WWF - News from the Amur-Heilong

Photos document success of prey recovery program for endangered Amur tigers

2012-12-03

Jilin, China -- A group of captive-bred red deer that were released into a nature reserve in Northeast China's Changbai Mountains four months ago have adapted to the area and successfully integrated with wild deer, photos and a video clip by forestry workers show.

The images mark a major progress in the effort to boost prey population for endangered wild Amur tigers, part of a tiger recovery trial project run by WWF China, the Jilin Provincial Forestry Department and the Wangqing Forestry Bureau.

Three individuals, among a group of five deer that were captured in photos and a short video clip, were identified as captive-bred red deer. Another was believed to be wild, but the remaining deer could not be identified due to its position in the pictures.

"This is an indication that the released deer have settled in the wild," said Shi Quanhua, a programme officer at WWF China's Northeast field office who is in charge of repopulating the prey for Amur tigers.

"The merger of captive-bred deer with wild group is conducive to population growth in the wild. It will also increase the generic diversity of the wild deer, whose density has been extremely low, enhance the population dynamics and eventually accelerate the wild population recovery," said Shi.

More than 30 hand-picked captive-bred red and sika deer were released into the wild in Wangqing on July 29 - Global Tiger Day - to help repopulate the area with desirable prey for Amur tigers.

No space, no food for China's tigers

Habitat degradation, deforestation, poaching and a small prey base in the country's northeast have led the wild tiger population to decline from an estimated 200 to about 20 today within the past five decades. Wild Amur tigers in China are mostly confined to the Changbai Mountains area in Jilin Province and Wanda Mountains in Heilongjiang Province.

The adjacent forested habitat of the Russian Far East holds a significantly larger population, between 430-500 tigers.

But recent sightings show that the population is slowly moving across the Chinese border and into the country's Wanda and Changbai mountains, part of the Wangqing Nature Reserve.

A recent WWF-backed survey shows that the lack of prey is a major hurdle in supporting the settlement of tigers in Northeast China. The same survey shows that the number of ungulate animals in the Changbai area - especially favored prey such as red deer and sika deer - is too low to support the recovery of the Amur tiger population.

"The future of Amur tigers can only be secured if its prey population is given time to recover. That's the crucial first step," said Dr. Zhu Jiang, head of WWF-China's Northeast Programme Office.

"The images show that it is possible to increase the prey stock by releasing captive-bred deer into the wild. As the trial project develops, WWF China is keen to promote the model across the entire Changbai Mountains area to accelerate the restoration of a healthy and complete ecological system. That would contribute to the efforts toward the goal of doubling the population of wild Amur tigers by 2020," said Zhu.

Deputy director of the Wangqing Forestry Bureau, Tang Lijun, said the authority is to strengthen law enforcement on wildlife protection and enhance its cooperation with WWF China, especially on exploration on recovery of ungulate animals' population, as part of its commitment to providing better living conditions for Amur tigers.

WWF-China and its partners are carrying out a number of conservation measures to save the Amur tiger. These include helping ungulate populations such as wild boar and roe deer to recover; stopping poaching by helping local authorities carry out anti-poaching activities; and increasing and connecting protected tiger habitats so tigers can safely move from one area to another.

One tiger needs to eat the equivalent of a medium size deer every week to survive and without adequate food, the tiger population rapidly declines.

For more information please contact:

Qiu Wei, Senior Communications Officer, WWF China, wqiu@wwfchina.org, +86 10 6511 6272

Tiger killer given strong punishment

2012-11-15

A Russian man convicted of killing an endangered Amur tiger has been sentenced to 14 months disciplinary labour and required to pay a fine of US$ 18,500. The perpetrator's hunting rights have also revoked and his firearm confiscated.

During the course of the trial investigators were able to prove that the killing was intentional, not self-defence as the man purported. Forensic evidence demonstrated that the man was a long distance from the tiger when the initial shots were fired and that the animal tried to flee and hide from the hunter.

The man pursued the wounded tiger, which made a final feeble attempt to defend itself before the fatal shot was fired at close range. The hunter sustained a scratch on his face and a broken finger. If not weakened, such a blow would have caused much more severe injuries.

WWF staff-members are greatly saddened by the death of the tiger, with which they were familiar with from years of conservation work in the area.

"We have met this male when doing annual winter tiger monitoring. It was never regarded as a conflict tiger," said Pavel Fomenko, biodiversity conservation program coordinator at WWF-Russia's Amur branch. "Examination of its dead body proved that the tiger was satiated and well-nourished. And a healthy and well-fed tiger never attacks a human if it is not wounded or threatened."

Dr Sergei Aramilev, species program coordinator says: "I'm glad that a guilty verdict for tiger killers in Russia is becoming the norm. The principle of unavoidability of punishment works. This is the third guilty verdict in the past three years. For comparison, in the period since the collapse of the USSR to 2009 only one guilty verdict was imposed. All the rest of the poachers managed to evade responsibility that time."

There are only an estimated 3.200 tigers remaining in the wild. They are being hunted for their pelts, bones and other parts that are prized as ornaments and used in traditional medicine. WWF and partner TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, are campaigning for greater protection for tigers and stronger penalties for poachers and traffickers. We are also calling on consumer countries of tiger products, such as China, to undertake widespread demand reduction campaigns to discourage the use of endangered species products.

Russia and Germany: cooperation on climate stabilization and conservation of Korean pine forests within the range of the Amur tiger

2012-09-18

Today, on 18th September, the Russian-German Symposium "Forest climate projects of the Russian Far East: innovative mechanisms for sustainable development" is taking place in Khabarovsk

The organizers and initiators of the Symposium are WWF and the Far Eastern Forest Management Research Institute (DalNIILKH). Its Russian participants include the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Federal Forestry Agency (Rosleskhos), Sberbank of Russia, Far Eastern regional divisions of Rosleskhoz and the Natural Resource Use Control Agency (Rosprirodnadzor), the Administrations of Khabarovsky, Primorsky and Evreiskaya Provinces, the Forestry Agencies from these provinces, the Institute of Economic Research of the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Science, Primorskaya Agricultural Academy, federal forest inventory and analysis organizations Roslesinforg and Dallesproject. Regional businessmen such as the leasers of nut harvesting zones and processers of Korean pine nuts are participating, as well as the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Primorsky Province, the indigenous peoples' enterprise "Tiger" and WWF Russia.

Among the participants from Germany are representatives of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany (BMU), German Development Bank (KfW), the consulting company GFA ENVEST and WWF Germany.

The symposium is devoted to issues of Russian-German cooperation for climate stabilization and nature protection. The focus is on the results of the pathbreaking Bikin River Basin climate project, the first ever implemented in the Russian Far East within the framework of the Kyoto protocol. The project aims for the conservation of large massif of intact forests in the Bikin River Basin that are key habitats for the Amur tiger. This project was launched in 2009 by WWF Russia and WWF Germany in Primorsky Province in partnership with the indigenous peoples' enterprise "Tiger" and financed by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany (BMU) and German Development Bank (KfW) within the framework of the International Climate Initiative of the German Government.

"The Bikin River Basin is the last remaining untouched massif of temperate old-growth forests in the Russian Far East, home for the Udege and Nanai indigenous peoples and haven for the Amur tiger, - says Vladimir Shirko, the president of the Association of indigenous peoples of Primorsky Province. – Thanks to the support of WWF and the Forestry Agency of Primorsky Province, 461 thousand hectares of the Bikin pine nut harvesting zone and water protection forests were leased to the indigenous peoples' enterprise "Tiger" on a 49-year conservation concession for the harvesting of non-timber forest resources such as Korean pine nuts."

"As the forests of the Bikin River Basin sequester significant amounts of CO2 and play an important role in the mitigation of climate change, this project has been supported as part of the International Initiative of the German Government on global climate stabilization, - comments Yury Darman, head of WWF-Russia Amur branch. – The received funds were used to cover payments for the conservation concession as well as development of forest inventory and a management plan, forest fire prevention measures and anti-poaching activities, the construction of facilities for collection and processing of non-timber forest products. And most importantly, all necessary documentation for receiving carbon credits as part of the Kyoto Protocol was prepared for the first time."

Due to the success of joint Russia-Germany efforts, the BMU and KfW launched at the World Tiger Forum (St-Petersburg, November 21-24, 2010) a new large scale project on conservation of Korean pine forests in the Amur tiger habitats, which was started in August 2011 in Primorsky, Khabarovsky and Evreiskaya Provinces. Thus, the Russian-Germany Climate Initiative is helping to implement the Kyoto Protocol, and simultaneously conserving valuable ecosystems, biodiversity and traditional natural resource use by local communities.

