St. Petersburg (Russia): A new global plan of action was adopted by heads of state and ministers from 13 tiger range countries at the International Tiger Forum hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, reports the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). It is built on a foundation of national plans outlining tiger conservation activities to contribute to the global goal of doubling the wild tiger population by 2022.

The new global plan of action calls on a consortium of partner organisations, including IFAW, to help tiger range countries build the capacity of people working in the field to combat the threats facing tigers, including poaching and human-tiger conflict. It also sets out collaborative international activities to secure habitat and to end tiger trade.

“We hope the St. Petersburg summit is a turning point for tigers, by mobilising the political will needed to save this charismatic and critically-endangered species,” said Fred O’Regan, IFAW President and CEO. “But it’s what we do after the meetings to bring the right resources to the people and communities on the front lines of tiger conservation that will make the difference – or not – to the fate of wild tigers.”

Tiger populations have plummeted by 97% percent during the past century and as few as 3,000 wild tigers survive in a few scattered pockets of habitat in Asia.

Even in the last fortnight, three tigers have succumbed to poaching and conflict in three separate incidents in Russia and India.

The first incident involved poaching of a rare Amur (Siberian) tiger in a protected reserve in the Russian Far East. Subsequently, last week, the first of the five tigers relocated to Sariska National Park in Rajasthan as part of the landmark tiger reintroduction programme, was found dead due to suspected poisoning. The most recent case occurred in the north- eastern Indian state of Assam where a tiger was shot dead by the police after its attack caused two human casualties.

“These tiger deaths highlight how critical it is to translate talk into action,” said O’Regan. “IFAW is committed to providing enforcement training and capacity-building support to range countries dealing with the challenge of protecting tigers and the people living near tiger reserves.”