests are lost to logging, plantations and illegalencroachment.”

During a three-month systematic sampling in the forestcorridor this year, the camera trapping resulted in 404photos of wild cats, including 226 Sumatran tigers, 77clouded leopards, 70 golden cats, four marbled cats and27 leopard cats.

In May 2011, WWF-Indonesia released video footagefrom a camera trap of three young tiger siblingsplayfully chasing a leaf. That footage was taken in thesame area of the current batch of wild cat photos.

”Unfortunately, much of the natural forest area in thelandscape is threatened by large-scale clearance forindustrial logging, pulp and paper, as well as illegalencroachment for oil palm plantation development,”said Aditya Bayunanda, WWF-Indonesia’s coordinatorfor the Global Forest Trade Network Programme.

”The abundant evidence of these five wild cat speciessuggests that the concession licenses of companiesoperating in these areas, such as Barito Pacific, shouldbe reviewed and adjusted according to IndonesianForestry Ministry regulations P.3/Menhut-II/2008, whichstates that concession areas with the presence ofendangered species should be protected by theconcessionaire.

WWF-Indonesia has also called on protection for areasbordering Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, either byexpanding the park or managing it under the currentforest ecosystem restoration scheme,” he continued.

At a Nov. 2, 2011 WWF event in Jakarta, ForestryMinister Zulkifli Hasan publicly stated his support for

issuing a license for a forest ecosystem restorationscheme in Bukit Tigapuluh.

Bukit Tigapuluh is designated a ”global priority TigerConservation Landscape” and is one of six landscapesthe government of Indonesia pledged to protect at lastyear’s International Tiger Forum, or Tiger Summit, ofworld leaders in St. Petersburg, Russia.

After intensive surveys this year of the Bukit Tigapuluhand Tesso Nilo landscapes in Sumatra, the forestcorridor between Rimbang Baling and Bukit Tigapuluhwas found to contain the most wild cats.

Sumatran tiger rescuedOctober 27 2011 at 10:33am

The Sumatran Tiger Conservation Foundation (YPHS) hasannounced the successful rescue and planned relocationof an endangered two-year-old Sumatran tiger. Thetiger, named Bima, was rescued in Riau Province, afterbeing caught in human-tiger conflict.

This follows the successful rescue last August of anotherSumatran tiger, named Putri, which was subsequentlyrelocated to Sembilang National Park, in easternSumatra. The two rescues were both supported by AsiaPulp & Paper Group (APP), which has been a longstanding partner of the YPHS.

”We are thrilled to have rescued Bima, and to haveadded him to the ranks of the Sumatran tigers that wehave helped protect,” said Bastoni (single name), thesenior YPHS conservationist, who led the team thatsaved Putri and cared for the tiger for several monthsbefore its eventual release in Sembilang National Park.

”Our relocation process is extremely delicate. Safelyrescuing a tiger that has come into contact with humans,conducting a thorough medical assessment, ensuring itremains safe and healthy, and ready to be returned backto wild, is our objective. Orchestrating a successfulrelease is a precarious undertaking marked by months ofmeticulous planning and hard work,” he said.

Human-tiger conflict has existed in Indonesia forthousands of years. According to some independentreports, tiger numbers have declined due to poaching.Tonny Sumampouw, a wildlife expert from Safari ParkIndonesia, said growing human populations in Sumatraare the main cause of the increasing human-tigerconflict in Sumatra.

The YPHS organisation was set up to address theseissues, and to protect both villagers and tigers byrelocating the animals to less populous areas that offerconditions in which they can thrive.

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The rescue of Bima took place last month. In line withthe Forestry Ministry’s decrees on managing wildlifeconflict, the Riau Natural Resources ConservationAgency (BKSDA), together with Bastoni’s team, lead atask force to track and protect the male tiger. As wasthe case with Putri, Bastoni was able to successfullyrescue Bima.

the team has transported Bima to a safe location in theheart of the Sumatran forest, where APP has built anobservation point designed to protect wildlife intransfer. The observation process began last week. Bimawas recorded and underwent a comprehensive series ofmedical checks by a team of veterinarian experts fromTaman Safari Indonesia (Safari Park Indonesia) to ensurehis wellbeing.

Bima was found to be in stable condition and goodhealth. The animal continues to be well-cared for and isfed a natural and healthy diet of live prey, whileBastoni’s team identifies a potential locale for its saferelocation and ultimate release back into the wild.

Aida Greenbury, Managing Director of APP, said: ”We’redelighted that Bima’s rescue and relocation is now underway, and that he will soon be able to live a long healthylife in his new home. Ultimately, our goal is to increasethe numbers of Sumatran tigers and to provide a moresustainable habitat for this native Indonesian endangeredspecies.” - Press release supplied to AFP

MALAYSIAVital to have wildlife corridorThursday September 22, 2011, The Star online

WWF-Malaysia is encouraged to learn that the Perakgovernment will be conducting an extensive probe intothe forest clearing plans at Sungai Mendelum ”Stopwork now” (The Star, Sept 19).

Under the National Tiger Conservation Action Plan, theimportance of the forested linkage between RoyalBelum State Park and Temengor Forest Reserve has beenhighlighted as a critical corridor for the Belum-TemengorForest Complex, one of three priority areas for tigerconservation in Malaysia.

Based on WWF-Malaysia’s intensive camera-trappingand sign surveys conducted since last year, it is clearthat the state land forest along the East-West highwayis constantly being used by endangered wildlife such asthe tiger, clouded leopard, elephant, tapir, sun bear,gaur and sambar deer.

The high frequency of use by wildlife, for example,

around the Sungai Mendelum area on both sides of thehighway, indicates its suitability as an important wildlifecrossing area.

We have also just recently managed to gatherphotographic evidence of tiger movements across thehighway along the state land forests bordering RoyalBelum State Park and Temengor Forest Reserve,especially in the vicinity of the Sungai Mendelum area.

Maintaining the integrity of such forest patches is criticalto enable wildlife movement between Royal Belum StatePark and Temengor Forest Reserve.

By itself, Royal Belum State Park may not be a viablelong-term sanctuary for wildlife if it is not connected toa wider forest landscape via an intact corridor. If landuse conversion were to eventually occur all along theEast-West highway, the Royal Belum State Park wouldbe isolated from the Main Range which is the largestcontinuous forest block in peninsular Malaysia.

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry shouldsupport and assist the Perak government to ensure thatthe corridor is not compromised by strictly adhering toFederal government-led plans such as the Central ForestSpine and the National Physical Plan.

Forest strips along the East-West highway are notprotected and can easily be converted to other land useby the state government without prior publicnotification.

WWF-Malaysia has been monitoring forest clearingalong the East-West highway such as at Puncak Baring,where most of the 2,000 acres earmarked foragricultural activities have been cleared since early thisyear. Forest clearance was also observed at an area nearthe access road to RPS Banun (an orang asliresettlement area), around the Ulu Mangga area (afterPuncak Baring) and near the Perak-Kelantan border.

Some of these sites did not comply with existing landuse plans for the area but were still cleared. Waterpollution and landslides have been observed at placeswhich have been cleared.

Elephants heavily utilise the state land forest patchesalong the highway, and it is worrying to imagine theescalation of human-elephant conflict that might occuronce agricultural activities commence.

This would inevitably result in economic loss due to cropdamage, not to mention the risks to human safety thatsuch conflicts might pose to local communities.

In addition to this, the Sungai Mendelum area is the

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22 December 2011

source of an important water catchment that flows intoRoyal Belum State Park, and the local orang aslicommunities depend on this catchment system for theirlivelihood.

Any forest clearance in this area would result in waterpollution and sedimentation, affecting the riverecosystem.

This will have a detrimental impact on fish populationsas well as orang asli livelihood and thus become aneconomic loss in the long run.

WWF-Malaysia would like to state that we do notoppose economic development but rather seek tooptimise economic benefits while maintaining ournatural resources by adhering to sustainabledevelopment guidelines.

Economic development should be viewed over the longterm and not merely based on short-term monetarygain.

WWF-Malaysia thus calls for a freeze on all forestclearing plans along the highway within the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex.

We strongly recommend that state land forests alongthe highway be gazetted as part of the Royal BelumState Park or as a forest reserve under sustainable forestmanagement, thereby ensuring the long-term survival ofwildlife, improving the livelihood of local communitieswithin the landscape, and maintaining vital ecosystemservices that provide the fundamentals for economicdevelopment.

DATUK DR DIONYSIUS SHARMA,Executive Director/CEOWWF-Malaysia.

MYANMARMyanmar to extend tiger conservation co-op project(Xinhua)09:03, August 30, 2011

YANGON, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) Myanmar’s forestry ministrywill renew a memorandum of understanding (MoU)with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) inSeptember on cooperation in protecting Bengal tigerstaking shelter at the Hukaung Valley wildlife Sanctuary,according to the WCS Monday.

The four-year project, which will last from September

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ADITYA SINGH

2011 to September 2015, costs12 million U.S. dollars.

The ministry and WCS initiated an MoU in 2003 that isrenewable every four years.

The country’s total number of Bengal and Indo Chinesetiger population is estimated at about 150, of which 50to 80 exist in Hukaung, while 30 in Htamanthi WildlifeSanctuary and 50 in Tanintharyi Nature Reserve.

Human encroachment on the tiger’s native habitat andpoaching for medicinal or consumption purposes are themain causes for the declining population of tigers.

The authorities have warned that those convicted ofkilling, poaching and illegally possessing tiger or its partswill be sentenced to seven years.

The Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary was extended to17,004 square kilometers in May 2010 from 6,199square kilometers in 2004, making it the largest tigerconservation area in the world.

Burmese wildlife, not just humans, victims of warMonday, 25 July 2011 15:56 Jim Andrews

(Feature) - In addition to causing large-scale suffering tothe Karen people, the continuing warfare in borderareas of Karen State is posing an increasing threat tothe region’s rare wild life, according to a newenvironmental study.

A recently released environmental report warned thatBurmese wildlife is threatened by the fighting going onin ethnic areas.

In the state’s Megatha Forest, declared a wildlifesanctuary in 1989 by the Karen National Union, thenumbers of wild elephants have dropped to anestimated 15, according to a report issued by the KarenEnvironmental and Social Action Network (Kesan)released on Monday.

More than one-third of the 60 other animal speciesliving in the forest are threatened with extinction, thereport said.

The Megatha Forest covers an area of 156-squarekilometers and borders a Thai wildlife sanctuary.

”On the Burmese side, villagers must always beprepared to flee from fighting between Karen andBurma armies, often living as internally displacedpersons,” the report said.