«As part of the partnership between Russia and Germany the Bikin Pilot Project enables the development of innovative market mechanisms for nature protection by means of biodiversity conservation and climate stabilization, – says Juergen Keinhorst, head of the division for cooperation with Eastern European countries of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany (BMU). – In future this model should allow for the conservation of similar forest areas that are valuable for climate stabilization and biodiversity conservation. Thus, we can regard the joint Russian-German project as a pioneer in this field".

"On July 17, 2011 in the course of bilateral negotiations between Angela Merkel and Dmitry Medvedev a Memorandum of Understanding on support for the project «Protection of virgin forests of the Bikin River to reduce climate change impact (The Russian Far East)» was signed, - notes Irina Fominykh, deputy director of the International Cooperation Department at the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources. – So, the Bikin Project has received support at high levels of the government, thus providing possibilities for international financial assistance for conservation of intact forests".

"Thanks to the inclusion of Korean pine in the List of tree species forbidden for harvesting and strengthening of governmental and civil society control of illegal logging we have managed to stop the reduction of Korean pine-broadleaved forests in the Russian Far East, - says Aleksander Mariev, head of Forest Use and Regeneration Department of the Federal Forestry Agency. – And leasing Korean pine harvesting zones for the harvest of non-timber forest products provides for protection and sustainable use of about one million hectares of Korean pine forests, uniting the interests of both local people and tigers."

At the symposium in Khabarovsk new mechanisms for nature protection and regional development are being discussed that have perspective for conservation of Korean pine forests in the range of the Amur tiger in Khabarovsky, Primorsky and Evreiskaya Provinces. Special attention is being paid to the roles of the Bikin and Korean Pine Projects in fulfilling the commitments Russia has made for tiger conservation. There is also discussion of development of legislation on climate and carbon markets in Russia, complex and sustainable use of Korean pine forests, the importance of Koran pine harvesting zones for the local economy, establishing new forest protected areas and improving management of the existing protected areas.

WWF-Russia Amur branch director receives an honorable award

2012-09-12

IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas honored Yury Darman, head of WWF-Russia Amur branch, with Fred Packard Award 2012 for great contribution to protected areas management in the Russian Far East.

The International Fred Packard Award is presented to specialists for outstanding services and commitment to the enhancement of protected areas. Fred Packard, who established this award, served as Secretary to the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas in the early 1970s and established this award.

The first Russian who received this award in 1992 was Vasily Krinitsky, the head of nature protected areas management department of Glavpriroda (the USSR main Administration for zapovedniks). In 2004 Vsevolod Stepanitsky became the second Russian presented with this award, now he is heading the system of protected areas in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation.

"Only a person who strongly believes that nature is the basis of life on Earth can devote 35 years to struggling for creation of the network of protected areas in the Russian Far East and increasing it by 4,6 million hectares", said Eugeny Shvarts, director of Conservation Policy at WWF Russia. "It was Yury's idea to create a new protected area in the habitat of the Far Eastern leopard. Even I doubted that this goal was realistic. This year "Land of Leopard" National Park was finally established. On the whole 61 new protected areas were created within the Amur River basin under Yury's leadership!"

Besides other Fred Packard Award laureates of 2012 are Ibrahim Bello from Niger, Julia Miranda Londono and Antonio Negrete from Columbia.

Prey for China's endangered wild Amur tigers released on Global Tiger Day

2012-07-29

Wangqing, China – Over 30 captive-bred red and sika deer have been released into the wild in Northeast China's Wangqing Nature Reserve to help repopulate the area with desirable prey, giving the country's endangered wild Amur tigers plenty to celebrate on Global Tiger Day.

The release is part of a tiger recovery trial project run by WWF, the Jilin Provincial Forestry Department and the Wangqing Forestry Bureau and represents a crucial first step in providing the living conditions Amur tigers need to thrive in the reserve's rugged Changbaishan area.

"There is very little prey for the 20 Amur tigers now living in Changbaishan, and this limits their numbers in China. Increasing the breeding population of the prey will help attract more Amur Tigers in the long run," said Fan Zhiyong, Director of WWF China's species programme.

Open publication - Free publishing - More amur tiger

One tiger needs to eat the equivalent of a medium size deer every week to survive and without adequate food, the tiger population rapidly declines. Many of Asia's forests are already considered 'empty', with many trees but few animals.

Fifty years of decline

Over the past fifty years, the population of wild Amur tigers in Northeast China has declined from an estimated 200 to 20 today, due to massive pressure from deforestation, economic development, and poaching.

There are an estimated 450 Amur tigers now living in the Russian Far East, but recent sightings show that the population is slowly moving across the Chinese border and into the country's Wandashan and Changbaishan mountains, part of the Wangqing Nature Reserve.

However, a recent WWF-backed survey shows that the lack of prey is a major hurdle in supporting the settlement of tigers in Northeast China. The same survey shows that the number of ungulate animals in the Changbaishan area - especially favored prey such as red deer and sika deer - is too low to support the recovery of the Amur tiger population.

"Density of red deer and wild boar, for example, is only 0.3 per square kilometer, less than half the number in neighboring Russia. The low prey density in China means it would be extremely difficult for the area's forests to support the recovery of the tiger population," said Dr. Zhu Jiang, Head of WWF China's Northeast Office.

"Part of the solution is to increase the stock of available prey. We're also working on habitat restoration, and stepping up monitoring to stop poaching," noted Dr. Zhu. "This initial trial will help create the conditions needed to support the survival of at least one female tiger within the Wangqing Nature Reserve."

For further information:

Zeng Ming (曾铭), Head of Press, WWF China, +86 10 6511 6298, mzeng@wwfchina.org

Global Tiger Day - spare a thought for tiger prey too!

2012-07-29

As tiger range countries today celebrate Global Tiger Day, WWF is urging the governments to raise efforts to work towards Zero Poaching of tiger prey as well as tigers.

With wild tiger numbers as low as 3,200, direct, targeted poaching of tigers is the most immediate danger for the species today. However, a serious contributing factor to the plight of the tiger is the widespread decline of its forest larder – the deer, wild pigs and wild cattle such as the Gaur.

One tiger needs to eat the equivalent of a medium size deer every week to survive and without adequate food, the tiger population declines very fast. Too many forests of Asia are classed as 'empty forests" – the trees are there but the animals are gone. Anti-poaching efforts therefore must be targeted at protecting both the tiger and its prey.

Poachers very often focus on tiger prey rather than tigers themselves. Prey animals are sought by local poachers to supply the local food market. Many of these prey species are also highly endangered and often neglected by conservation efforts. Yet, they can also benefit from the extra protection given to the tiger.

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"Without protecting the tiger's prey from poaching and forest degradation, achieving the target of doubling wild tiger numbers by 2022 is impossible," said Mike Baltzer, Leader of WWF's Tigers Alive Initiative. "The survival of the prey is key to the survival of the tiger."

Tackling poaching requires high levels of professionally managed security. But if the local community is against the park or the tigers, then the continued efforts of the poachers will overwhelm even the best-trained, motivated rangers who are at the frontline protecting tigers.

A long-term WWF project in southern Thailand, working intensively with the local communities living around Kuiburi National Park, has reduced poaching by four-fold and doubled tiger prey population. The project clearly demonstrates that when local communities are well mobilized, they can be a very powerful and essential force against poaching.

Working towards Zero Poaching requires serious government intervention. The WWF Wildlife Crime Scorecard released on Monday reported that more than 200 tiger carcasses are being seized from illegal trade each year and that most countries were very far from providing protection against poaching and illegal wildlife trade, particularly those countries like China and Vietnam, where illegal traders know there is a strong demand for tiger-based products.

WWF is today releasing a short film "Confessions of an ex-poacher" that highlights the destructive trade. Interviews with two former poachers turned tiger protectors give insights into this illicit world that drives forests to become lucrative hunting grounds for poachers and making tigers their livelihoods. The film also discusses steps needed to stem out poaching in the heartland areas of forests where tigers breed. One of these is to provide those at the frontlines protecting tigers – rangers, protected area officials and local communities – with the right tools to eradicate poaching.

Local communities and protected area staff, particularly rangers or specialized enforcement officers, are the frontline against poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. Rangers put their life on the line everyday to keep wild tigers and their prey safe. They are critical in achieving Zero Poaching, yet are not always fully appreciated for their important role. WWF will be launching a special action on International Rangers Day on 31 July to honour these unsung heroes.

