US aid for Indian tigers

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16 November 2007

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Experts Seek Strategies To Save India's Tigers from Extinction

 

Wildlife experts, government officials meet at India's Ranthambore Park

 

By Lea Terhune

USINFO Staff Writer

 

Washington -- Wildlife experts and government officials from India and the

United States met at India's famed Ranthambore tiger reserve in early

November to discuss ways to counter the factors driving one of the world's

most iconic animals toward extinction.

 

Poaching and shrinking habitat are chief causes of tiger losses. Figures

published by the Wildlife Institute of India indicate that the Indian tiger

population is dwindling rapidly. There are possibly as few as 1,300, down

from an estimated 3,600 five years ago.

 

" It's something that the Indian government and our government are very

dedicated to trying to solve, but in a way we are working against a ticking

time clock here. With the numbers of tigers that are left in the wild, it is

something that we really have to get a solution for very quickly, " said

Assistant Secretary of State Claudia McMurray, who attended the three-day

workshop at Ranthambore. She urged participants to act before it is too

late.

 

Poverty and affluence are intersecting root causes. The demand for tiger

parts comes chiefly from manufacturers of traditional Chinese medicines, for

which wild tiger parts are prized ingredients. Tiger skins are increasingly

popular in Tibet, where they are worn as status symbols. Growing Chinese

affluence has resulted in greater demand.

 

Impoverished poachers in tiger ranges rely on killing tigers for a living.

Human population growth in range states and resulting habitat encroachment

is another contributing factor.

 

The workshop, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, was an initiative

of Ambassador David C. Mulford. Visits to the historically significant park

awakened his interest in tiger conservation.

 

After reviewing information about Ranthambore poaching rings, he saw a

possible solution. " The men understand that they are poaching on a declining

population and their future is not at all bright if that population

disappears, " he said while in Washington recently.

 

With his strong business background, he thought of enlisting the local

community, including poachers, in a joint venture that would offer education

and jobs: " [T] he people who do the poaching become the protectors because

they see that [the tiger] is a disappearing asset, and they have got another

set of incentives and a bigger stake that gets them into the future that

they would like to see, so they are not dependent on poaching. "

 

There is already a solid tourist infrastructure at the park which could be a

foundation for improved community facilities. " I'm attracted by projects

that look as if they might be doable, " he said.

 

Mulford believes " if there was a comprehensive approach that was defined,

presentable, and implementable, there would be significant sources of

private money in the United States that would support that. " He added that

if a viable vision is developed for wildlife, people and habitat, " I think

you can make significant progress here. "

 

The workshop was meant to assemble key people to discuss a multifaceted

program that could effectively address Ranthambore's issues.

 

Consul General Peter Kaestner, who attended the workshop, said of

participants, " They are often on opposing sides of political debates. " There

were " energetic " discussions among the group of governmental and

nongovernmental representatives, which he said was a good starting point.

 

" Really the only way we are going to make progress, is for people to put

away their parochial differences and to focus on the one thing that unifies

us all … the welfare of the animals themselves, " Kaestner said.

 

The last two days of the workshop were devoted to training forest guards in

forensic techniques and other enforcement skills.

 

The workshop underlined continuing U.S. commitment to wildlife conservation

and came after the United States' strong stance at the 14th Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species Conference of the Parties

(CITES-CoP) against Chinese tiger farming. (See related

article<http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english & y=2007\

& m=June & x=20070601170158mlenuhret8.480251e-03>.)

 

 

" It was a pivotal decision for tigers, " said Judy Mills, director of the

Campaign Against Tiger Trafficking (CATT). " The 171 parties agreed by

consensus that tigers should not be bred in captivity for sale of their

parts and derivatives. " A farmed tiger costs more than a wild one, and the

latter is more coveted for medicinal purposes. Conservation experts think

farming will accelerate the extinction of tigers in the wild.

 

" It is now a formal decision thanks in a large part to the leadership of the

United States, " she said, adding this leadership goes back to the 1990s,

when China first declared a ban on tiger product sales.

 

Chinese traditional medicine practitioners at CITES testified in favor of

maintaining the ban on domestic sale of tiger products, and have embraced

alternatives, Mills said, adding that conservationists hope that China will

make the ban permanent.

 

The United States has partnered with India on wildlife conservation issues

for decades, most recently to establish forensic wildlife laboratories where

trafficked animal parts may be identified and traced, and poachers

apprehended.

 

A press release <http://www.state.gov/g/oes/rls/prsrl/2007/94717.htm> on the

workshop is available on the State Department Web site.

 

(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.

Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)