The ceaseless fighting is not the only reason for thedwindling populations of elephants and other animal

species, Kesan reports. Poaching, mining, illegal loggingand deforestation also pose major threats.

One rare animal-the Sumatran rhinoceros-has alreadydisappeared from the forest. Other endangered speciesinclude 22 mammals, 23 birds, eight reptiles and fiveamphibians.

Tigers and clouded leopards are among the exoticspecies most at risk, and the report includes aphotograph of a grown leopard killed by a landmineblast.

The report is the result of on-site research undertakenby environmentalists-including Karen villagers-from May2008 until November 2010. Fighting in the regionhampered their work.

”The insecurity of the area acts as an effective deterrentto outside attention such as academic study and scrutinyby environmental NGOs,” the report said.

The group urged local Karen people to do all they canto conserve their forests and natural resources-”Biodiversity cannot wait for international actors tobring about change,” the report said. ”The local peoplemust do all they can to conserve their forests andbiodiversity or they will be lost to logging, dams andother industrial extraction.”

The group said the aim of the report is to ”show thatthe indigenous people’s struggle to save their forestusing traditional knowledge is the same as their strugglefor daily survival.”

The report underpinned the results of its research withrecommendations to bring an end to the war, not allowlogging and mining or rubber plantations that result inforest encroachment, and they maintain strictenforcement of poaching laws.Last Updated (Friday, 05 August 2011 15:26 )

NEPALConservation efforts get more teeth

Added At: 2011-07-29 11:27 PM, Last Updated At:2011-07-29 11:27 PM HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

GLOBAL TIGER DAY

KATHMANDU: The government today said it wouldprovide an additional 10 million rupees to programmesaimed at protecting tigers in the country.

Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal made the decision

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24 December 2011

public during a meeting with governmental and non-governmental agencies working towards protecting thebig cats on the occasion of the Global Tiger Day, whichfalls on July 29.

In May, the government had prepared a special tigerrecovery plan and said it would invest Rs 60 million inthe next three months to save the feline. The nation hasalready committed to double the number of tigers by2022.

The meeting also decided to formulate a new plan forthe National Tiger Conservation Committee, which was established under the chairmanship of former primeminister Madhav Kumar Nepal to combat poaching. The agencies also discussed upgrading the NationalTiger Recovery Programme after conducting a periodicreview.

THAILAND

Tigers still hunted in Thai forestsPublished: 30/06/2011 at 09:53 AM Online news: EasierStuff

A blurred photo of a Hmong hill tribe man sitting on adead tiger is clear evidence to police that the animalsare still being killed in Thai wildlife sanctuaries.

A photo of Nai sae Tao,a Hmong hill tribe man, takenwith a dead tiger, is part of evidence authorities plan touse to implicate him in the alleged killing of a femaletiger and its two cubs in March last year.Thai wildlife officials are working hard to save Thailand’sremaining tigers. Unfortunately, a small group of apeople believes tigers are worth more dead than alive.

Poachers are still active in wildlife sanctuaries and lastMarch a female tiger and her two cubs were killed.

Police and wildlife officials believe they have caught twoof the men responsible.

On Monday, they picked up one suspect, Nai sae Tao, aHmong hill tribe man, at his hut in a paddy field in Tak’sUmphang district.

The other man, Hoang Van Hien, 42, was arrested at aresort in the same district the following day.

The two are believed to be among five poachers whoentered a forest area bordering Huai Kha Kaeng andThung Yai Naresuan wildlife sanctuaries to hunt fortigers, killing a female tiger and its two cubs usingpoison.

Officials seized a camera from the Hmong suspectcontaining a picture of him sitting on the back of adead tiger.

Saksit Simcharoen, chief of the Wildlife ConservationOffice in Nakhon Sawan, said he was confident thedead tiger had lived in the sanctuaries as officials hadseen it when it was alive.There are close to 100 tigers in Huai Kha Khaeng andThung Yai Naresuan wildlife sanctuaries.

”It was not a tiger from Burma as initially claimed by thesuspect. We can identify the tiger from the pattern onits face, which is the same as the tiger we saw inOctober last year,” he said.

The animal seen in the suspect’s photo was apparentlypoisoned, the same method used to kill the three tigersin March, said Mr Saksit.

Soontorn Chaiwatana, of the Wildlife ConservationOffice, said that a patrol had clashed with the poachergang in the forest on Saturday before the arrest of thetwo suspects.

The gang members managed to escape, leaving behinda boar, some eaglewood and weapons. Information from local villagers near the sanctuary led tothe arrest of the two suspects.

The two later allegedly confessed they had sold thecarcasses for 300,000 baht, but refused to identify thebuyer.

(Adapted from a story in Bangkok Post by ApinyaWipatayotin).

Wildlife smuggling trails go ever deeper, Second biggestproblem after illicit drugs

by Wassayos Ngamkham

The illicit wildlife trade has become Thailand’s secondmost lucrative illegal business, after drug trafficking, butfew people are aware of the crime, a police officer says

”Many people, including police themselves, don’t knowabout the illegal wildlife trade,” said Attapon Sudsai ofthe Central Investigation Bureau’s natural resources andenvironmental crime suppression division.That’s why the problem has never been addressedvigorously at the national level, despite Thailand beingmonitored overseas as one of the major hubs for thetrafficking of wild animals

He said China is a major market for smugglers sellingillegal wildlife products, especially pangolins and tigers.

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Many Chinese believe the consumption of certain rareand exotic wild animals can endow them with physicalstrength, longer life or sexual prowess.

This has made China a major destination for wild animaltrafficking, where meat from certain protected animalsis considered a delicacy.

Pol Lt Col Attapon said few pangolins and tigers remainin Thai forests, though their numbers are relatively highin Malaysia and Indonesia.

Their dwindling numbers have made Thailand a majorhub for wildlife trafficking. Both live and dead animals,and animal parts, are smuggled from local forests andsold on China’s black market.

”A tiger can fetch more than 1 million baht, because allof its parts can be sold,” Pol Lt Col Attapon said.

He said skin taken from a tiger was worth hundreds ofthousands of baht, depending on its pattern and size.

A tiger’s penis - the single most valuable part of thebeast - typically sells at 30,000-50,000 baht apiece.

The meat and bones are sold together and commandsaround 5,000-6,000 per kilogramme.

The price of the animal’s blood, which goes into makingya dong (medicinal herbs soaked in rice whisky), issubject to negotiation.

Tiger’s teeth are made into amulets and sold locally, PolLt Col Attapon said.

Many endangered species were smuggled out of thecountry by land, rather than by sea or air.

”Wildlife trafficking networks often use pickup trucks orcooling trucks to transport animals from Satun or othersouthern border provinces,” Pol Lt Col Attapon said,adding that they will then cross the Mekong River intoLaos and on into China via Vietnam.

Although there are hundreds of places along theMekong River where smugglers can ship illegalproducts, certain riverside locations in Bung Kanprovince’s Bung Khla district and Nong Khai’s RatanaWapi and Phon Phisai districts are the most popular.

Their thick forest terrain helps the culprits evadedetection and arrest.

Bung Kan provincial police chief Pol Maj Gen Chaiyatat

Roongjang admitted police find it tough catchingwildlife smugglers. The river runs along the province’s120km-long northern border.

Police stations in Bung Kan have erected 14 randomcheckpoints at key areas along the river.

”Gangs previously used six-wheeled trucks to carrymany animals on each trip,” Pol Lt Col Attapon said.

Now, they tend to take cars, but they use several cars toavoid attracting the attention of authorities.

Policy makers have to take wildlife smuggling asseriously as they do the illegal drug trade, or thescourge will persist, he said.

Another problem is weak wildlife protection laws. Themaximum punishment for possessing protected wildlifespecies is four years in prison and a 40,000-baht(US$1300 approx.) fine, which fails to act as a sufficientdeterrent, he said.

Contact Crime Track: crimetrack@bangkokpost.co.th(Source: Bangkok Post, 27/06/2011)

VIETNAM

Vietnam observes International Tiger Day By An Dien, Thanh Nien News Last updated: 7/29/201119:00

Vietnam observed the International Tiger Day for thefirst time on Friday in Hanoi’s Thong Nhat Park.

Activities included exhibitions, a film screening,performances by youth groups and school pupils andworkshops to raise awareness of tiger conservation andcalls to stop poaching of tigers and the consumption oftiger products.

The event was jointly organized by the Ministry ofNatural Resources and Environment, the World WildlifeFund, wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC, andthe Global Tiger Initiative.

Despite laws protecting them, tigers in Vietnam are stillfacing the threats of domestic hunting and illegal cross-border trade, a Friday seminar heard.

Vietnam is now home to less than 30 tigers, and the bigcat is on the verge of extinction, speakers said.

The celebrations carried the message ”The future oftigers depends on our actions”.

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26 December 2011

Weak enforcement allows tiger trade to flourish Last updated: 7/29/2011 8:00

NGOs can provide information if authorities are braveand willing to take action against well-known criminalsTen days before the world observes International TigerDay (July 29) the frozen carcasses of three big cats wereseized from a house in northern Vietnam.

Police in Quang Ninh Province Tuesday announced thelaunch of a criminal probe into the case.

The mature tiger carcasses were found in a house in theborder town of Mong Cai. Tipped off by local residents,police raided the house of Hoang The Vinh in NinhDuong Ward.

Vinh told the police a Chinese man had asked him totemporarily store.

The July 19 raid is seen by experts as evidence thatillegal trade in the endangered species continuesunabated in Vietnam.

In another case, a rare Sumatran tiger died after beingcaught in a boar trap in Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, AFPreported Tuesday.

The 18-month-old tiger died within three hours of beingtranquillized by local conservation officials in a failedeffort to save it seven days after being trapped, saidGreenpeace media campaigner Zamzami, whowitnessed the incident.

”Across Asia, tigers are being illegally killed and tradedto meet various consumer demands, pushing the speciesclose to extinction,” international conservation groupWWF said in a press release expressing concern over therampant illegal trade in tiger parts.

In Vietnam, tigers are trafficked mainly for parts used inmedicinal tonics (tiger bone glue and wine), as well asfor their meat, decorative skins, and for curios andsouvenirs.

Nick Cox, WWF’s Manager of Protected Areas, Speciesand Wildlife Trade, said Vietnam remains a major tradehub for tigers from other Southeast Asian countries intoChina, as well as a consuming country for tiger productsitself.