Elsewhere, WWF offices in tiger range countries are also joining governments and civil society in a range of Global Tiger Day celebratory events.

Bhutan: A special community event will be held in line with the theme of this year's Global Tiger Day – "Tiger and community co-existing in harmony for mutual survival". It will be held in Trongsa in central Bhutan, with a community that has been working on tiger conservation. There will be a skid presented by the community and a poster competition for students.

China: WWF will launch a pilot deer reintroduction programme in Wangqing Nature Reserve in northeast China, at a site where tracks of both the Amur tiger and the Amur leopard have been discovered frequently. This is part of a bigger tiger conservation programme aimed at recovering tiger prey density and restoring the habitat. A special launch ceremony will be held with officials, representatives from partner organizations and media in attendance.

Nepal: A series of public service announcements will be launched to promote awareness of the need to stop wildlife trade. There will also be a formal declaration of the results of the tiger count conducted in Bardia National Park earlier in the year. WWF will also hold an art competition for students in the Terai Arc region.

For further information:

Soh-Koon Chng, WWF Tigers Alive Initiative, +65 9772 2552, skchng@wwf.org.my

Big investments needed in Asia-Pacific's dwindling natural capital

2012-06-05

Manila, Philippines – Booming economic development and per-capita consumption across the Asia-Pacific region is burning up more natural resources than are available, placing enormous pressure on the region's already heavily taxed forests, rivers and oceans, says a new WWF report on the value of Asia's natural capital.

Produced in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Ecological Footprint and Investment in Natural Capital in Asia and the Pacific report – a regional perspective on elements of the recently-released Living Planet Report – focuses on attainable methods of preserving key regional ecosystems including the unique forests of Borneo, the marine wealth of the Coral Triangle, the Mekong region's diverse habitats, as well as the mountainous Eastern Himalayas.

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"Across the Asia-Pacific region, the gap between human demand for natural resources and the environment's ability to replenish those resources is widening," said WWF's Director General Jim Leape. "In 2008, the natural resources available per person, in places as diverse as the Eastern Himalayas and Mekong river basin, shrunk by about two thirds compared to 1970. Tragically, the rate of species loss was about twice the global average over this period," he added.

The new report uses the Living Planet Index (LPI) to measure changes in the health of ecosystems across the Asia-Pacific region. The global index fell by 28 per cent from 1970 and 2008, while the Indo-Pacific region saw a shocking 64 per cent decline in key populations of species over the same period.

"The Indo-Pacific realm has undergone the most rapid economic and demographic transition of any region in the world since 1970," said Jonathan Loh from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the organization that keeps track of the index. "Across most of tropical Asia and the Pacific, the population grew from about 1.2 billion to 2.6 billion, which is alone enough to double the pressures placed on the area's natural resources. Coupled with the dramatic increase in per capita consumption across the entire Asia-Pacific region, it becomes clear that reversing this downward trend needs systemic changes to our economies and the way we produce and consume natural resources," he added.

Asia's biggest footprints: the individual and the nation

Australia, Singapore, Mongolia, South Korea, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and China round out the top 10 Ecological Footprints per capita in the Asia-Pacific region.

Asia-Pacific residents still consume on average close to 60 per cent less than the global average of over one and half planets per person, but major disparities exist. The per-capita Ecological Footprint of Australia, for example, is the highest in the region – 14 times larger than Timor-Leste.

From a national level, China has the largest footprint of all the countries of Asia and the Pacific, due to its large population. China and India, the report says, are likely to experience the greatest increase in overall Ecological Footprint by 2015, representing 37 per cent of the projected global footprint.

"Over the next 20 years, hundreds of millions of new consumers will be added to those already living in Asia and the Pacific today – driving up demand for energy, food, metals, and water," said Jim Leape. "We need to create mechanisms that make protecting those resources the right economic choice for the communities that use and depend on them."

Regional solutions for the health of the planet

The Ecological Footprint and Investment in Natural Capital in Asia and the Pacific report outlines four key solutions that are working to reverse the declining Living Planet Index in four major regions: the Heart of Borneo, the Coral Triangle, the Greater Mekong sub-region and the Eastern Himalayas. All of these areas are extremely important as they provide millions of people with food, water and energy – and harbour countless valuable species of plants and animals.

Policies that recognize the importance of the environment early on in the planning process is one part of the equation, says the report, as are well-funded and monitored marine and terrestrial protected areas. Payment for ecosystem services under programmes such as REDD also play an important role, as do private-sector sustainability initiatives. For example, many businesses in the region are already showing how sustainably produced commodities – including cotton, soy, palm oil, fish and timber – bring big gains for people and also the environment.

"We must move toward deeper structural and systemic change in the way goods are manufactured and services provided," said ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda. "The green economy itself can become an engine of growth and the driver for a new generation of green jobs—bringing a higher quality of life."

Rio+20

Released on World Environment Day and only three weeks before the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Ecological Footprint and Investment in Natural Capital in Asia and the Pacific report presents a solution-oriented look at what leaders attending the Earth Summit need to focus on most – reconfirming their commitment to creating a sustainable future.

"The challenges presented in the Asia-Pacific footprint report show us that we are living beyond our means. But it also clearly identifies attainable solutions that build on the strength of partnerships at local, regional and international levels," said Leape. "Rio+20 offers governments, businesses and civil society a unique opportunity to develop even more innovative solutions to ensuring we preserve the natural wealth of our planet," he added.

ADB and WWF have worked in partnership since 2001 on mainstreaming environment in development and supporting the countries of Asia and the Pacific in conserving their natural capital.

Wild tigers remain vulnerable to poaching in most protected areas

2012-05-12

A recent preliminary assessment of 63 legally protected areas in seven tiger range countries shows that only 22, or 35%, maintain WWF's minimum standards of protection. This indicates that the areas set up to protect tigers and other threatened species are not necessarily the refuge they are designed to be, says WWF.

"Poaching is the most immediate threat to tigers and protected areas are the first line of defence against poaching," says Mike Baltzer, Leader of WWF's Tigers Alive Initiative. "If this preliminary assessment reflects the full situation on-the-ground, then protected areas are not functioning as an effective safe haven for tigers. Without places tigers can be safer from poaching, there is no hope to meet the target of more than 6,000 tigers by 2022."

In November 2010 at the "Tiger Summit" in St. Petersburg hosted by the Government of Russia and the World Bank, the 13 Tiger Range Governments and partners committed to doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022. From 15-17 May 2012, they will meet again to assess progress and plan the next steps.

Poaching of tigers, to meet consumer demand for their body parts and products, is now the main factor reversing the gains made by governments, donors and other partners working towards the 2022 goal. The meeting in New Delhi next week provides a perfect opportunity for the 13 countries to immediately launch an elevated operation to improve the protection of sites critical to tigers and take deliberate action towards Zero Poaching.

WWF's internal preliminary assessment covered 84 locations, 63 of which are legally protected areas, in seven of the 12 countries where WWF currently works on tiger conservation. Scientists, researchers and managers working in the field, have determined these sites to be critical for wild tiger population growth.

Each site was evaluated on three critical factors for protecting tigers: the number of protected area staff, the use of law enforcement monitoring tools, and whether the park was officially protected by law. Data for the assessment was collected from published sources and through a survey of WWF field staff and managers of the sites wherever available.

Results from the assessment showed that staff and WWF field personnel from 41 of the 63 protected areas, or 65%, feel there are not enough staff to protect those areas and achieve Zero Poaching. One example is Malaysia's Royal Belum State Park, critical for the survival of the Malayan tiger and where considerable poaching activity has been documented. Although occupying an area of over 1,000 km2, the park only has 17 enforcement staff. In contrast, protected areas such as Kaziranga National Park in India, with approximately 800 enforcement staff for about 860 km2, have been able to stem poaching activity. In Nepal, 2011 was recently celebrated as a Zero Poaching year for rhinos, which was largely attributed to the increase of range posts across several protected areas from 7 to 51.

The assessment also indicated that only 18 of the protected areas surveyed, or 29%, are currently using computer-based, law enforcement monitoring systems to help them manage their sites more effectively; the majority still rely on manual analysis. The number using computer technology should increase as two new systems, MSTrIPES and SMART, are rolled out in many protected areas in the next few months.

"Clearly, a large number of areas important for tigers urgently need increased investment in protection and enforcement," said Mr. Craig Bruce, WWF's expert on enforcement and protection of wild tigers. "Tiger range governments should immediately and dramatically increase their commitment and investment in securing these sites. They should ensure there are sufficient, effective and dedicated enforcement teams on the ground, working towards Zero Poaching."

