Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Indonesia will host a crucial meeting on tiger conservation July 12-14 to be attended by 13 tiger range countries, including India, China, Thailand and Russia.
World tiger experts and representatives from NGOs, the Global Tiger Initiative, World Bank and donor agencies such as USAID and AUSAID will participate, according to a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) statement issued here.

To be held in Bali, the Pre-Tiger Summit Partners’ Dialogue Meeting is a prelude to the Heads of Government Tiger Summit, scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sep 15-18.

Ir. Darori M.M., director general of forest protection and nature conservation in Indonesia’s forestry ministry, said: “This will demonstrate our desire to come up with solutions to address the threats faced by the world’s remaining wild tiger population, including those faced by Indonesia’s Sumatran tiger, as well as double their population by 2022.”

The pre-Tiger Summit meeting is a follow-up to earlier governmental meetings on tiger conservation.

The global tiger population is reduced to an estimated 3,200. From nine tiger sub-species, only six exist today - the Sumatran, Bengal, Amur, Indochinese, South China and Malayan tiger, the statement said.

“The 13 tiger range countries alone cannot implement the global tiger recovery programme,” said Noviar Andayani, director of Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia.

“They need the support of other countries, especially those who are destination or transit points for the illegal tiger trade,” he said.