”As top predators, tigers keep populations of preyspecies in check, which maintains the balance andhealth of ecosystems. This, in turn, providesinnumerable benefits to other species, includinghumans, who depend on ecosystems for livelihoods andecological security such as clean drinking water and

forest fruits and nuts,” he said.

Pauline Verheij, tiger trade program manager for thewildlife trade monitor network TRAFFIC, said organizedcrime networks in Vietnam and beyond are facilitatingthe cross-border smuggling of tiger parts.

She hailed Vietnam’s active participation in thedevelopment of the Global Tiger Recovery Program andVietnam’s adoption of the Vietnamese National TigerRecovery Priorities (NTRP) saying it showed the politicalwill to take necessary measures to combat the illegalkilling of and trade in tigers.

”However, illegal trade in Vietnam still continuesunabated,” she told Thanh Nien Weekly, urgingVietnamese agencies to conduct thorough investigationsand take strict measures against every individualinvolved in the trade.

”What we would like to see is for this political will to betranslated into the arrest and prosecution of the keypeople in Vietnam involved in the illegal trade,” shesaid.

Steven Galster, director of the conservation NGOFreeland Foundation and Chief of Party at ASEANWildlife Enforcement Network (WEN) Support Program,also urged strict punishment against the actual peoplebehind the tiger trade.

”Unfortunately, some wildlife traffickers are quite richand influential. In order to go after such powerfulpeople, strong, interagency task forces, like the WENsare necessary. Otherwise, fear of revenge or corruptionwins the day,” he said.

Instead of giving an example of where this happens,Galster said it is easier to note that hardly any majorwildlife trafficker in Southeast Asia has ever gone to jail.

”Vietnamese officials should demonstrate bravery andlove of their nation by arresting well known wildlifecriminals. NGOs in Vietnam and abroad are ready toprovide information to officials who are willing to takethis bold step,” he wrote to Thanh Nien Weekly in anemail.

Meanwhile, Justin Gosling, Criminal Intelligence Officerfor Interpol Environmental Crime Programs, called for anincrease in the salaries of government officials toprevent their collusion in illegal tiger trade.

”The trade in tigers is highly lucrative with someestimates reaching tens of thousands of US dollars for asingle animal. Bearing in mind the relatively low salariesof government officers engaged in fighting wildlife

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crime, and the acknowledged high level of corruptionwhich fuels wildlife crime, it is quite possible for a tigertrader to take advantage of this situation,” he said.

Gosling and other experts called for the closure of tigerfarms as they could worsen the illegal trade and pushthe endangered species closer to extinction.

Pauline of TRAFFIC said there is ample evidence that thetiger farms in Vietnam and neighboring countries aresupplying the illegal tiger trade and fuelling demand fortiger parts.

”If Vietnam is serious about clamping down on theillegal tiger trade, the tiger farms in Vietnam would beclosed down,” she said.

In May, the Vietnamese government ordered a survey ofthe tiger population in Vietnam as well as an assessmentof tiger farming as part of efforts to protect theendangered species.

The WWF estimates that there are fewer than 30 wildtigers left in Vietnam.

Conservation group hails tiger bust

By An Dien - Khanh An, Thanh Nien News Last updated:3/27/2011 15:00

A conservation group, Education for Nature - Vietnam(ENV), has hailed efforts by the Binh Duong provincialauthorities to address a case of illegal tiger trading.

Huynh Van Hai, 57, the owner of a private zoo in thesouthern province, was jailed for three years on March10 for selling endangered tigers.

His zoo, Thanh Canh Tourism Park, was supposed toprotect the tigers. However, at least five dead tigercorpses had been sold out of the park secretly duringMarch 2003 and December 2005.

Fourteen other people, including Hai’s son, receivedsentences ranging from probation to 30 months inprison for their involvement in the trade. ENV said the Binh Duong Police investigation led to theprosecution of Hai and other suspects involved in thecase.

”Binh Duong authorities are sending a strong messageto other tiger farmers that may be engaged in similarillegal activities,” the group said in a statement, issuedFriday.

Provincial police have also asked the Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development to investigate local

officials for their poor management of the zoo.

Tiger population hits crisis pointSource: Thanh Nien Updated July, 30 2011 10:19:41

HA NOI - Just 30 wild tigers survive today in Viet Namout of 3,200 across the world, according to the WorldWildlife Fund (WWF).

The WWF said there were 100 wild tigers in Viet Nam10 years ago.

The conservation body said the number of tigers acrossthe world had decreased by 97 per cent since 1900.

The main reason for the diminishing tiger populationwas deforestation, said Do Quang Tung, deputy directorof the Convention on International Trade in EndangeredSpecies (CITES) Viet Nam.

The growing human population had also put pressureon tiger numbers, he added, as had illegal hunting andtrafficking.

Meanwhile, Nick Cox, WWF’s manager of protectedareas, species and wildlife trade, said Viet Nam was atrade hub for tiger products, while illegal medicinesmade from tiger bones had become increasingly popular

”It’s very important at the moment to halt the illegalinternational tiger trade and domestic consumption oftigers,” Cox said.

Keshav Varma, programme director of Global TigerInitiative (GTI), said the continuous demand for tigerparts and the surge in illegal smuggling were totallyunacceptable.

He said if things continued going as they were, the lastremaining tigers in Indo-China would be wiped outwithin a few years.

Hoang Thi Thanh Nhan, deputy head of the NaturalResources and Environment Ministry’s Bio-diversificationConservation Department, said Viet Nam, in a bid tosave tigers in the wild, had participated in Global TigerInitiative forums.

Viet Nam and 12 other countries had made a historiccommitment to eradicating poaching and the illegaltrade in wild tigers at the St Petersburg Tiger Summitlast November, she said.

CITIES’ Tung added that a US$50 million nationalprogramme on tiger conservation had been set up withthe aim of doubling the numbers of animals in the wildin Viet Nam by 2020. - VNS

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28 December 2011

UNITED KINGDOM

UK FOREIGN OFFICE MINISTER BACKS CALL FOR ZEROTOLERANCE OF TIGER TRADE

Tiger campaigners from TigerTime have met with British Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne MP aspart of their on going fight to see the trade on tigerparts banned. The meeting was held at the Foreign &Commonwealth Office on Wednesday 21st December.The meeting occurred as the supporter signature count on the www.bantigertrade.com petition soaredpast 31,000. This figure was passed in a little over 30days.Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne MP said, ‘TheBritish people care deeply about tiger conservation andhave a special desire to protect this amazing speciesbecause of their beauty and rarity. I am making a newappeal to the Chinese Government to consider how thisspecies could be better protected and preserved. Iwelcome the public commitment given by Premier WenJiabao last year, and urge the Chinese Government tohonour that commitment by enforcing a zero tolerancepolicy of all trade in any tiger products of any kind fromany source.’

Samantha Fox who helps lead the TigerTime campaignsaid, ‘I was delighted that the Minister appeared to takethe issue so seriously. I particularly welcomed his strongcommitment to calling for a zero tolerance policy wheretiger trade is concerned. I am confident that theMinister will be a major advocate in our fight to savethe wild tiger. We await with interest the response tohis efforts’.

Picture includes from left to right: Mary Rice (CEOEnvironmental Investigation Agency), Samantha Fox(TigerTime and Singer), Jeremy Browne (Foreign OfficeMinister), Jill Inglis (Fund Raising Director - DavidShepherd Wildlife Foundation / TigerTime)

http://www.bantigertrade.com[posted by isabel esteve, December 21, 2011 18:09 ]

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Ohio animal rampage exposes lack of US lawsPublished: 20/10/2011 at 09:32 AM Online news: World

Conservationists have expressed outrage over the lack ofUS wildlife ownership laws after the slaughter of 49animals, including 18 rare Bengal tigers, set free from aprivate Ohio farm.

An Ohio State Highway Patrol officer drives past a signwarning of the exotic animals on the loose from a

wildlife preserve October 19, 2011 in Zanesville, Ohio.

”Quite frankly, nobody should have these animals in thefirst place, so we need to take steps to change laws tomake that a reality,” Adam Roberts, executive vicepresident of Born Free USA, told AFP.

”These animals belong in accredited facilities withpeople who can handle them appropriately.”

Bears, lions, tigers, wolves and monkeys ran amok when owner Terry Thompson, 62, flung open theenclosures at his Muskingum County animal farm nearthe town of Zanesville on Tuesday evening and thenshot himself.Police following shoot-to-kill orders, some of themarmed only with handguns, said they had no choice but to exterminate the animals to protect localresidents — and in some cases, themselves — asdarkness fell.

”Public safety was our number one concern,” SheriffMatt Lutz said. ”We are not talking about your normal,everyday house cat or dog.”

By late Wednesday 49 animals were dead. Only six werecaptured alive: a grizzly bear, three leopards and twomonkeys. Another monkey was still thought to be onthe loose, or eaten by a lion.

There had been at least three dozen complaints since2004 about Thompson’s exotic menagerie — includinga giraffe grazing by a highway and a monkey in a tree— and he had faced more serious charges of animalmistreatment.

Conservationists have for years demanded strict USwildlife ownership laws, especially in Alabama, Idaho,Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, WestVirginia and Wisconsin, where no such laws exist.

”All eight states that don’t have regulations shouldimmediately have an executive order by the governorbanning the keeping or sale of these animals,” Robertstold AFP. ”Stop people acquiring these animals full stop.

”I always ask myself, what is it going to take? Is it goingto take a woman getting mauled nearly to death by achimpanzee, as happened in Connecticut? Well, no.People around the country can still have primates.

”Is this going to open up the eyes of the people inOhio, which is one of the worst states in the country onthe exotic pets issues? I sure hope it does, because thiscould have been worse. People could have been killed.”

His call found one advocate in Democratic Ohio

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congressman Dennis Kucinich, also a leading animalrights advocate.

”I am hopeful that in light of this most recent tragedy,Governor (John) Kasich will heed the calls of theHumane Society of the United States and the public andquickly enact appropriate restrictions on the ownershipof exotic animals,” he said in a written statement.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)called on states to introduce a blanket ban on theprivate ownership of exotic animals.

”A ban is really the answer to this,” Delcianna Winders,PETA’s director of captive animal law enforcement, toldAFP. ”Private citizens just aren’t capable of giving theseanimals what they need.”

For the World Wildlife Fund, the loss of 18 Bengal tigerswas particularly devastating as the number of tigers inthe wild has declined rapidly, from around 100,000 atthe beginning of the last century to as few as 3,200today.

Leigh Henry, a leading WWF expert on captive tigers,told AFP there are thought to be an astonishing 5,000tigers held in the United States, the vast majority ofthem, some 95 percent, in private hands.