WWF has identified three actions tiger range governments can take immediately to launch an elevated operation towards Zero Poaching. These include identifying and delineating the most important sites requiring good protection from poaching, and ensuring these sites have sufficient numbers of enforcement staff who are well trained to monitor and improve their effectiveness by using monitoring systems. WWF also suggests that the police and judiciary need to help to ensure strict punishment on poaching and to actively engage local communities living adjacent to important tiger conservation areas.

For further information:

Soh-Koon Chng, Tigers Alive Initiative, +65 9772 2552, skchng@wwf.org.my

Population of world's most endangered leopard grows in China

2012-04-27

Changchun, China - Northeast China's Jilin Province Department of Forestry says the endangered Amur leopard population has almost doubled in the province, and now numbers between 8 and 11 individuals according to findings from a new survey.

The results from the first-ever study to exclusively examine Amur leopards shows that traces of the rare big cats are now being found over a much larger area in and outside of northeast China's Hunchun and Wangqing Nature Reserves, covering about 4100km², an area similar in size to French Polynesia.

"The Amur leopard is critically endangered, and this research into population monitoring, habitat restoration and population migration characteristics is urgent for the survival of the species," said the head of WWF-China's Northeast Programme Office, Dr Zhu Jiang.

The Amur leopard is incredibly rare in the wild, and the species is the most endangered feline in the world, surpassing even the Amur tiger in rarity. Less than 50 now live in north eastern China and the Russian Far East.

Survey brings clarity

Compared to data from a 1998-1999 survey on tigers - which also picked up traces of Amur leopards - the new study found evidence that the leopard's distribution area in China expanded further to the northwest of Jilin province and towards the Sino-Russian border in the east. This represents an area 3-4 times bigger than previous findings, and a leopard population that's 1.8 times larger.  

"The results of this new survey show even more clearly that the Hunchun-Wangqing habitat is an important one for the Amur leopard, and that the nearby Changbai Mountain leopard population is essential to support the continued survival of the Russian Far East population group. The two areas are indispensible to the recovery of the global Amur leopard population, and are the greatest hope for expanding both the population and the habitat of the species," said Dr. Zhu Jiang.

First known survey on China's wild Amur leopard population

This is the first time China has conducted a survey that exclusively focuses on Amur leopard population numbers, habitat location and habitat size in Jilin Province. The next stage, says Jilin Forestry Department's Senior Engineer and Tiger-Leopard Programme Officer Jiang Jinsong, will cover a larger area, using infrared camera traps and DNA monitoring technology.

"Based on the results of this survey, the first trial areas will be the Hunchun and Wangqing reserves, where constant collection of information on individuals as well as monitoring of activity patterns among the general population will serve to build up a core of information on the settled Amur leopard and Siberian tiger populations," said Jiang Jinsong.

WWF's role

WWF will continue to work with the Jilin Forestry Department, Hunchun Nature Reserve and Wangqing Forestry Bureau to continue monitoring population trends, assess habitat quality and the restoration of prey species. WWF will also maintain its contributions to the development of monitoring technology and anti-poaching management to help restore the Amur leopard population in China.

For more information contact:

Zeng Ming (曾铭), Head of Press, WWF China, +86 10 6511 6298, mzeng@wwfchina.org

Tiger Summit anniversary elicits WWF call for elevated action to end poaching

2011-11-23

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - One year after the landmark international meeting aimed at saving the tiger from extinction, the growing energy, effort and collaboration between governments, NGOs and communities now needs to be focused on putting an end to tiger poaching, the most immediate cause of the tiger's decline and the greatest barrier to achieving the goal of doubling the number of tigers in the wild by 2022.

The will shown by the leaders of the tiger range governments at the Tiger Summit now needs to be aimed at solving the problem of poaching. While many other components of the plan launched at the Summit are more complicated, putting an end to poaching of the last remaining populations of tigers and their prey requires direct action to make national parks, protected areas and tiger reserves effective refuges for tigers against poachers.

Tiger Summit

The International Tiger Forum, aka the Tiger Summit, hosted by Russian Prime Minister Putin in St. Petersburg and attended by world leaders a year ago, set out an ambitious agenda of reversing the downturn. The Summit's main outcome was an agreement to double tiger numbers by 2022 (Tx2) through the Global Tiger Recovery Programme, a document endorsed by all 13 of the countries that currently have wild tiger populations.

"Last November marked a milestone in the race to save the tiger from disappearing in the very near future," stated Mike Baltzer, Leader of WWF's Tigers Alive Initiative. "While the governments' energy and commitment is to be commended, the main cause of the decline, poaching, continues to devastate tiger numbers, and is an issue we must address with renewed vigour. Without an end to poaching, we will never get on the path of recovery. We need an elevation of action aimed directly towards zero poaching now if we are to reach the goal of doubling the number of tigers".

Lack of serious anti-poaching deterrents

Recent high profile stories demonstrate that poaching is still a crime without serious deterrents. In October on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a tiger trader caught with a skin he intended to sell received only a small fine and less than half the maximum prison sentence allowable under law after being convicted. Just a few weeks later in China, an Amur (Siberian) tiger, already a rare presence in country's border with the Russian Far East, was killed after being caught in an illegal snare.

"These incidences highlight the tiger's still precarious position, and the first step is to stop tiger killings at their source," said Craig Bruce, Protected Area and Enforcement Specialist for the WWF Tigers Alive Initiative. "Many of the protected areas that we rely on to provide refuge to tigers are poorly managed and poorly resourced. A very simple and immediate strategy is to ensure that these areas provide the refuge for which they were created. Improving their management is the most straightforward part of tiger conservation, but it requires the will of the tiger countries."

WWF calls for concrete action to build the capacity of the rangers, officials and local communities that are putting their lives on the line every day protecting tigers.

"Ideally we need to have a complete end to poaching," said Baltzer. "Criminal networks are feasting off these amazing natural assets and icons of the wild, and with their killing methods growing and becoming more sophisticated, this task will only grow more and more difficult. We must act now."

Stamping out poaching

Though halting poaching of tigers at their source is the immediate concern, efforts are required to reduce the demand for tigers and their parts that is presently fuelling the poaching. A WWF and TRAFFIC workshop held in Hong Kong this week brought together creative experts from NGOs, universities, governments and the media to address the issue, and seek new solutions for the growing appetite for tigers in Asia.

While setting a spark for a zero poaching future is the most immediate priority, some progress has been made since the Summit. The announcement earlier this month by INTERPOL of the formation of Project Predator, a consortium of international agencies and governments uniting police, customs and wildlife officials to stop tiger poaching and trafficking represents just one of many initiatives ignited across the world by the Summit and the dedication shown by the leaders at the meeting.

WWF is committed to halting the poaching of tigers and their prey. This year it has been working with partners to find better ways to improve the effectiveness of ranger patrols through the development of law enforcement monitoring systems across Asia, training teams in the latest methods, including the MSTRiPES and MIST programmes.

As these programmes develop towards the end of the year and throughout 2012, their integration into current and emerging anti-poaching efforts will be vital to reduce the killing and turn tiger numbers around.

Timber firm could axe endangered Amur tiger habitat

2011-06-10

Primorsky, Russia - The discovery of plans to log key Amur tiger habitat in a proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site has led to a public outcry demanding the cancellation of the logging lease in Russia's Primorsky Province.

WWF Russia and the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Primorsky Province are leading the call against JSC Les Export, a wood harvesting and export company that specializes in parquet flooring.

Primorsky Province in the Russian Far East is one of the last remaining strongholds of the largest of all big cats, the Amur tiger, which numbers less than 500 in the wild.

Old-growth forest
The protests followed Les Export's application for a timber lease in the Bikinsky Pine Nut Harvesting Zone in the Bikin River Basin, part of the largest intact tract of old-growth Korean pine-broadleaf forests in the world (407,300 hectares) and an extremely important habitat for Amur tigers.

But JSC Les Export had already drawn public ire after it gained approval for two forest leases in May 2011, also in valuable tiger habitat.

The two approved leases are in the Pozharsky Pine Nut Harvesting Zone, and the Sredneussuriskiy Provincial Wildlife Refuge, which make up the only ecological corridor connecting the Russian population of Amur tigers with a Chinese population across the border in China's Wandashan Mountains.

"We regard this as betrayal," said Yury Darman, Director of WWF Russia's Amur branch. "JSC Les Export previously agreed that it would not use timber from pine nut harvesting zones or protected areas."

