WWF congratulates China for putting wild tigers on the political agenda | WPN World People News

WWF congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping for raising the issue of wild tiger conservation at the Annual National People's Congress & Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (NPC&CPPCC) in Beijing.

A resting Amur Tiger. Amur tigers are found only in Northeastern China and the Russian Far East

“We congratulate President Xi Jinping for putting wild tiger conservation on China’s highest political agenda,” said Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International. “This gives us tremendous optimism not just for the Amur tiger but for wild tigers and our dwindling biodiversity globally.”

PEOPLE.CN reported that during the NPC&CPPCC, President Xi Jinping raised the issue of China’s Amur tigers during a session with the delegate from Jilin Province asking how many tigers there are now, what they ate and what their prospects were for long term survival.

After being told there were 27 tigers in the Province, Xi Jinping was reported to have said: “This is a good sign. The critical point is we need to follow nature’s rules to make our work ‘solid’ referring to the need for practical action on the ground.”

“This shows that China is paying attention to economic development and at the same time to environmental and ecosystem sustainability,” said Sze Ping Lo, CEO of WWF China.

Amur tigers live in two Chinese Provinces: Jilin and Heilongjiang. The last official figure for Chinese Amur tigers was approximately 20, issued by the government in 2010. The majority of Amur tigers live in Russia where major conservation efforts have been undertaken, however recently released camera trap footage of a tigress and her cubs, 30 kilometres from the China-Russian border, showed that wild Amur tigers are breeding in China.

“This increase shows the great tiger conservation work China has been carrying out,” said Shi Quanhua, Head of Asia Big Cats Programme, WWF China. “The next step is for the government to carry out a full Amur tiger census in order to obtain a full understanding of the tiger population situation in China, so we can implement the practical work needed on the ground to ensure the tigers have the space, food and protection they require to thrive.”

Former Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, was among tiger country leaders that attended the Tiger Summit in St Petersburg, 2010. With as few as 3200 wild tigers remaining tiger countries pledged to double global tiger numbers, a goal known as Tx2.

At the Dhaka Conference in September 2014, tiger countries agreed to release a new global tiger population figure in 2016, the halfway point to Tx2.

India’s latest survey showed an increase from 1706 in 2010 to 2226. Figures are also known for Nepal. Russia and Bangladesh are currently carrying out surveys and results are expected from Bhutan later this year. Experts suggest there may be 250-340 tigers left in Malaysia, down from the previous estimate of 500, but a comprehensive census is urgently needed here as well in Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Viet Nam.

This news comes on the back of China’s recent conservation success with pandas, the latest panda survey showing a 16.8% increase to 1864.

Source: World Wildlife Fund