”The current patchwork of laws in the United Statesregulating these captive tigers is inexcusable,” she said.”In Ohio and seven other states you can just go and buya tiger with no requirement for any kind of license orpermit.”

A tiny number of pure-bred tigers are protected at thefederal level by the Endangered Species Act and a largernumber, those used for commercial purposes such ascircuses or road-side zoos, are regulated by theDepartment of Agriculture.

But the vast majority of tigers are either unregulated orregulated at the state level. WWF’s principal concern isthat their body parts could end up being traded on thetraditional medicine market.

Rising wealth in Asia has seen demand soar, and theinternational trade in wildlife products is now worth anestimated $6 billion a year.

”Wild products are preferred because they are alwaysseen as more pure and potent,” Henry explained. ”Theyalways carry a premium on price. As long as that marketis there, the threat to wild tigers will increase.”

Stamp Out Extinction with the Tiger StampBy: Fred Bagley, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What’s the connection between tiger grants andpostage stamps? In this time of increased need for thesupport of tiger conservation, Americans can now easilycontribute to tiger conservation as well as conservationof other much loved species…by simply buying a stamp.

The Save Vanishing Species stamp is now available atpost offices across the United States, giving the public aneasy and inexpensive way to help conserve wild tigers,rhinos, elephants, great apes, and marine turtles aroundthe world. By purchasing the stamps, which feature theimage of an Amur tiger cub, at a rate of 55 cents perstamp - just slightly above the cost of first-class postage -the public can directly contribute to the on-the-groundconservation programs overseen by the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service’s Wildlife Without Borders programs.

Proceeds from the sale of the stamp will directly benefitthe Wildlife Without Borders Multinational SpeciesConservation Funds. These Funds support carefullyfocused, cost effective, on-the-ground conservationprograms for the target species. The support to tigerconservation in 2011 provided by the USFWS’ WildlifeWithout Borders program — Rhinoceros and TigerConservation Fund came to 1.7 million U.S. dollars (35grants distributed among 10 countries) and wasleveraged by an additional 2.1 million dollars inmatching funds and in-kind contributions. These grantsaddressed a wide range of conservation topics including:

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30 December 2011

Anti-ppoaching activities in Bhutan’s Royal ManasNational Park, China’s Hunchun Nature Reserve, India’sKaziranga and Manas national parks and the proposedPilibhit Tiger Reserve, Indonesia’s Kerinci Seblat NationalPark, Lao PDR’s Nam Et Phou Louey National ProtectedArea, Malaysia’s Endau-Rompin landscape, and Russia’sSikhote-Alin Nature Reserve.

Tiger and prey population assessments in Bangladesh’sSundarbans and India’s Kaziranga and Melghat nationalparks as well as various landscapes in Karnataka. Tiger conservation education for communities aroundIndia’s Corbett, Kaziranga and Dibru-Saikhowa nationalparks.

Illegal trade in tiger parts in Nepal through support of awildlife crimes database and in China tracking the originof illegally traded tiger parts using DNA.

Tiger/human conflict through strengthening tigerresponse teams in Bangladesh’s Sundarbans and inNepal by investigating solutions to human tiger conflictaround Chitwan National Park.

Capacity development for tiger conservation in theIndian states of Assam and Rajasthan through provision

of legal training to forest guards; wildlife managementtraining at the Wildlife Institute of India for forestdepartment officials of tiger range countries; and inIndonesia’s Aceh Province through strengtheningprovincial and district capacity to manage tigers, theirprey and their threats.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service looks forward to its2012 grant making cycles for tiger projects and isoptimistic that the new Save Vanishing Species stampwill make a significant contribution to support theprogram.

Since 1989, the Wildlife Without Borders program hasawarded over 2,500 grants through its programs forinternational wildlife conservation providing vitalfunding for community-based efforts to protect some ofthe world’s most endangered animals. To learn moreabout the Wildlife Without Borders MultinationalSpecies Conservation Funds and the Save VanishingSpecies stamp, visit:

www.fws.gov/international/semipostal orTigerstamp.com Follow the Service’s InternationalProgram on Twitter @USFWSInternatl and on Facebook,USFWSInternationalAffairs.

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ADITYA SINGH

INTERPOL

Global bid to end tiger trade launchedBy AFPPublished: 2 November 2011

Interpol on Wednesday launched a new campaign to coordinate the global fight against tiger poaching,warning that failure to protect the endangered cats would have economic and social repercussions.

The international police organisation said it wasimperative that the 13 nations where tigers can still befound work together to combat wildlife crime.

David Higgins, manager of Interpol’s environment crimeprogramme, said the extinction of the tiger wouldimpact not only biodiversity but the ”economic stabilityand security stability” of countries where they are nowfound.

”The communities, the nations will lose confidence intheir governments, and their good governance and theirrule of law to be able to protect an iconic species suchas the tiger from criminality,” he said in Vietnam.

Interpol’s new Project Predator is designed to helpcoordinate efforts of police, customs and wildlifeofficials in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia,China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Russia,Thailand and Vietnam.

”Illegal trade and trafficking in tiger parts and productsis rampant across international borders, makingenforcement of laws against it a challenge,” Interpolsaid in a statement released at its annual generalmeeting in Hanoi.

Project Predator, which has US, British and World Bankfunding, will also share information with conservationagencies in an effort to raise awareness.

Higgins said law enforcement was ”not the onlyanswer” and greater education and poverty reductionwere also needed.

Tiger numbers have been devastated by poaching andloss of habitat in the last century, falling from anestimated 100,000 in 1900 to fewer than 3,500 now,Interpol said.

The big cats, which are hunted for their fur, bones andother parts, are expected to be extinct by 2022 if left

unprotected, according to wildlife group WWF.Deputy head of Vietnam’s department of environmentalcrimes, Major General Vu Hong Vuong, told reportersthat the country had more than 110 tigers - although80 of these were kept in captivity.

”We have detected several cases of tiger traffickingfrom Thailand, through Laos, Myanmar [Burma] toVietnam and then to China. We need the cooperationfrom police of other countries in the protection of wildanimals, especially tigers,” he said.

Interpol to coordinate tiger protection efforts Last updated: 11/4/2011 8:25 Public confidence in rule of law at stake, global policeagency warnsA day after seizing a tigress carcass last month on aHanoi-bound bus, environmental police in the centralprovince of Thua Thien-Hue were relieved to announcethat the animal was actually a different kind of large catbred to look like a tiger.

The carcass was painted in yellow and white to look likea tiger, but the fur’s natural color was black, the policesaid.

Though the carcass turned out to be fake, the demandfor parts of the big cats, which are hunted for their fur,bones and other parts, is very real, and continues todominate Vietnam’s wildlife market.

A recent Tuoi Tre (Youth) investigation found out thatthe illegal trade in animal skin, including that of tiger, isrobust and thriving in Ho Chi Minh City and acrossVietnam. A piece of tiger leather could fetch up toVND100 million (US$4,800), it said.

Vietnam is now home to more than 110 tigers -although 80 of these were kept in captivity. Tigernumbers worldwide have plummeted from an estimated 100,000 over the past century to 3,200 in thewild at present, due to poaching and humanencroachment. Of the 3,200, only about 1,000 arebreeding females. The big cats are expected to beextinct by 2022 if left unprotected, according to wildlifegroup WWF.

Interpol warned that failure to protect the endangeredcats would lead to dire economic and socialramifications as it launched a new campaign tocoordinate the global fight against tiger poaching onWednesday (November 2).

It is imperative that the 13 nations where tigers can still

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32 December 2011

NEWS FROM INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS AND NGOs

December 2011 33

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be found, including Vietnam, work together to combatwildlife crime, Interpol said.

”Unscrupulous poachers are threatening the fewremaining wild tigers with extinction, and we must allwork together to protect this iconic species,” said DavidHiggins, manager of Interpol’s environment crimeprogram.

Communities will lose confidence in their governments,governance and rule of law if nations are not able to”protect an iconic species such as the tiger fromcriminality,” Higgins was quoted by AFP as saying.

Interpol’s new Project Predator is designed to helpcoordinate efforts of police, customs and wildlifeofficials in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia,China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,Nepal, Russia and Thailand.”Illegal trade and trafficking in tiger parts and productsis rampant across international borders, makingenforcement of laws against it a challenge,” Interpolsaid in a statement released at its annual generalmeeting in Hanoi.

Project Predator, which has US, British and World Bankfunding, will also enable police, customs, and wildlifeofficials to share information with conservation agenciesin a bid to raise public awareness.

The deputy head of Vietnam’s department ofenvironmental crimes, Major General Vu Hong Vuong,told reporters that Vietnamese authorities have bustedseveral cases of tiger trafficking from Thailand, throughLaos, Myanmar to Vietnam and then to China.

”We need the cooperation from police of othercountries in the protection of wild animals, especiallytigers,” AFP quoted Vuong as saying.

Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank Group, saidin a video-taped address to the Interpol gathering thatthe traffickers of tiger parts ”are profiting from killingand cruelty.”

”I urge leaders to give their criminal justice systems thepower and resources to protect wildlife, forests, andfisheries from those who are plundering the planet’snatural capital and countries’ living heritage,” Zoellicksaid.

The endangered Javan rhinoceros found dead inVietnam’s Cat Tien National Park last year was thecountry’s last of its kind, the WWF and the InternationalRhino Foundation confirmed last week.

Conservationists are concerned that a similar fate awaits

other endangered species in Vietnam, particularly tigersand elephants.

In November 2010, Vietnam joined other nations in theircommitment to end tiger trade across and within theirborders.

But ”major destination markets for tiger products areindeed China and Vietnam itself,” said Douglas Graham,the environment country sector coordinator for theWorld Bank in the East Asia and Pacific region.”Vietnam remains an important transit point to China inpart because of proximity but also because of laxenforcement of restrictions of illegal trade.”

Conservationists said they were convinced that mosttigers traded in Vietnam these days are from farms andzoos or occasionally from the wild from Indonesia,Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.”This seems to be true. There are probably virtually notigers that are being poached in the wild in Vietnam,”Graham said.

”That may be because tigers are already almost entirelygone or if indeed there is a small number remaining,they would be so rare that they would be excessivelydifficult to hunt.”

With 80 of around 110 remaining tigers kept inVietnamese farms, wildlife advocates say tiger farming ishelping to drive wild tigers into extinction.

Graham said although farming of tigers forconsumption is already outlawed in Vietnam, there isconsiderable evidence that farmed tigers are findingtheir way into the illegal wildlife trade.