"JSC Les Export's actions go against the company's commitment to work towards certification under the Forest Stewardship Council, an independent organization that promotes responsible management of the world's forests."

"Furthermore, it is a betrayal of the native residents of Bikin – the Udegei and Nanai – whose lives completely depend on traditional use of the riches of this area," said Darman.

"These communities have been defending the Bikin from exploitation since 1992."

Proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site
In November 2010, the Bikin River Basin was submitted as a candidate to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the initiative of the Russian Government.

"This is our forest. We hunt here, fish here, gather medicinal plants here, harvest wood here for our personal needs," said Igor Kukchenko Vice President of the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Primorsky Province.

"The inhabitants of our village Krasniy Yar have spoken out against the leasing of this forest tract by JSC Les Export and any other industrial logging in the Bikin," he added.

On 5 June 2011, Krasniy Yar residents petitioned the provincial and federal governments not to permit leasing of the territory of the middle and upper reaches of the Bikin River for timber harvesting.

The forests have also been under lease since June 2009 by the Indigenous Peoples' Association (which has been named "Tiger") for the processing of pine nuts and medicinal plants.

Big cats in big trouble
Though tiger numbers in the Russian Far East have rebounded in the past 50 years, the big cat is still highly threatened by poaching, human-tiger conflict and exploitation of the area's vast forests.

According to the first chapter of WWF's Living Forests Report released in April 2011, more than 230 million hectares of forest will disappear by 2050 if no action is taken – a disastrous situation for the estimated 3,200 tigers remaining in increasingly isolated pockets of habitat across 13 nations.

China, Russia provinces agree to first transboundary protected area to conserve Amur tigers

2010-08-29

Hunchun, China: Jilin province of China and neighbouring Primorsky province in Russia agreed today to collaborate formally in working towards the first transboundary Amur tiger protected area amidst celebrations for the second annual Amur Tiger Cultural Festival in the northeastern Chinese city of Hunchun.

The signed agreement, facilitated by WWF, the global conservation organization, will help wildlife authorities eventually establish a transboundary protected area – a cooperative conservation network that crosses country borders - in the provinces that are home to the world's largest big cat. The population of the highly endangered Amur tiger is currently estimated at 500.

In the agreement signed by Jilin Provincial Forestry Department of China and two Russia agencies – the Wildlife and Hunting Department of Primorsky Province and Special Inspection "TIGER" of Russia (official name of the Bureau on Protection of Rare and Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna) – the two sides will work together in establishing a tiger conservation protected area in both provinces, as well as partner to restore the endangered species.

"A new transboundary protected area would provide a wider and healthier habitat for Amur tigers and other endangered species, such as the Far East leopard, musk deer and goral," said Yu Changchun, Director of Conservation Department of Jilin Forestry Department.

"While tigers – the species at the top of the eco-system – are better conserved through the agreement, other species, the forest habitat and all the bio-diversity resources will also benefit from this protected area," said Dr. Zhu Chunquan, WWF-China's Conservation Director.

As part of the agreement, Jilin and Primorsky provinces will increase information sharing on Amur tiger and Far East leopard protection, work to adopt identical monitoring systems for tigers and their prey, and conduct joint ecological surveys and develop plans to launch an anti-poaching campaign along the China-Russia boarder.

Destruction and fragmentation of habitat, poaching and lack of prey have reduced the number of wild Amur tigers. One of six remaining subspecies of tigers, (and sometimes referred to as Siberian tiger), the Amur tiger is primarily found in eastern Russia, with a small number in northeastern China. Among that population, 20 tigers have been periodically spotted within the borders of China's Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces.

"This agreement is a great boost for Amur tiger habitats in Russia and China. Since both countries play a crucial role in terms of global tiger recovery, a future transboundary network would represent a big step in WWF's global tiger conservation effort," said Dr. Sergey Aramilev, the Biodiversity Coordinator for Amur Branch of WWF-Russia, which is also involved in promoting the agreement. "There's a lot of work to be done to implement this agreement, such as making sure it receives proper government funding, but this is a major step forward nonetheless."

The agreement marks another milestone during the Chinese Year of the Tiger in 2010. WWF launched the TX2 campaign early this year, which seeks to double the number of wild tigers by the next Year of the Tiger in 2022. A groundbreaking tiger conservation declaration from the 13 countries that still have wild tiger populations was prepared in Bali, Indonesia in July this year, and is due to be signed before the close of Year of the Tiger at a tiger conservation summit hosted by Russia. The Declaration seeks to create a tiger recovery program that is global in scope while also promoting transboundary cooperation amongst the 13 tiger range countries.

Background of the Agreement:

The Amur Tiger Cultural Festival, which runs from Aug. 29-30, will include events such as a tiger conservation and economic development forum, costume parade, art performances and an ecological tour of tiger habitat. The China-Russia agreement will be one of the highlights of this year's festival.

In addition to promoting the transboundary protected area, WWF-China successfully helped establish a protected area for tigers in Jilin. It is also working with northeast China's Heilongjiang province, another important home to Amur tigers, to bring it under the fold of the transboundary protected area. If this plan comes to fruition, the protected area for Amur tigers and other threatened species would double.

While over 95 percent of Amur tigers are now found in Russia, the situation differed in the 1950s. An estimated 50 individuals were then found in the Russian Far East, while across the border in China, the total population stood at about 200. Thanks to anti-poaching efforts and other effective conservation policies, Russia's tiger population recovered and has remained stable.

France gives major boost to international water treaty

2010-06-04

Palais du Pharo, Marseille, France - France is set to become the 20th country to sign up to a key international convention governing the use and protection of rivers and lakes crossing or forming international boundaries.

The announcement, made this morning by French Secretary of State for Ecology Chantal Jouanno at the kick off meeting of the 6th World Water Forum to be held in Marseille in 2012, is a major boost for the 13 years old UN Watercourses Convention, which requires 35 contracting parties to come into effect.

France's accession, which follows that of Guinea-Bissau in May and Spain and Tunisia in 2009, still requires the French Senate to give the green light to a bill authorizing the ratification of the convention. France's National Assembly passed this measure last month.

The Secretary of State for Ecology went on to say that France will actively promote ratification of the Convention.

France's move has been welcomed by Green Cross International (GCI), the International Network of Basin Organisations (INBO) and WWF International, three major organisations that have long campaigned for the convention as the basis for peaceful resolution of disputes over water sharing in international rivers, lakes and aquifers.

"More than 100 nations voted for the UN Watercourses Convention in 1997," said Flavia Loures, leader of the campaign for the widespread endorsement of the convention within WWF's Global Freshwater Programme. "They voted for it because they recognised then that you can have agreement or you can have conflict over water.

"While additional agreements over specific transboundary waters have been adopted between countries since, many such agreements fail to deal with key water management issues. The world still very much needs the fair and overall blueprint supplied by the UN Watercourses Convention."

"As we increasingly wake up to a world of water shortages linked to climate change, economic growth and urbanisation, we are seeing more and more interest in discussions on transboundary water issues, and more and more interest in the convention."

"Acceding to the Convention will not create new obligations for French rivers as they are already subject to more stringent European Union rules. The announcement made by France, as the host country of the next World Water Forum, sends a strong message to the international community on

the importance of improving transboundary water management" said Marie-Laure Vercambre, the Water Programme Leader of Green Cross International.

"France has been anxious to promote an international legal regime for water, the principles of integrated water resources management included in the Convention and a framework for peace within the geopolitics of water."

Currently the only legal instrument dealing with global management of transboundary waters, the UN Watercourses Convention potentially sets standards and rules for cooperation between states sharing some 276 international watercourses - including many of the world's major river systems such as the Amazon, Rio Grande, Indus, Ganges, Mekong, Amur, Nile, Congo, Rhine and Danube.

The convention establishes the principles of equitable and reasonable use of and participation in the sound management of international watercourses, codifies the rights and duties of riparian states, promotes dialogue and data sharing, and facilitates negotiations on the adoption of regional and watercourse treaties.

"France has been at the forefront of national river basin management and transboundary issues since the Water Act of 1964 creating the Basin Committees and Water Agencies," said Jean-François Donzier, Permanent Technical Secretary of INBO. "The rules that the UN Watercourses Convention establishes reflect this French model of river basin management that has now been adopted by some sixty countries around the world.

"This model also inspired the European Union Water Framework Directive, which itself created obligations for the coordinated management of transboundary rivers and mandatory participation of all stakeholders, including civil society, in the water management process.

