Posted on 14 July 2010
Bali, Indonesia
– The 13 countries that have tigers in a
critical meeting this week laid the foundation
for world leaders to come together later
this year at the Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg,
Russia and agree to a historical global
plan to double the number of tigers in the
wild.
“While there’s still
work to be done in the coming weeks, this
has been a crucial meeting ahead of the
Tiger Summit,” said Michael Baltzer, leader
of WWF’s Tiger Programme. “These countries
have worked together to lay down solid plans
to double the number of tigers in the wild
by 2022 – a critical goal to save this endangered
animal.”
“These governments will
now take these proposed commitments to St.
Petersburg and world leaders will consider
backing them with the political it will
take to save tigers in the wild.”
“Coming to this meeting
and agreeing to some key plans represents
a strong indication that these 13 governments
are ready to make commitments and be held
accountable for their efforts to save tigers,
and sets clear goals for how to do that.,”
Baltzer said.
“The outcomes of this
meeting will provide a foundation for success
at the Tiger Summit in Russia.”
In Bali this week, tiger
range governments presented individual national
plans to protect tigers, that will be put
into a Global Tiger Recovery Programme –
essentially an overarching plan to double
the number of tigers in the wild – which
will then be approved at the Tiger Summit.
Overall, the 13 tiger
range states’ national plans likely will
cost more than USD 356 million for immediate
implementation, according to their presentations
this week.
“Now that these countries
have shown their willingness to act, the
success of any global plan launched in St.
Petersburg will depend on financial support
from the international community and the
tiger nations themselves,” Baltzer said.
Governments also agreed
to elements for a Leader’s Declaration,
a document that will include joint commitments
by the 13 tiger range states.
Calling the Tiger Summit
“unprecedented,” the Declaration will include:
An agreement that tigers
are key to healthy ecosystems
That tiger conservation efforts are primarily
a national responsibility, but that “financial
and technical support of the international
community ” is still needed to save wild
tigers
That the 13 governments will collaborate
on issues that affect tigers across borders,
including ensuring the uninhibited movement
of tigers and the management of joint tiger
conservation areas
Increasing enforcement efforts to eradicate
poaching, the main driver of tiger loss,
and to reduce the trafficking of tiger parts
Identifying and better protecting key tiger
habitats, such as critical breeding areas
Improving protection efforts by implementing
systematic patrols of tiger areas, and protecting
their prey
“Hosting this meeting
in Bali – where the Balinese tiger went
extinct in the 1940s – is a symbol of Indonesia’s
commitment to help with this global effort
to protect tigers and bring them back from
the brink of extinction,” said WWF Indonesia
CEO Dr. Efransjah. “We commend Indonesia
for its leadership at this meeting, and
ask for the same level of commitment and
passion leading up to and during the Tiger
Summit.”
“We are committed to
supporting these ongoing efforts and to
working with the Indonesian government for
the conservation of tigers.”
World tiger experts
and representatives from other NGOs, including
the Global Tiger Initiative, also are attending.
The meeting is a prelude to the Heads of
Government Tiger Summit, scheduled to be
held in St. Petersburg, Russia from 15-18
Sept. 2010.
The Bali meeting is
a follow up to earlier governmental meetings
on tiger conservation. The first in Kathmandu,
Nepal in October 2009, recommended a series
of 15 global actions that need to be taken
to change the trajectory of tigers from
extinction to recovery, as well as commitments
from several tiger range countries. The
Kathmandu meeting was followed by the first
Asian ministerial conference on tiger conservation
held in Hua Hin, Thailand in January 2010,
and which adopted the goal of doubling the
number of wild tigers by 2022, the next
Year of the Tiger.
Tigers are in a dire
situation.
The global wild population
is reduced to an estimated 3,200 individuals.
From nine tiger sub-species, only six exist
today — the Sumatran, Bengal, Amur, Indochinese,
South China and Malayan tiger. Threats to
the tiger include poaching and illegal trade,
massive habitat fragmentation and destruction,
loss of prey, poaching and illegal trade.
Tigers are also lost due to retaliatory
killing when they come into conflict with
villagers living around tiger habitat.
With an estimated 400
Sumatran tigers left, or 12 percent of the
global tiger population Indonesia has a
key role to play in the global tiger recovery
programme.
+ More
Meeting on curbing deforestation
to stop climate change questioned as NGOs
left out – WWF
Posted on 14 July 2010
Gland, Switzerland – Civil society has been
all but shut out of a crucial meeting intended
to move ahead efforts to tackle climate
change by halting forest loss.
With only one week remaining
before the meeting is set to get underway
in Brazil, NGOs received an eleventh hour
notice that registration was open to them.
“If you’re planning
a party, you would invite out of town guests
well in advance to be sure they have time
to pack their bags and make travel plans.
That’s just common sense,” said Paul Chatterton,
leader of WWF’s Forest Carbon Initiative.
“By waiting until the last minute to invite
civil society participants to this meeting,
the organizers have virtually guaranteed
that these invitees will not be able to
participate. Organizers seem to have included
NGOs as an afterthought.”
Governments from key
forest and donor countries are gathering
for the first time since they established
a new partnership on reducing emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation
(REDD+) at May’s Forest and Climate Conference
in Oslo. This next meeting of the REDD+
Partnership takes place July 14-15 in Brasilia,
Brazil under the co-chairmanship of Japan
and PNG.
While WWF strongly supports
the aim of the REDD+ Partnership and welcomed
the agreement signed in Oslo, this week’s
development has sparked serious concern
that the process is failing to live up to
the principles of civil society engagement.
“Basic elements of transparency
are missing here,” said Chatterton. “Civil
society has not been given an appropriate
opportunity to participate in this meeting
and that is unacceptable.”
WWF is calling on participants
in the REDD+ Partnership to outline how
the process will move forward in a more
coordinated and transparent manner so that
civil society engagement can be ensured
in upcoming meetings.
The REDD+ Partnership
was established to advance REDD+ activities
and is essential to maintaining momentum
for climate change mitigation efforts focused
on halting deforestation.
What is REDD?
Reducing emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation, or
REDD, is an effort to make trees worth more
standing than cut down by providing developing
countries with economic incentives to protect
their forests. When done right, in a way
that safeguards the rights of local communities
and indigenous peoples, REDD can not only
benefit the climate, but also biodiversity
and local livelihoods.