”It is difficult to make progress on this issue in Vietnamfor many reasons: lack of clarity in the law, differencesof opinion even within the government about what isthe right thing to do, and… pressure from tiger farmoperators.”

In March, Huynh Van Hai, the 57-year-old the owner of a private zoo in the southern province of Binh Duong, got three years in jail for selling endangeredtigers.

His zoo, Thanh Canh Tourism Park, was supposed toprotect the tigers. However, at least five dead tigercorpses had been sold out of the park secretly duringMarch 2003 and December 2005. Fourteen otherpeople, including Hai’s son, received sentences rangingfrom probation to 30 months in prison for theirinvolvement in the trade.

After the conviction, the local conservation group

Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV) hailed efforts byBinh Duong provincial authorities to address a case ofillegal tiger trading and urged them continue to acttough.

”It is time that Thanh Canh’s six remaining tigers betransferred to a government-run facility where they canbe managed in accordance with the law,” ENV said in astatement last month. ”Binh Duong authorities shouldnot look for support from higher levels in enforcing thelaw, but muster the strength on their own to takeaction in this case.”

”Let’s start by taking the tigers away from a convictedfelon and showing tiger farmers, traders and the worldthat we mean business.”

INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE (IFAW)

Capacity building and equipping frontline field staff ofBhutan

A new multi-year plan for capacity building andequipping of frontline field staff in Bhutan was initiatedin July. Experts from IFAW and WTI conducted a two-day training (7-8 July) of Forest and Park Departmentpersonnel on rescue and rehabilitation, as well ashuman-carnivore conflict mitigation and management.This workshop was followed by four day training onprevention of illegal wildlife trade from 11-14 July.IFAW-WTI also supported the Wildlife ConservationDivision of Bhutan in organizing a Tiger Day event on 29July, which focused on mobilizing youth conservation.

Will only words remain?IFAW launched a new public awareness campaign, WillOnly Words Remain?, in Russia to promote conservationof the last 300-400 Amur tigers. The campaign waslaunched during Tiger Day celebrations, observedannually in Russia at the end of September for morethan 10 years. At the Moscow Zoo on 24 September,IFAW partnered with the US Embassy for the Russianlaunch of a new U.S. postage stamp, featuring an imageof an Amur tiger cub, which will support aninternational species conservation fund. In Vladivostokon 25 September, Tiger Day drew thousands ofparticipants for concerts, parades and educationprograms organized by regional and municipalgovernments in partnership with IFAW, PhoenixFoundation, the Amur branch of WWF, AMUR Fund,and corporate sponsors.

Alleged poacher in Russia faced fineAn alleged poacher in Russia faced a USD 20,000 finefor killing a female tiger in Primorsky Krai. This markedthe first time that authorities brought charges under the

new high penalty for poaching, which the Russiangovernment increased from a mere $50 to $20,000 in2008 following lobbying efforts of IFAW and othergroups. Authorities initiated the criminal case, which isstill underway, after the hide, paws, head, ribs and tailof the tiger were found in a vehicle belonging to theaccused. The man was taking them to be sold inVladivostok.

TRAFFIC -IINTERNATIONALTRAFFIC’s work on illegal trade in Tigers and otherendangered wildlife, June - December 2011

Creative experts’ meeting on messaging to reduceconsumer demand for tigers and other endangeredspecies, Hong Kong, 22-223 November 2011-Thismeeting, organized by TRAFFIC and WWF, aimed todevelop new strategic approaches to reduce consumerdemand for Tigers and other endangered wildlifespecies in China and Viet Nam. The meeting wasattended by more than 20 participants from diverseprofessional backgrounds-including advertising andmarketing, social research, behavioural economics,public health and wildlife trade. The participantsconcluded that strategies to reduce demand forendangered wildlife species must effectively address theattitudes, motivations and behaviours that drive demandfor tigers and other endangered wildlife if they are to besuccessful, with a need for new and innovativeapproaches to influence consumer demand. The resultsof the meeting will be compiled into a strategicdocument aimed at supporting national andinternational efforts at curbing demand for endangeredwildlife. This includes the Global Tiger RecoveryProgramme, which was launched by the World Bank-ledGlobal Tiger Initiative in a Summit of heads of state oftiger range countries in St Petersburg in November2010.(http://www.traffic.org/home/2011/11/25/creative-experts-devise-multi-layered-strategies-to-curtail.html)

Wildlife detector workshop, Beijing, China, 29November-11 December 2011-This meeting, the first ofits kind to be held in China, was organized by theGeneral Administration of Customs of China (GACC) incollaboration with TRAFFIC’s China Programme. Itbrought together some of the world’s leading wildlifedetector dog experts from Germany, India, Nepal, Russiaand the UK to exchange information and expertise withtheir counterparts among China’s Customs officials. Thefirst dog in China specifically capable of locating wildlifeproducts is currently being trained at Beijing’s DrugDetector Dog Training Center. Wildlife detector dogs areproving to be a highly effective enforcement tool, bothto detect smuggled wildlife goods and to act as adeterrent. TRAFFIC has previously facilitated the

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34 December 2011

development of wildlife detector dog programmes in anumber of countries, including Germany, India andThailand. For over a decade, TRAFFIC and WWF Russiahave assisted with the implementation of such aprogramme on the Russian side of the Amur-Heilongborder in northeastern China. (http://www.traffic.org/home/2011/12/6/chinese-customs-examine-use-of-wildlife-detector-dogs.html)

Indo-NNepal trans-bboundary meeting to curb wildlifecrime, 16-117 May 2011-The Uttar Pradesh ForestDepartment (Govt. of India) and WWF-India organizedan Indo-Nepal trans-boundary meeting to discuss issuesrelated to wildlife conservation. TRAFFIC Indiaparticipated along with park managers from bothcountries, senior officials from the Wildlife Departmentsof the Governments of India and Nepal, officials fromWWF-India, WWF-Nepal and the Wildlife Institute ofIndia. The meeting was the first consultative meetingorganized after a formal agreement between India andNepal was signed in 2010 for better management offorest areas along the 1751 km Indo-Nepal border. Keytrans-boundary areas to benefit from this collaborationinclude Sukhlaphanta- Lagga Bagga- Pilibhit, Bardia-Katerniaghat-Khata, Banke-Suhelwa, Jhapa-Darjeelingand Kosi Tappu.

Indian Customs workshop on Strengthening wildlife lawenforcement in Maharashtra, 14-15 June 2011-Thisworkshop was organized by the National Academy forCustoms, Excise & Narcotics (NACEN), Western region ofIndia, with support from TRAFFIC India. Thirty officialsfrom the Customs department and the Directorate ofRevenue Intelligence of the Western region, Mumbai,participated. The two-day workshop providedparticipants with an overview of organized illegalwildlife trade and introduced them to the latest toolsand techniques available to curb it. (http://www.traffic.org/home/2011/6/14/customs-department-gears-up-to-fight-wildlife-crime-in-mahar.html)

Judiciary orientation programmes for judiciary in Manipurand Mizoram-Recognizing the significant role the judiciaryplays in championing the cause of forest and biodiversityconservation, over recent years TRAFFIC India hasconducted several orientation programmes on wildlifeconservation for the judiciary across the country (includingin Karnataka, Assam, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh andDelhi). At the request of Gauhati High Court, TRAFFICIndia and WWF have supported judiciary workshops inMizoram (10-15 September 2011) and in Manipur (24-25July 2011). Topics covered included issues related tobiodiversity conservation; forest and wildlife wealth of thestates; role of local communities in conservation; laws onbiodiversity conservation including the Wildlife(Protection) Act of India and discussions of legal cases.

(http://www.traffic.org/home/2011/9/14/orientation-programme-for-judicial-officers-in-mizoram.html andhttp://www.traffic.org/home/2011/7/26/manipur-judiciary-extends-support-for-wildlife-conservation.html)

First SAWEN training to strengthening wildlife lawenforcement, 11-115 July 2011-Under the aegis of thenewly established SAWEN (South Asia WildlifeEnforcement Network), a training programme on”Strengthening Wildlife Law Enforcement for WildlifeProtection in South Asia” was organized at theUniversity of Forensic Sciences, Gandhinagar, Gujarat on11-15 July 2011. It was the first such training on wildlifelaw enforcement to be organized for SAWEN members.Senior-level government officials working in the field ofwildlife conservation from Afghanistan, Bangladesh,Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka attendedthe training, which was organized by TRAFFIC withsupport from the Global Tiger Forum, the Directorate ofForensic Sciences, Govt. of Gujarat and the GujaratForest Department. The participants receivedcomprehensive inputs on the current scenario regardingwildlife crime and trade in South Asia and itsimplications for field conservation. They were alsointroduced to the latest tools and techniques used instrengthening wildlife law enforcement. In October2011, the SAWEN Secretariat launched its first quarterlynewsletter, ‘The SAWEN Bulletin’.(http://www.traffic.org/home/2011/7/11/south-asia-examines-new-techniques-to-tackle-wildlife-crime.html)

China, India and Nepal meeting to strengthen co-operation for curbing wildlife trafficking, 12-113 October2011-A two-day meeting between China, Nepal andIndia was held on 12-13 October 2011 in Chengdu,capital of China’s Sichuan Province, to collaborate onstopping wildlife trafficking from South Asia to China.Specific issues related to optimizing co-operation toprevent smuggling of wildlife products such as tiger andother Asian big cat parts, red sandalwood, otter skins,shahtoosh, pangolins and several species of endangeredmedicinal plants were discussed in detail by thedelegates. The workshop was hosted by China’s CITESManagement Authority with technical and financialsupport from TRAFFIC and WWF. It was the secondworkshop on CITES Implementation and Enforcementwith China, India and Nepal addressing commonconcerns for the three countries, including theircommitments to the Global Tiger Recovery Program. Themeeting built upon existing bilateral Memoranda ofUnderstanding (MoUs) between China and India, andChina and Nepal. China expressed its intention toengage with the South Asia Wildlife EnforcementNetwork (SAWEN), the Secretariat of which is hosted bythe Government of Nepal.(http://www.traffic.org/home/2011/10/12/china-reaches-across-south-asia-frontier-in-trilateral-meeti.html)

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New forensic manual to identify guard hair of Indianmammals-The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) with supportfrom TRAFFIC India and Defra (Department for Environ-ment, Food and Rural Affairs, Government of UK) recentlypublished a comprehensive manual on the protocols foridentifying wild animals from their guard hair. Micro-photographs of guard hairs from 53 mammal species arepresented in a systematic, user friendly manner.