"France encourages the implementation of these principles of governance within the framework of its international cooperation, in particular by supporting the International Network of Basin Organizations."

The Convention will soon count 20 contracting states, including France – that is, 15 short of the number required for entry into force.

Further information:

Steal for it, shoot for it or sign for it: Stark choices facing a world running short on water at
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/media_backgrounder_steal_for_it_forum_final_nov2009.pdf

Flavia Loures, Senior Program Officer, WWF Global Freshwater Programme, flavia.loures@wwfus.org +1 202 640 9055

Marie-Laure Vercambre, Water Programme Leader of Green Cross International, marie-laure.vercambre@gci.ch +33 6 8004-0481

Christiane Runel, EURO – RIOB, presse-riob@wanadoo.fr ou service-de-presse@oieau.fr

About Green Cross International
Green Cross International (GCI) is a leading environmental organization. Founded by President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993, this non-profit and non-governmental organisation promotes a combination of high level advocacy with key international stakeholders, runs campaigns and manages local projects to address the inter-connected global challenges of security, poverty eradication and environmental degradation. GCI is present in over 30 countries and has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. More information about GCI is available at www.gci.ch www.gci.ch and on twitter@GreenCrossInt

About Europe-INBO
The Europe-INBO group of European basin organizations was created in 2004 to implement the Water Framework Directive by the concerned members of the International Network of Basin Organizations for exchanging field experiences and reporting to the EU Commission about the implementation difficulties.
Europe-INBO also presented at the November 2008 EU Water Directors meeting a mid-term report on the transboundary cooperation organized among the riparian States of European shared watercourses. More information on www.inbo-news.org

About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with more than 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. www.panda.org

Disappearing Greater Mekong tigers underscore global threats

2010-01-26

Hua Hin, Thailand – Tiger numbers have fallen by more than 70 percent in slightly more than a decade in the Greater Mekong, with the region's five countries containing only 350 tigers, according to a new WWF report.

Tigers on the Brink: Facing up to the Challenge in the Greater Mekong, states that tiger populations in the Greater Mekong – an area that includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – have plummeted from an estimated 1,200 during the last Year of the Tiger in 1998 to about 350 today.

Major decline since the last Year of the Tiger

This decline is reflected in the global wild tiger population, which is at an all time low of 3,200 - down from an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 during the last Year of the Tiger. The report states that increasing demand for tiger body parts used in traditional Chinese medicine and habitat fragmentation from unsustainable regional infrastructure development have driven the decline of the region's Indochinese tiger population.

Tigers on the Brink, released today, comes as leaders from tiger range countries prepare to meet for the first Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation in Hua Hin.

Tigers at the tipping point

"Decisive action must be taken to ensure this iconic sub-species does not reach the point of no return," said Nick Cox, Coordinator of the WWF Greater Mekong Tiger Programme. "There is a potential for tiger populations in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to become locally extinct by the next Year of the Tiger in 2022, if we don't step up actions to protect them."

Indochinese tigers historically were found in abundance across the Greater Mekong region. Today, there are no more than 30 individual tigers per country in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The remaining populations are predominantly found in the Kayah Karen Tenasserim mountain border between Thailand and Myanmar.

There is still time to reverse the decline

However, despite these negative trends there is still time to save the Greater Mekong's tigers. The region contains the largest combined tiger habitat in the world. Forest landscapes spanning 540,000km2, or roughly the size of France, are priority areas for current tiger conservation efforts.

"This region has huge potential to increase tiger numbers, but only if there are bold and coordinated efforts across the region and of an unprecedented scale that can protect existing tigers, tiger prey and their habitat," said Cox.

WWF calls on governments to double number of wild tigers by 2022

At the meeting, WWF is calling on ministers of the 13 tiger range countries meeting in Hua Hin to step up efforts to double the numbers of wild tigers by 2022. Tiger range states include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The first Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation, which runs from 27-30 of January, is part of a global political process to secure the tiger's future. These efforts will culminate in a Tiger Summit in Vladivostok, Russia, this September, to be hosted by Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and co-chaired by the World Bank's President Robert Zoellick.

"There is an unprecedented opportunity to galvanise political will and action to turn the tide on wild tiger numbers," said Mike Baltzer, Leader of WWF's Global Tiger Initiative. "But to do this, we must stop the trade in tiger parts, rampant poaching, and secure the tiger's habitats."

Land of Leopard in Flames

2009-10-12

Primorye, Russia - Satellite monitoring of the worst fire season since 1996 in key biodiversity areas of the southernmost part of the Russian Far East has pinpointed a need to make landholders and state authorities take greater responsibility for fires on their land.

The monitoring showed that in the autumn spring fire season of 2008-2009, one third of south-west Primorye – the maritime province bordering China and North Korea - was lost in fires. Among significant wildlife areas affected was the Leopardovyi federal wildlife refuge where 15 forest fires covering 11% of its entire area were registered.

The 169,000 hectare refuge created in 2008 is vital habitat for the Far Eastern leopard (also known as the Amur leopard) which has the dubious distinction of being the world's most endangered large cat. The area is also home to Siberian tigers

"This year we decided to define not only borders of burnt plots but also exact location of fire sources," said Denis Smirnov, head of the Forest Programme at WWF-Russia's Amur branch.

"We then overlapped this data on land users' map and indentified persons and organizations responsible either for fire ignition or for not taking appropriate actions to combat fires".

Results have shown that fires did not only break out in vacant state reserve land or undistributed agricultural lands. More than half of monitored fires broke out on owned or leased land.

For instance, In Leopardovyi refuge significant fires broke out in lands of Agro Khasan Ltd., the largest land owner across Khasanskii district, as well as on army forestry lands.

"To stop further degradation of vital leopard's habitat we are suggesting some priority actions for the provincial and district administrations," Smirnov said.

"First, they need to appoint responsible persons or bodies for fire prevention and suppression on state reserve lands and agricultural lands, and provide funding for these activities. Second, they need to rest responsibility on land owners and leaseholders for combating forest fires on their plots."

The results of satellite monitoring conducted by WWF in cooperation with the non-profit partnership Transparent World were presented earlier this month to the Khasanskii district administration, at a preparatory consultation for the fire season this fall.

The research forms part of a broader WWF project on forest restoration in the leopard's habitats.

Amur tigers threatened by economic crisis

2009-04-24

Primorye, Russia – Loggers in Russia's Far East increasingly are cutting down Korean cedar pine, raising concerns that the endangered Amur tiger could lose critical habitat and its prey could lose a major food source.

Under pressure from the ongoing economic crisis, loggers are turning to the more lucrative Korean cedar pine (Pinus korajensis) as commodity prices for other types of wood fall, which in turn has led to large-scale illegal logging operations in the Ussuriiskaya taiga in Primorye, according to WWF-Russia.

"Chinese importers of the Far Eastern wood have sharply dropped prices and demand for oak and ash wood as an answer to the world crisis," said Denis Smirnov, head of the forest program at WWF-Russia's Amur branch. "These species were the most desired ones for poachers before, but the demand was reduced after export customs duties for these species of timber had been increased from Feb. 1."

"At the same time, Korean pine wood is still highly demanded both in domestic and international markets and is sold at rather high prices," Smirnov said.

Russia's Far East Korean cedar pine forests were heavily logged during the second half of the 20th century, particularly in the late 1990s, which resulted in a 50 percent reduction and left only around 2.88 million hectares of the forests today.

Although P. koraiensis is not nationally protected in Russia, its logging is either prohibited or regulated in certain provinces of Russia and China. However, loggers typically exploit loopholes in regional regulations to launder illegally logged wood, often taking advantage of lax customs controls or by under-declaring the volume of legal exports.

"This rampant and mindless logging is shocking and disturbs the habitat and prey base of some of the rarest animals in the world including the Amur tiger and Amur leopard," said Dr. Susan Lieberman, Director of the Species Programme for WWF-International.

In the Amur region, tiger conservation hinges on protecting the Korean cedar pine. Pine nuts from the tree represent an integral food source for the Amur tiger's prey, such as wild boars. Korean pine-broadleaved forests also provide habitats for the Far Eastern leopard, Asiatic and brown bears, sika deers and many other species. These pine nuts are also sold internationally, benefiting local communities as well.

Awareness of the recently increased demand for Korean cedar pine surfaced after WWF staff, with members of Russia's Internal Affairs Department, the Primorskii Province Forestry Department and Rosselkhoznadzor -- the Federal Service of Veterinary and Phyto-Sanitary Supervision – raided a wood exporter platform in January in the city of Dalnerechensk.

