New Delhi, March 4, 2015- Global Tiger Forum (GTF), Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and its international partner International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) are jointly organising the annual ‘Indo-Russian Tiger Watch Programme’ from 1st to 11thMarch, 2015. The programme focuses on giving the Russian forest officers a compact training on tiger conservation through a number of field exercises in a renowned tiger reserve of India.

Since the inception of the programme in 2005, sixteen Russian forest officials have visited India. This year, the field exposure visit is being held in Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) where the successful reintroduction and rebuilding of tiger population in the reserve will be a great learning experience for the visiting Russians. It also gives the visitors an opportunity to see the majestic tiger in the wild, as many Russian forest officials do not happen to see the majestic tiger even once during their entire service in their home country.

Vivek Menon, CEO & ED, WTI said, “The idea behind the programme is to facilitate exchange of views and information at the ground level. Currently, the tiger conservation priority in Russia is to rebuild their low density tiger landscapes, and we hope the field visit to Panna Tiger Reserve which faced similar tiger conservation challenges as that in Russia, will prove beneficial for the Russian forest officials”.

The Russian team will also be interacting with the representatives of WTI, GTF and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), and will get acquainted with the cultural heritage of India.

Dr Jagdish Kishwan, Chief Policy Advisor, WTI said “ The overall aim of the programme is to help enrich the Russian forest officials’ understanding of various aspects of tiger conservation in India, so that they are able to use the lessons learnt and knowledge gained in India in strengthening the tiger conservation efforts in Russia.”