Vietnam Global Tiger Day-On 29 July 2011 the secondannual Global Tiger Day was hosted in Ha Noi, VietNam. TRAFFIC, WWF, the Global Tiger Initiative (GTI)and the Vietnam Environmental Administration helpedto organize events to create greater public awarenessabout the difficulties facing tiger conservation and howto stop the illegal tiger trade. These included exhibitions,a film on tigers, children’s activities, performances and aconcurrent workshop with officials to discuss progressthus far in tiger conservation and further steps thatneed to be taken to protect and increase tigerpopulations. Following the event, TRAFFIC, along withinternational experts from the remaining 13 tiger rangecountries, attended a workshop in Ha Noi to discuss theimplementation of the Global Tiger RecoveryProgramme (GTRP).(http://www.traffic.org/home/2011/7/29/viet-nam-earns-its-stripes-for-global-tiger-day.html)

”On borrowed time”: prize-wwinning documentary onpoaching crisis in Malaysia’s Belum-Temengorlandscape-Also on Global Tiger Day, 29 July 2011, WWF Malaysia and TRAFFIC launched a documentary on the poaching crisis facing tigers and other wildlife inthe Belum-Temengor Forest Complex of northernPeninsular Malaysia. These forests, close to the borderwith Thailand, are of critical conservation importance,yet research and monitoring by WWF-Malaysia andTRAFFIC since 2008 have documented decimation of the wildlife by relentless poaching. Limited resources within enforcement agencies, nearly non-existent patrols and a lack of intelligence-ledinvestigations have left this forest complex littered withsnares and poacher camps. A district-wide multi-agencyenforcement taskforce was established in 2010.However, efforts have been piecemeal and groundchecks indicate problems persist. The film warns thatMalaysia must intensify efforts to stop the poaching inBelum-Temengor or risk losing one of its most importantstrongholds for wild tigers and other endangeredwildlife. The film can be viewed on Youtube:http://youtu.be/fHVMm7-viL4

On 2 November 2011 the film was awarded the prizefor Best local film at Malaysia’s Eco Film Festival. (http://www.traffic.org/home/2011/7/29/new-documentary-sheds-light-on-poaching-crisis-in-belum-teme.html and

http://www.traffic.org/home/2011/11/2/on-borrowed-time-wins-best-film-at-eco-film-fest-2011.html)

WWFWWF-IIndia’s tiger conservation initiatives (ver.11 Dec2011)

The tiger has been a priority species for WWF-India since1973, when it played an instrumental role in the launchof the Project Tiger. In 2011, WWF-India has witnessedsignificant achievements in tiger conservation as its fieldteams have been engaged in various exercises to ensurea 360 degree approach.

Monitoring tigers, co-ppredators and prey baseIn association with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII),the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), andthe state Forest Departments, WWF-India participated inthe camera trapping exercise conducted across differentlandscapes in India for the estimation of tiger numbersin 2010. Camera traps were set up in different locationsto monitor tigers and co-predators. The preybase andtheir habitat were also monitored using sign surveys andtransects. The result of this exercise was included in thedetailed report titled ‘Status of Tigers, Co-predators andPrey Base in India 2011’ published by WII and NTCA.Lobbying for trans-border cooperation for tigerconservation, WWF-India, with support from Aaranyakand Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and theEnvironment (ATREE), conducted an Indo-Bhutan trans-boundary meeting involving the officials of the ManasTiger Reserve, India and the neighboring Royal ManasNational Park, Bhutan. The meeting concluded with theagreement of officials from both reserves to conducttiger monitoring exercises simultaneously by following astandard protocol. Continuing the monitoring exercisethroughout 2011, WWF-India’s field teams have beenable to document tiger presence and estimate densitiesin places where they have never been captured orestimated before, and also use the results to betterunderstand tiger human conflict. Successful policyinterventions have also been made with data generatedfrom the tiger monitoring exercise. For example, in theKanha-Pench corridor of the Satpuda Maikal Landscape,camera trap images of cattle kills and frequent presenceof tigers resulted in the declaration of no-grazing zonein four forest compartments, and the state ForestDepartment increased patrolling exercises here as well.WWF-India was able to stop the widening of a railwayline in the Kanha-Pench corridor with the help of ourtiger monitoring work.

Mitigating human-ttiger conflictWWF-India documented the intensity of human-tigerconflict in the fringe villages of various Tiger Reservesacross the landscapes within India by conducting surveys

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36 December 2011

in the fringe villages, and using the results from thecamera trapping exercise. This study conducted in thefringes of Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, Assam, Indiarevealed 160 tiger depredation cases in 2010-2011.Immediate financial aid as ‘interim relief’ was providedto 127 affected livestock owners. WWF-India also signeda MoU with the authorities of the Rajiv Gandhi OrangNational Park, Assam, India to implement a similarinterim relief program for the depredation affectedvillagers. This initiative has helped reduce retaliatorykilling of tigers. Similar interim relief scheme was alsoimplemented around the Corbett Tiger Reserve,Uttarakhand, India as this scheme addressed 983 casesduring this period. The camera trapping of livestock kills,along with the interim relief scheme in severallandscapes, have ensured that tiger and other predatorkills are not poisoned or burnt and dispersal is facilitatedwithout harm to the tiger and co-predators.

Strengthening enforcement through capacity buildingand infrastructural supportBridging the gaps in the patrolling ability of the stateforest departments, WWF-India provided 20 four-wheeldrive vehicles (18 Bolero Camper & 2 Maruti Gypsy), 15Motor cycles and 2 motor boats to 20 differentProtected Areas across various tiger landscapes withinIndia during 2011. This support equipped the frontlinestaff to protect the tiger habitats more efficiently andgreatly increased their mobility, allowing them to covermore area, and respond to emergency situationseffectively. Apart from this, WWF-India also providedfield gears including winter jackets, backpacks, torchlights, mosquito nets, GPS handsets, binoculars, andhandheld transceiver sets which are the basic equipmentrequired by the frontline staff to conduct their duties. Tofurther build the capacity of the forest departmentstaffs, WWF-India conducted a number of trainingprograms on tiger monitoring, use of camera traps andother equipment, legal workshops on documentation ofwildlife crime cases, and combat trainings to deal withwildlife crime site encounters in the field. Related News

http://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?6340/WWF-India-helps-protect-the-forests-of-Nandhor-valley

http://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?6460/Reducing-plastic-pollution-in-Pilibhit-Forest-Division

http://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?6480/Helping-wildlife-keep-a-safe-distance-from-humans

http://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?6341/Strengthening-Tiger-Conservation-in-Rajaji-National-Park

http://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?6141/Conserving-the-frontiers-of-Central-India

http://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?6122/tigers-gain-numbers-but-not-groundhttp://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?6040/Lighting-lives-in-remote-areas-of-Sundarbans

http://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?6020/Communities-for-tiger

http://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?5880/Helping-the-tigers-of-Kopijhola

http://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?5800/tiger-corridors

http://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?5760/tiger-conservation-in-Vidarbha-region

http://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?5720/Micro-solar-power-station-in-Sundarbans

http://wwfindia.org/news_facts/?5520/Villagers-in-Central-India-Set-an-Example

WILDLIFE PROTECTION SOCIETY OF INDIA (WPSI)

Chinese authorities stop auction of tiger bone wine inChina

4th December 2011

In response to a press release put out by IFAW aboutthe imminent auction of at least 400 bottles of tigerbone wine in Beijing on 3rd December, thousands ofconservationists from around the world emailed theChinese authorities urging them to halt the auction. Weare happy to note that the CITES ManagementAuthority of China took action and stopped the high-profile auction. Forest policeman have apparentlyinitiated an investigation into the matter.

Below is the email that was sent by WPSI to the Chineseauthorities. It was copied to hundreds of tigerconservationists in India.

From: Belinda WrightDate: 3 December 2011Subject: Tiger Bone Wine to be auctioned today inChina

To: Dr Meng XianlinExecutive Director, CITES MA of ChinaChina State Forestry Administration, Beijing, China

Dear Dr Meng Xianlin,

Conservationists in India are distressed to hear fromIFAW that an auction is due to take place in Beijing

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today, 3rd December 2011, that will feature at least 400bottles of tiger bone wine. This is not in keeping withthe Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s stated commitment in2010 to end the trade in tiger products, and we urgeyou to stop this illegal sale of tiger bone wine.

Wild tigers are in crisis everywhere, but no more so thanin India where tigers are being pursued mercilessly bypoachers to feed the demand for their body parts,including the bones that are required to make tigerbone wine. We understand that the Beijing companythat is conducting the auction has made the unlikelyclaim that the wine was produced before China bannedthe trade in tiger bone products in 1993. However, oldor new, this trade is forbidden by CITES. The sale of anytiger bone wine can only stimulate the demand for tigerproducts and the poaching of wild tigers.

We implore you not to allow this auction of tiger bonewine to take place and to honour the global ban in thetrade of all tiger parts.

Yours sincerely,Belinda Wright

Footnote:

WPSI commends the Chinese authorities for having stopped the

auction, but we would like to stress that this is far from

sufficient. The fact that such a publicized sale of tiger bone

wine almost took place illustrates how prevalent the tiger trade

is in China, and the lack of enforcement. We have since heard

that the Chinese authorities have said that they cannot

confiscate the wine, since it is privately owned and allegedly

produced prior to the 1993 ban. Under the circumstances, it is

highly likely that the source of the wine could have been wild

tigers that were poached in India. Since this large stock of tiger

bone wine has not being seized, it is also likely that it will

eventually find its way back into the market.

China needs to do more to honour its commitment to end the

tiger trade, whether in skins, bones or other products by

getting off the fence on what it terms ”legal” trade and by

stopping all trade in all tiger products. The strongest message

China could send to affluent would-be consumers would be to

publically destroy the tiger bone wine that was put up for

auction.

Support Greenpeace campaign; say ‘No’ to coal mining in tiger habitat 1 December 2011

The proposed mining of coal near Tadoba-Andhari TigerReserve and other forests in central India poses a hugethreat to the survival of tigers and other wildlife.Greenpeace India is carrying on a sustained andinnovative campaign against the granting of clearances

to mine coal from these areas.

On Wednesday, 30 November 2011, Greenpeaceactivists dressed as tigers blocked the gates of thebuilding housing the Coal Ministry in the capital NewDelhi and demanded that the forests of central India besaved from the menace of coal mining. The activists metwith the Coal Minister Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal, andhanded over a petition signed by over 112,000 peopleopposing the coal ministries insistence for moreforestland.