They found about 10 to 15,000 cubic meters of Korean cedar pine originating from illegal logging sites in Dalnerechenskii, Krasnoarmeiskii and Lesozavodskii districts in central and northern Primorye.

Two largest of logging sites, with total volume exceeding 3,000 cubic meters, were found close to the village of Malinovo in an area leased by one of the biggest logging companies in Primorye – JSC "Dalnerechenskles," which is part of the "Dallesprom" group.

Before enforcement of a new Russian Forest Code in 2007, Korean pine held a special status as a species protected from commercial use, which contributed to its conservation. Korean pine has now lost its protective status and increased demand for Korean pine timber along with the complete inaction of regulators and forest control services to address the need for a new special status for the Korean pine have made it an easy target for illegal logging.

The only way to stop the complete destruction of the Far Eastern Korean pine forests is to impose a moratorium on its harvesting, according to WWF. The conservation organization asks that provincial and federal authorities come up with a proposal to urgently add Korean pine into the list of species forbidden to harvest, and to inform importing countries accordingly.

The Amur tiger, which can weigh up to 300 kg and measure around three metres from its nose to the tip of its tail, has come back from the brink of extinction to its highest population for at least 100 years. Only about 40 were alive in 1950 but nowadays there are around 450, one of the strongest tiger populations in the world.

Skin of rare Amur leopard discovered in car

2009-04-21

Ussuriisk, Russia – Police are investigating the killing of an Amur Leopard – one of the rarest animals on earth with only a few dozen left in the wild – after officers discovered the skin of an adult leopard in a private car.

Internal Police Service officers found the dead animal's pelt on 3 April while inspecting a car and the skin was then sent to the Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine of the Primorsky State Agricultural Academy for examination.

Specialists from the academy and experts from the Primorsky province Hunting Department and WWF-Russia identified the skin as belonging to an adult Amur leopard, most likely male. The experts concluded that the leopard, also known as the Far East leopard, likely died of a gunshot wound.

"This finding is another tragic loss for the Far Eastern Leopard population," said Sergey Aramilev, WWF Russia Amur branch biodiversity conservation coordinator, who participated in the examination. "The animal was evidently killed on purpose most probably in order to make money on his skin. From the point of view of ordinary person this killing of the most peaceful predator in Russia is an act of outspoken barbarism, because even in the crisis period there are other easier ways to make one's living."

The skin showed that the leopard most likely died last year, in the spring or autumn of 2008, Aramilev said.

"We took pictures that will allow us to compare the skin's spots pattern with an available database of Far Eastern Leopards skins," Aramilev said. "This will help to identify the individual and the place of his death."

The Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is the most northern-living leopard subspecies with only 30-40 individuals left in the world, according to Natalia Pervushina, co-ordinator of TRAFFIC's Russian Far East programme. The animal is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Russian Red data book as critically endangered, as well as in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, meaning all commercial trade is totally prohibited.

According to the Russian Federation Criminal Code, killing of a Red listed leopard is punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine up to 500, 000 rubles (approx. 15,100 USD).

"WWF Russia and TRAFFIC hope that the Internal Police Service will succeed in tracing the criminals and identifying the animal's killer," Pervushina said.

Steal for it, shoot for it or sign for it - Stark choices facing a world running short on water

2009-03-20

Rivers and lakes are no respecters of international boundaries – indeed they are often the basis of them. And what is true of surface water rivers is even more true of the unseen water underground.

Which competing states own the water that crosses, forms or lies under their borders? What mechanisms exist to stop water being held, diverted, or polluted by one country to the disadvantage of others? What remedies exist if this happens? What basis can there be for the sharing and management of such water for the maximum mutual benefit? What usually happens when too many demands are placed on limited resources in the absence of any procedures or frameworks for considering claims or resolving disputes?

These are not trifling issues. Half the global land surface area and 40 per cent of global population lies in the catchments of the 263 rivers forming or crossing boundaries. Three quarters of the world's countries face potential disputes with neighbours over shared rivers, lakes, wetlands or aquifers.

And as the world becomes more and more concerned over the future of water supplies, it is pertinent to note that nearly two thirds of freshwater flows are involved, tied up in rivers such as the Amur, separating China and Russia, and the mighty and multi-state watercourses of the Amazon, Mekong, Congo, Danube and Rhine.

(C) WWF-Canon / Jamie PITTOCK

Crater Lake National Park, in the headwaters of the Klamath and Rogue Rivers, USA.

In the Middle East five per cent of the world's people survive on one per cent of its water with control of the River Jordan and access to its water a dominant issue in a volatile area. Turkey and Syria have nearly come to blows and Turkey has come into dispute with other neighbours over dams and proposed dams for the Tigris and Euphrates.

Egypt has been ever ready to threaten upstream States on the Nile over any plans they may have for the river. Shortages of water and agricultural land are widely understood to be a key factor underlying the conflict in Darfur and other wars and instability in the region.

India has exchanged harsh words with China over the latter's failure to give warning of flood and landslide events in Tibet which have caused loss of life along the Brahmaputra. And India is only one of a whole range of south and south east Asian States concerned about Chinese plans for power generation and water diversions in the headwaters and major tributaries of the Brahmaputra and Mekong systems. Potentially affected are Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Kampuchea and Vietnam.

Placating power of water agreements

But, India and Pakistan have fought three wars without unduly disturbing the delicate system for distributing the waters of the Indus. This is a remarkable tribute to the potential of international and regional legal instruments to govern arrangements for sharing and caring for international water systems.

Diplomacy over water is hardly new – indeed, arrangements to share water and cooperatively build and operate irrigation systems are now believed to have been among the earliest and most influential precursors of social and political organization from China and South East Asia to Egypt and Mesopotamia and over to central America.

A recent publication by UN Water also notes the placating power of water agreements, noting that in the past 60 years there have been only 37 cases of violence between states over water, which is linked to the presence of 300 international agreements. The publication also notes however that nearly two thirds of international river basins and aquifers are not covered by any form of agreement.

Not all agreements are equal or adequate, however. Problems have endured from poorly formed and inequitable agreements where one party gets the bulk of the water, such as those the colonial British drew up for the Nile and those over border rivers separating the United States and Mexico. Cooperative management frameworks exist for only about 40 per cent of the world's international watercourses. Most are only partially covered, with about 80 per cent of these agreements involving only two parties. The lack of unifying principles behind agreements gives multi-river states problems with administration of inconsistent arrangements from one river basin to another.

Work to resolve these issues started well over 60 years ago and resulted in noted members of the International Law Commission being tasked with coming up with a framework for an international agreement that could not only reduce the potential for conflict but also help shape and guide equitable sharing and appropriate management of international waters.

Their efforts came to fruition in 1997, when an overwhelming majority of countries in the UN General Assembly voted for an International Convention on the Non-Navigational Use of International Watercourses (the UN Watercourses Convention).

The Convention's aim was to "ensure the utilization, development, conservation, management and protection of international watercourses and the promotion of the optimal and sustainable utilisation thereof for present and future generations". This was to be accomplished by procedures for notification of planned measures and exchanges of information on the overall health and status of river systems as well as the events such as floods likely to be of interest to downstream neighbours.

Consistent with the UN's charter, states are bound under an "obligation to seek peaceful settlement of disputes". They are also encouraged to adopt compatible management schemes for shared water basins and measures for dealing with extreme river events such as floods.

Some debate has persisted over whether "the principle of equitable and reasonable utilization and participation" should take precedence over the "obligation not to cause significant harm", or vice versa.

Overwhelming support, minimal action

Voting for the Convention were 103 countries (with another three later notifying a yes vote). Voting against were just three nations, Burundi, China and Turkey. There were 26 abstentions.

The convention was to come into force once ratified by 35 countries. However, the UN Watercourses Convention has languished in limbo, with only 16 signing up in the first decade after its passing – Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Namibia, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Syria and Uzbekistan.

International conventions sometimes do take some time to gather sufficient signatories to come into force but the slow progress of the UN watercourses convention has puzzled many observers of the international scene.

Possible reasons advanced have included "treaty congestion", a lack of knowledge about the convention in critical areas of government in some developing countries, and the reflection of core convention principles in what is termed "customary international law" in the area.

Only one or two countries continue to express public opposition to it, going to the extent of trying to clamp down even its discussion on the convention at related international meetings. But behind the scenes it is clear that implementation of the convention is the subject of less obvious diplomacy.

