Nations pledge to double tiger count by 2022

New Delhi, Jul 18: A group of 13 nations, which are in the wake of endangered tigers pledged to act together to save the big cats from extinction and double them by the year 2022. The number of wild tigers at present is around 3,200.

The resolution to save tigers was taken at a recent meeting held at Bali in Indonesia by the nations along with the World Bank's Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) to develop plans to increase the tiger count.

The plan will be a guidebook for the tiger conservation to be adopted at the first global summit on tigers, to be held in Sep 2010 at St Petersburg in Russia. The summit will be attended by the countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam besides Russia.

The officials at the meet accorded to prepare a national action plan comprising a Global Tiger Recovery Programme for adoption at the Tiger Summit, reported a statement from the International Fund for Animal Welfare. This plan includes enabling law enforcement officials to combat poaching and illegal trafficking of tigers.

The proposed plans will also commit tiger range States to strengthen national legislation and law enforcement to battle crime against tigers and increase systematic patrolling to safeguard tigers, their prey and habitat.

Tiger count has been facing threats due to the increasing demand for their skin and body parts including bones and whiskers in the global market.

OneIndia News