Greenpeace ‘tigers’ demonstrate outside the CoalMinistry at Shastri Bhavan, in New Delhi, 30 November2011

Around 54% of India’s current power generatingcapacity is coal-based. Apart from the fact that thesector is India’s largest generator of carbon emissions,most coal mining sites have now been declared criticallypolluted areas by the Ministry of Environment andForests. Coal is a finite resource, and investment in coal-based energy is thought to be a shortsighted approachtowards securing the country’s energy requirements.

The Coal Ministry would have us believe that theenvironmental clearance process is a roadblock tomeeting India’s energy requirements. The truth is exactlythe opposite. Environmental clearances for coal minesand thermal power plants have been granted atunprecedented rates over the last four years (far inexcess of the projected requirements for the 11th FiveYear Plan), and in the case of thermal power plants, farmore than the rate of actual installation.

Tiger Poacher Convicted to Five Years Imprisonment11 November 2011

An Alwar court has sentenced a tiger poacher SurtaKalbeliya to 5 years imprisonment, and a fine of Rs.40,000, on 5th November 2011 in a case dating back to2005.The accused had killed a tiger in Sariska tiger reserve inMay-June 2003 with the help of other poachersincluding Juhru, and Kalya. These accused are alsonamed in several other tiger poaching cases in Sariska.Surta Kalbeliya has been absconding since 2005 andwas arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation inMansa district of Punjab with the assistance of theWildlife Protection Society of India in October 2009.

5 poachers sentenced to 31-yyear jail for killing tigressPTI | 05:06 PM,Jun 17,2011

Alwar (Rajasthan), Jun 17 (PTI) A court today awardedfive hunters 31 years of imprisonment under six sectionsof the Wildlife Protection Act for killing a tigress in

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Sariska reserve in 2004.The five, however, will spentaltogether seven years in jail as the sentences will runconcurrently.Additional chief judicial magistrateHimankani Gaud sentenced each of the five poachers to31 years in jail, but they will remain behind bars forseven years.Gaud also slapped a fine of Rs 1.30 lakh onthe five.The hunters — Jeevan Ram, Juru, Luru, Ramjanand Taiyab — had killed the tigress in Akbarpur rangeof Sariska.PTI

CORBETT FOUNDATION

SECURING TIGERS IN CORBETT LANDSCAPE THROUGHCONFLICT MITIGATION AND COMMUNITYPARTICIPATION

The Corbett Foundation (TCF) started operating fromthe Corbett landscape from 1994. Today, TCF hasexpanded its operational areas to include Kutch inGujarat, Bandhavgarh and Kanha Tiger Reserves inMadhya Pradesh, and is about to start a new division inKaziranga, Assam. The Foundation’s programmes aremainly in the areas of wildlife conservation and research,environmental awareness, community outreach, cattlecare and breed development, watershed managementand sustainable eco-development with the activeinvolvement of local stakeholders. Since its inception in1994, TCF has been working towards maintainingharmony between local communities and wildlife as wellas with wildlife managers through its variousprogrammes. In Corbett, TCF launched and issuccessfully implementing Interim Relief Scheme forpeople suffering from livestock killing by tigers andleopards, as well as a Rural Medical OutreachProgramme for locals living adjacent to the CorbettTiger Reserve. Both programmes are extremely unique inconcept and approach, and have been successfullyrunning for over a decade now. Apart from this, TCFhas also been striving to spread awareness onconservation among various stakeholders through itsEnvironmental Awareness Programmes.

1. Interim Relief Scheme (IRS)This year, from May - November 2011, TCF has alreadyrecorded 691 cases of cattle depredation by the tiger orleopard. Out of these, 103 and 588 were cases of cattlemauling and killing, respectively. A total amount of Rs10, 88, 850/- was disbursed as interim relief, while, anadditional expenditure of Rs 1, 11, 433/- was incurredas operational cost, which included hiring of manpowerand vehicles for kill inspection. Villagers from about 250villages located in remote areas in both the north andsouth zones of CTR are being benefitted from thescheme.The Al Jazeera 101 East network recently made adocumentary on the human- animal conflict and the

Interim Relief Scheme being implemented by TCF in theCorbett landscape.

2. Environmental Awareness ProgrammeCommunity participation has always been one of themain strategies of TCF for achieving the goal ofconservation at local, national and global levels. TCFencourages the local communities to contribute towardsthe noble cause of wildlife conservation by seeking theirinvolvement in various activities. The awareness divisionof TCF organized the following programs to highlightand discuss various conservation issues during May -November 2011.

3. World Environment Day Celebrations: India was chosen as the global host country for thecelebration of World Environment Day (5th June) in2011. The Corbett Foundation celebrated this day byorganizing an awareness workshop with villagers andchildren of Kunkhet, a village located in the periphery ofCorbett Tiger Reserve. The participants were taught notonly about the role of forests in their everyday life, butalso about environmental pollution, global warming,climate change, harmful impact of polythene onenvironment and how they could individually contributetowards saving the environment. All participantspledged to conserve and preserve forests and wildlife intheir individual capacities. As the theme of this year’sWED celebration was ”Forests: Nature at Your Service”,the celebration was concluded by planting saplings ofnative plant species in the campus of the local school.

4. Teachers’ Environmental Leadership Workshop: On 11th November, TCF organized a ”Teachers’Environmental Leadership Workshop” for teachers ofvarious local schools situated in the Corbett landscape.Since teachers are ultimately responsible for developingthe minds of the children, the future citizens oftomorrow, this workshop aimed to share some basicskills on environment and wildlife conservation withthem. Teachers from over 20 local schools attended thisworkshop.

WILDIFE CONSERVATION NEPALOctober 25, 2011Acting on the information provided by WildlifeConservation Nepal (WCN) field informants, the ArmedPolice Force (APF) arrested four persons - Madan PrasadDhungana of Patiyani-6, Chitwan, and Bhup Raj Pathak,Prem Lal Kharel and Keshav Mishra of Udiya-4,Nawalparasi with seven and half kilograms of tigerskeletons from Nijgadh, Bara on October 23, 2011,Sunday. The convicted has been handed over to ParsaWildlife Reserve along with the seized skeletons.

The team was led by Sub-inspector Fanindra Gole whoarrested them along with tiger´s skull, hoof and ribs.

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WILDLIFE TRUST OF INDIA (WTI)1. Accused of poaching tiger, three denied bail: Threepersons, accused of poaching tiger in the northernIndian state of Uttarakhand, were denied bail earlier thisweek by the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate,Champawat. The trio was arrested along with four other accompliceslast month by the authorities, following discovery of afresh tiger skin in Sharda range near Tanakpur along theIndo-Nepal border. Tiger bones and materials used inpoaching and skinning the animal were also recovered."Three of the accused had applied for bail with theDefence arguing that required protocols were notfollowed during the seizure. However, the Prosecutionled by the Forest Department successfully rebuked theirclaims, ending with the court denying their bail," saidSaurabh Sharma, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) lawyer,who is assisting the authorities. The three accused are Mohammad Hasim and his sonsMohammad Yakub and Abdul Kareem. The otheraccused include Tota Ram, a repeat wildlife offenderarrested for illegal trade in tiger skins along the Indo-Nepal border.

2. Attempt to reunite tiger cub with mother inKaziranga: Attempt to re-unite a month-old female tigercub with her mother is in progress today in theBurapahar range of Kaziranga National Park, by theAssam Forest Department assisted by International Fundfor Animal Welfare - Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI).The cub was found alone by forest guards on Friday.The following day, a make-shift shelter was prepared atthe site where the cub was found for the attemptedreunion. The cub was left over-night with five infra-redcamera traps set up by Aaranyak scanning the areaaround it, with hopes that her mother would come toget her.

Unfortunately, no tiger movement was recorded. As thecub was getting weak, she had to be taken to theIFAW-WTI run Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation andConservation (CWRC) where she was treated fordehydration. Yesterday, as the cub recuperated at CWRC, cameratraps were left at the site to capture tiger movement, ifany. No relevant images were found on the cameratraps, but tiger pugmarks were observed around thearea. Given the territorial nature of tigers and that thecub was found here, conservationists believe that thereis a high probability that the pugmarks belong to themother.

"The cub has now recovered and is active and noisy,which could help in the re-uniting effort, if you look atit positively," said Dr Abhjit Bhawal, IFAW-WTIveterinarian. "She will be placed in the shelter tonight,

which has been shifted closer to the area where thepugmarks were seen and in an area with better cover,unlike the first site (where the cub was found).""Today will be a critical night for the cub and theteam," says Dr NVK Ashraf, Chief Veterinarian, WTI."There are calculated risks. Given the pugmarksobserved and the cubs improved health, she has a fairchance at making it back to a normal life in the wild.However, predators are a threat to the animal's safety.In case these attempts bear no results, the authoritieswill decide on the fate of the animal."

3. Reducing dependence on tiger habitat in CentralIndia: In an effort to reduce anthropogenic pressure inthe crucial Nagzira - Navegaon corridor linking nineTiger Reserves in the central India, the Wildlife Trust ofIndia (WTI) supported by the Japan Tiger and ElephantFund (JTEF), has initiated eco-development activities invillages within the corridor.

With 89 villages within the corridor - a part of theproposed Nagzira-Navegaon Tiger Reserve, it facesincreasing anthropogenic pressures and incidents ofhuman-animal conflict. A survey conducted as part ofWTI's Central India Tiger Conservation Project in 2010,indicated Sondlagondi and Jammbalapani as the mostcritical of the nine villages shortlisted for immediateintervention to prevent further fragmentation of thecorridor.

"Three biogas units and 30 eco-friendly cook-stoveswere provided to families in Sondlagondi village withthe support of JTEF to reduce their dependence on theforest," says Greeshma Mahesh, WTI. "While the cook-stoves will reduce the fuel wood requirement by 40%and the biogas units will ensure zero fuel woodconsumption in the beneficiary households. Soon tofollow will be similar interventions in Jammbalapani, andconsequently the rest of the identified villages."

The biogas units and eco-friendly cook stoves wererecommended by the Appropriate Rural TechnologyInstitute (ARTI), a Pune-based organisation brought in totrain the villagers on the use and maintenance. Apartfrom consuming less fuel wood, the cook stovesprovided also offer a healthier option for thehouseholds, as it has a chimney to channelise the smokeoutdoors.

The Central India Tiger Conservation Project, initiated in2006 adopts a holistic approach for the conservation oftigers by capacity building of forest guards, litigationand policy level interventions, campaigns and close workwith the communities.