In its four page brochure for the 2009 World Water Day 2009 – themed around sharing transboundary waters – UN Water neglected to name the convention, contenting itself with the general observation that more needed to be done to bring all international water agreements into effect. Similarly, the issue of whether to even mention the convention was the most heated of the debates on the ministerial declaration from the 5th World Water Forum.

The convention is also clearly being held up by the reluctance of some leading international players such as the US and UK to engage with it. In the UK, where the defence forces have been told to look at future water war scenarios, former International Development Secretary Hillary Benn told WWF UK that the UK government did not believe "that any potential domestic benefits justify the resources that would be required" and "we need to ensure this does not just place a further burden on governments in our partner countries."

"What resources exactly? What burdens? What partner countries? And what has changed since 1997 when we saw no such impediment?" asked noted science and environment journalist, Fred Pearce. In the absence of any answers he speculated that Britain may be deferring to states that didn't want unequal water sharing agreements, such as those between the US and Mexico, to come under question.

Even unratified, however, the Convention is exerting considerable positive impact. China, a state opposing it with the words that states had "indisputable sovereignty over a watercourse which flowed through its territory" has nevertheless adhered to some of its principles in water agreements with some of its 15 neighbours. Many other states have similarly drawn on the principles and sometimes even the language in framing bilateral water agreements.

The International Court of Justice has also used the convention as a reflection of international law in the field from the time it was voted on. And the International Law Commission is currently drafting a compatible international legal instrument to give more adequate coverage to underground aquifers.

We think we need this convention now and urgently

With more advocacy from WWF and other groups, awareness of the convention is increasing. In 2009, Tunisia acceded to the Convention and Spain – a significant "upstream" state - took the number of ratifying States past the required half way mark. The Palestinian Authority also signalled its intention to ratify if it attained statehood, meaning that potentially four out of the five Jordan River jurisdictions had committed themselves. A number of new countries are also shortly expected to announce their intent to ratify.

The final word should go to Alfred A. Oteng-Yeboah, of Ghana, who noted at a recent Convention on Biodiversity meeting the high potential for conflict over water in West Africa, where the seven major water basins cross numerous boundaries: the River Niger (in 10 countries), River Senegal (in 4 Countries), River Gambia (in 4 countries), the Chad Basin (encompassing 3 West African and 2 Central African countries), River Volta (in 6 countries) and River Koliba-Kombal (in 2 countries) and also considered the high risk of misunderstanding or conflict in the use of these shared water courses.

"Thus, in the view of Ghana, the importance of this kind of co-operation cannot be over-emphasized, and we understand that there is a strong role for the UN 97 Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Water Courses in the removal of risks of misunderstanding and conflicts associated with use of such water courses.

"We think that we need this Convention now and urgently so and it should enter into force as soon as possible to be able to perform the roles ascribed to it."

Tracking the elusive Amur tiger by foot, ski, and snowmobile

2009-03-09

Researchers in the Russian Far East are tracking the elusive Amur tiger by foot, ski, and snowmobile this month to better understand the endangered species.

WWF-Russia, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Science are monitoring the rare Amur tiger in its habitats in Russia, in the remote Primorskii and Khabarovskii Provinces.

The Amur tiger, which can weigh up to 300 kg and measure around three metres from its nose to the tip of its tail, has come back from the brink of extinction to its highest population for at least 100 years. Only about 40 were alive in 1950 but nowadays there are around 450, one of the strongest tiger populations in the world.

This year's monitoring area will cover 23,500 square kms with 16 search plots -- that cover one tenth part of tiger's habitat -- in the Khabarovskii and Primorskii Provinces. A total of 6,000 km of transects also will be covered, where researchers will map all animal tracks registered on the plots.

For each search plot, researchers will coordinate experienced wildlife managers and trappers from local hunting clubs, who will conduct three to four day overnight searches of each plot, spending their evenings in small wooden hunting lodges in the forest. They will use snowmobiles to cross transects along river valleys in the region, and don specially-designed wide hunting skis to climb through hills and passes during the searches.

As part of the monitoring, scientists will follow the tigers to collect information on the sex and age characteristics of tiger populations, as well as behavioural habits, tiger mortality, and a range of other scientific data.

"Monitoring has been conducted for 12 years already and has provided information for analysis of tiger number dynamics and characteristics of its distribution and reproduction from year to year. Another important goal of the research program is controlling large wild ungulates' status as well as changes in tiger habitats quality and its food sources," said Pavel Fomenko, biodiversity conservation coordinator at WWF-Russia, Amur branch, and one of the initiators and participants of the annual tiger monitoring.

WWF Russia has funded monitoring activities to the tune of 12,000 euros on six plots located in WWF's model areas with two of them located in Ussuriiskii and Lazovskii Nature Reserves. The Russian Academy of Science has provided 22,000 euros, or more than half of the funds needed for this month's monitoring.

"For the first time this year, monitoring of the Amur tiger number has been covered largely by the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Science. This is a good sign but it would be better to receive funding from Russian Ministry of Nature and Ecology and Federal Service of Natural Recourses Exploitation that are both responsible for tiger in Russia," Pomenko said.

"Funds needed for tiger research should be allocated in the budget of a special Program on tiger conservation in Russia," Pomenko added.

Results of the field research will be completed in April and a special report will be prepared and forwarded to the governmental agencies responsible for tiger conservation in Russia. WWF-Russia, active in efforts to protect the Amur tiger for many years, awaits elaboration of a new strategy for tiger conservation in Russia and hopes that this rare predator will receive not only governmental status of protection but also funding for its conservation.

Outrage as protected forests go under the hammer in Russia

2009-02-25

Vladivostok, Russia - Protected forest in Russia including a "maternity hospital" for the Amur tiger and unique Korean pine stands have been sold for logging in controversial circumstances and in the face of protests by WWF-Russia and the local population.

Last week the Forestry Agency of Primorskii Province in south-eastern Russia auctioned off more than 400 forest plots, covering four wildlife refuges and five Korean pine nut harvesting zones.

The auction, which for unknown reasons was held two days before the scheduled date, ignored new regulations on three regional and one federal wildlife refuge.

Also ignored were long standing appeals by local people asking to lease two of the pine nut harvesting zones to collect nuts, medical and edible plants and conduct responsible hunting, appeals which had the support of WWF and Ministry of Naturу Resources and Ecology of Russia.

"Unfortunately we cannot prevent tending cutting in protective forests by simply pointing to the the breaches of the law," said Denis Smirnov, forest program coordinator, WWF Russia Amur branch. "Tending of forest in Primorye has been long a loophole for conducting large-scale illegal cutting."

Pavel Sulyandziga, first vice-president of the Association of Indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of Russia, said: "In the village of Krasnyi Yar local aboriginal tribes cannot get permission to cut trees for construction of houses or for firewood.

"This is at a time when the Korean pine nut harvesting zone is being prescribed for logging. This zone belongs to us but over 15 years we have not been able to get approval to establish the territory for traditional nature use. The auction demonstrates a cynical attitude of authorities to the issues of aboriginal people."

The areas sold include areas in the Chyornye Skaly refuge that are habitat for goral – small hoofed animals with a goat-like appearance that are enlisted in the Russian Red data book. The Amur "maternity hospital" is in the Tayozhnyi refuge, the Korean pine stands in five Korean pine nut harvesting zones including one in the Bikin River.

The federal wildlife refuge Leopardovyi – a key habitat for the Amur leopard - just established in October 2008, was withdrawn from sale following an official demand from Yurii Trutnev, Russia's Minister of Nature Resources and Ecology, to Sergei Darkin, Governor of Primorskii Province.

As in 2008, a contract for forest protection, maintenance, restoration and tending cutting in 12 Primorye forestries will be signed in 2009, with the only claimant being the governmental organization Primorskii Forestry Enterprise. WWF-Russia alleges that the enterprise and its contractors have conducted illegal logging disguised as tending cutting.

"Having taken the decision to sell plots of protected forest to the Primorskii Forestry Enterprise, the Forestry Agency of Primorskii Province has turned a blind eye to the enterprise's participation in illegal logging," said Smirnov. "Probably the Forestry Agency has weighty reasons to once again give a green light to dishonest forest users."

WWF-Russia is asking law enforcement bodies to recognize as invalid the decision of the Forestry Agency to place orders for forest protection, maintenance, restoration and tending cutting with the Primorskii Forestry Enterprise in 2009.

"We predict this sale will precipitate a new round of illegal logging in Primorye and devastate areas important to wildlife and local indigenous people," said Smirnov.