4. Green stoves burn bright in Bihar's tiger land: Morethan a hundred households living within Bihar's Valmiki

Tiger Reserve have switched from the traditional mudstoves to the more efficient eco-friendly 'chulhas' toreduce their dependency on forest for fuel wood - amove that would boost conservation of the big cat.

It is hoped the green stoves or 'chulhas' would help cutfuel wood use by 40 percent, which would also allowthe forest to rejuvenate and increase security for thetigers.

The green stoves use maximum energy produced fromburning of fuel wood. An iron grate positioned justabove the stove's base provides room for air circulationthat helps the fuel to burn efficiently.

The households are part of the 25 revenue villages inDone Valley, that is spread over a 45 sq km area in theheart of the sprawling Valmiki reserve, the only tigersanctuary in the state.

"Seven villages are currently part of the initiative, theremaining ones will be taken up in phases," said SamirSinha, who is implementing the project and manager ofNGO Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).

Some 18,000 villagers in the valley depend onagriculture for livelihood. However, during the off-season many migrate to places as far as Delhi, Punjaband Gujarat to work as labourers, said Sinha.

The Valmiki reserve, an 880 sq km sal forest on theTerai foothills, is home to 11 tigers, according to thereserve's Field Director Santosh Tiwari.

The reserve extends up to Chitwan National Park inNepal in the north, providing hundreds of miles ofcontiguous forest cover to many other threatenedanimals like sambar, nilgai, gaur, rhino and variousspecies of primates.

"Of the seven villages, Matiarwa has achieved 100percent participation. The rest are progressing in varyingdegrees," Sinha told IANS. Other villages are Majuraha,Gardi, Naurangia, Piprahwa, Khairahni and Senrahni.

Stakeholders' participation, acceptable design,monitoring and problem solving were crucial for thesuccess of the present initiative, said Sinha. The US Fishand Wildlife Service and Germany's Nature andBiodiversity Conservation Union are the other supportersof the project.

Pune-based research organisation Appropriate RuralTechnology Institute was contacted to train the localwomen, since they were the main users, said Sinha. Ofthe three designs, they picked the one that resembledthe traditional chulha, he said.

Initially, only the trained women were asked to installthe stove in their homes, which served as demonstrationsites. They were paid by WTI, thus generatingemployment for them.

The mud chimneys for the stoves also brought briskbusiness for the village potter. Those who wanted toinstall the chulha contacted these women who chargedthem an installation fee.

The stoves were monitored for their efficiency by theWTI team.

Data over the past few months shows an averagereduction of about 40 percent in fuel woodconsumption compared to the traditional stoves.

Apart from the human disturbances, poaching continuesto be the biggest threat to the animals in the park.

A male rhino that had crossed into Valmiki Tiger Reservefrom Nepal in March this year was found dead with itshorn chopped off in the Valmiki Nagar forest range inMay. Last year, a tigress was also found dead inMadanpur range.

A small number of rhinos still live in the reserve'sValmiki forest range, where the grasslands provide thema perfect home.

India made saving the tiger one of its top priorities. Thegovernment's latest tiger census report released inMarch this year put the tiger population at about 1,700,a slight improvement from the previous report in 2008,which estimated it to be around 1,400.

IFAW:1. A new multi-year plan for capacity building andequipping of frontline field staff in Bhutan was initiatedin July. Experts from IFAW and WTI conducted a two-day training (7-8 July) of Forest and Park Departmentpersonnel on rescue and rehabilitation, as well ashuman-carnivore conflict mitigation and management.This workshop was followed by four day training onprevention of illegal wildlife trade from 11-14 July.IFAW-WTI also supported the Wildlife ConservationDivision of Bhutan in organizing a Tiger Day event on 29July, which focused on mobilizing youth conservation.

2. IFAW launched a new public awareness campaign,Will Only Words Remain?, in Russia to promoteconservation of the last 300-400 Amur tigers. Thecampaign was launched during Tiger Day celebrations,observed annually in Russia at the end of September formore than 10 years. At the Moscow Zoo on 24

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September, IFAW partnered with the US Embassy forthe Russian launch of a new U.S. postage stamp,featuring an image of an Amur tiger cub, which willsupport an international species conservation fund. InVladivostok on 25 September, Tiger Day drewthousands of participants for concerts, parades andeducation programs organized by regional andmunicipal governments in partnership with IFAW,Phoenix Foundation, the Amur branch of WWF, AMURFund, and corporate sponsors.

3. An alleged poacher in Russia faced a USD 20,000 finefor killing a female tiger in Primorsky Krai. This markedthe first time that authorities brought charges under thenew high penalty for poaching, which the Russiangovernment increased from a mere $50 to $20,000 in2008 following lobbying efforts of IFAW and othergroups. Authorities initiated the criminal case, which isstill underway, after the hide, paws, head, ribs and tailof the tiger were found in a vehicle belonging to theaccused. The man was taking them to be sold inVladivostok.

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Of The GTF

1. The Global Tiger Forum supported SAWEN inorganizing a capacity building/training programmeof frontline staff of member countries onforensic/investigation of wildlife crimes atGandhinagar, India, on 11-15 July 2011. It was thefirst such training on wildlife law enforcement to beorganized for SAWEN members. Mr S.P. Yadav, DIG(NTCA), represented the Secretary General, GTF, inthe meeting.

2. The Global Tiger Forum a Workshop of Experts todevelop Criteria and Indicators for Monitoring of theGlobal Tiger Recovery Programme, in collaborationthe Global Tiger Initiative, and hosted by theGovernment of Vietnam at Hanoi, during 2nd to 4thAugust 2011, which brought together governmentrepresentatives and experts from all tiger rangecountries and other countries supporting tigerconservation.

3. Five officers, one from Bangladesh, two each from

Bhutan and Vietnam, sponsored by GTF supportedfrom the RTCF grant of the US Fish and WildlifeService, are undergoing 3 Months Certificate courseof training in Wildlife Management at the WildlifeInstitute of India, Dehradun, which has started from1st November 2011.

4. Mr S.P. Yadav, DIG (NTCA), represented theSecretary General, GTF, in the Creative experts’meeting on messaging to reduce consumer demand for tigers and other endangered species,Hong Kong, on 22-23 November 2011. The meeting aimed to develop new strategic approaches to reduce consumer demand for Tigersand other endangered wildlife species in China andViet Nam.

5. Technical Staff of GTF visited Lao PDR and Vietnamon 18-23 December, 2011 and assisted them infinalizing their National Tiger Monitoring Frameworkand in setting up GTF National Core Group.

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Source: www.tigernet.nic.in

Tiger Mortality In India July- December 2011.

Seizure of Tiger body Parts in India, June- December 2011.

DATE LOCATION STATE CAUSE OF DEATH / SEIZURE INFO

27 Jul 2011 Nagarhole Tiger Reserve Karnataka28 Jul 2011 Dhela, Corbett Tiger Reserve Uttarakhand29 Jul 2011 Mailani, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve Uttar Pradesh Road hit.9 Aug 2011 Panchamukhi, Dobaki Island, Sunderbans Tiger Reserve West Bengal12 Aug 2011 Bhadra Tiger Reserve Karnataka1 Sep 2011 Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary Madhya Pradesh6 Sep 2011 Kaziranga National Park Assam17 Sep 2011 Corbett Tiger Reserve Uttarakhand Natural24 Sep 2011 Rajnandgaon Chhattisgarh Beaten to death by villagers6 Oct 2011 Biligiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary Karnataka3 Nov 2011 Vihirgaon village, near Tadoba tiger reserve,

180 km from Nagpur Maharashtra Electrocution20 Nov 2011 Tipeshwar Sanctuary, Yavatmal Ditrict Maharashtra Caught in a snare, Poaching21 Nov 2011 Near Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve Madhya Pradesh Old tiger injured.

Was tranquilised and died while being transported for treatment to Bandhavgarh

5 Dec 2011 Basagaon village, beside the National Highway 37, Assam Gun shotFringe of Kaziranga National Park near Kohara Range

13 Dec 2011 Kilpura Range, Terai East Forest Division Uttarakhand13 Dec 2011 Kilpura Range , Terai East Forest Division Uttarakhand14 Dec 2011 Dhela range, Corbett National Park Uttarakhand17 Dec 2011 Dechauri, Ramnagar Forest Division Uttarakhand In Fighting17 Dec 2011 Medical camp near Udhagamangalam Tamil Nadu18 Dec 2011 Ratnapur Village, Brahmapuri Forest Division, Maharashtra Drowning in open well

Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve20 Dec 2011 24 Pargana South, Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve West Bengal Disease21 Dec 2011 Pulivalmoola, Wayanad WLS Kerala Postmortem conducted by a team of

experts comprising Arun Zachariah(KFD), Ratheesh Narayanan

(MSSRF), K. Ravi (WWF-India) and George Chandy (COVAS). It was suspected that the iron cables that wound around the animal's abdomen would have caused thedeath., Poaching

27 Dec 2011 Valmiki Tiger Reserve Bihar27 Dec 2011 Kohara Range, Holmara camp, Kaziranga N.P Assam In Fighting29 Dec 2011 A.M Gudi Range, Bandipur Tiger Reserve Karnataka Natural

12 Aug 2011 Sarvapriya Vihar, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi Delhi Tiger Trophy-Head25 Aug 2011 Moharli Range, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, 249

Maharashtra Tiger Bones13 Oct 2011 Sharda Range, Tanakpur Forest Division Uttarakhand15 Nov 2011 Bhoramdeo Sanctuary Kawardha District Chhattisgarh Tiger Claws, Tiger Canines

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A day with tigers @ Kanha by S P Yadav

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CCUURRRREENNTT MMEEMMBBEERRSS OOFF TTHHEE GGLLOOBBAALL TTIIGGEERR FFOORRUUMM

Category A: Tiger Range Countries.1. India 2. Bangladesh 3. Cambodia 4. Nepal 5. Bhutan 6. Myanmar 7. Vietnam

Category B: Non Tiger Range Countries.1. United Kingdom

Category C: International Non Government Organisation.1. International Fund for Animal Welfare2. TRAFFIC International3. WWF International

Category D: Honorary Individuals.

Category E: National Non Government Organisation1. Ranthambhore Foundation, India2. Tiger Research and Conservation Trust- India3. Wildlife Protection Society of India4. Wildlife Trust of India5. Corbett Foundation, India6. National Trust for Nature Conservation - Nepal7. Wildlife Conservation Nepal, Nepal8. Centre for Wildlife Studies, India

Category F:Associate Members1. The US Fish and Wildlife Service

Special invitee status1. IUCN

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