UNLOCK
CAPITALS
The recovery of global tiger populations hinges upon a multifaceted approach that incorporates public support, financial capital and government will. Public advocacy serves as the cornerstone, fostering awareness and mobilising communities to actively engage in conservation efforts, while the infusion, or lack thereof, of financial capital can make or break endeavours as delicate as the preservation of an apex predator.
Tiger Conservation Coalition
The Tiger Conservation Coalition brings together leading biologists and experts in wildlife crime, human-wildlife coexistence, policy, finance, development and communications, with unprecedented alignment on achieving tiger conservation at scale. Its member organisations include the International the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA); Fauna & Flora; Panthera; International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); TRAFFIC; United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS); the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF); and Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
The Tiger Conservation Coalition previously collaborated on the latest assessment by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, IUCN’s Green Status of Species assessment, and Tiger Conservation Landscapes 3.0. In 2023, the Tiger Conservation Coalition also collaborated to host a side event at the UNFCCC CoP28 in Dubai. The event titled “Inspiring Partnerships for Sustainable Financing for Tiger Landscapes'' delved into the critical connections between tiger conservation finance and the global climate and biodiversity agendas and was attended by a number of coalition CEOs including WWF International’s Director General, Kirsten Schuijt and WWF-US President and CEO, Carter Roberts.
© Sonam Yangchen
© Sonam Yangchen
Royal Government of Bhutan and the Tiger Conservation Coalition to co-organise the ‘Sustainable Finance for Tiger Landscapes Conference’ in April 2024
To advance tiger conservation efforts, a “Sustainable Finance for Tiger Landscapes Conference” was announced on Global Tiger Day celebrations in Bhutan. The conference is set to happen on April 22-23, 2024 under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty The Queen, Jetsun Pema Wangchuck, hosted by the Royal Government of Bhutan and supported by the Tiger Conservation Coalition.
© TBC
© TBC
As an umbrella and keystone species, tigers are measurable drivers and indicators of biodiversity. Since 2010 and the first Global Tiger Recovery Plan there have been encouraging results, with tiger numbers increasing in some areas. However, while sustained investment in tiger conservation over the past decade has bent the curve toward progress, that success is both sporadic and fragile.
The conference will bring together tiger range countries, visionary private and public sector donors, international development agencies, and conservation NGOs to:
i) Recognise tigers as an indicator species, with the potential to contribute to national and global biodiversity, climate, human well-being, and sustainable development agendas; and thus appropriately prioritised within global funding mechanisms.
ii) Inspire new collaborations that further catalyse funding from the private and public sectors, and contribute to more sustainable mechanisms for the financing of tigers and their landscapes through 2034 and beyond.
iii) Showcase successful approaches to sustainable financing for replication and scaling up.
iv) facilitate an exchange among key stakeholders to share and explore new funding streams.
v) present conservation finance models for important tiger landscapes, based on assessments conducted by leading financing experts, to inspire the adoption of creative financing strategies to secure and recover tiger populations.
Tigers Nest, Bhutan © Emmanuel Rondeau / WWF-UK
Tigers Nest, Bhutan © Emmanuel Rondeau / WWF-UK
50 years of Project Tiger in India
India proudly commemorated the 50th anniversary of Project Tiger, a monumental initiative aimed at conserving tigers in the country. A high level event was hosted by the Government of India at Mysuru in April 2023, where the Prime Minister of India released the latest estimates of India’s tiger population. The legacy of Project Tiger’s success story is rooted in a strong institutional framework and unwavering high-level support, offering valuable lessons for other countries striving to save their own wildlife. Additionally, India’s launch of the International Big Cat Alliance, represents a first-ever attempt at global coordination for safeguarding of iconic big cat species across 97 countries, thus opening a new chapter in the country’s conservation legacy.
Tigress and cub in India © Shutterstock / Anuradha Marwah / WWF-International
Tigress and cub in India © Shutterstock / Anuradha Marwah / WWF-International
© Shutterstock / Archna Singh / WWF
© Shutterstock / Archna Singh / WWF
New tiger population estimate and intergovernmental process renewal announced
On Global Tiger Day 2023, The Global Tiger Forum released an updated tiger population estimate of 5574 wild tigers - a 74% increase since the 2010 estimate.
The Global Tiger Forum simultaneously released the Global Tiger Recovery Plan 2.0 (GTRP) during the celebrations in Bhutan. The plan is a testament to the continued dedication of the tiger range countries to meaningful intergovernmental collaboration towards a common goal for tiger conservation. The GTRP 2.0 - which received broad stakeholder inputs emphasises the strengthening of tiger governance, inter-agency coordination, resource allocation, and protection efforts; while increasingly addressing contemporary challenges like human-wildlife conflict.
Another development included the formal integration of Kazakhstan within GTRP 2.0 and the ongoing process. This makes Kazakhstan the 14th tiger range country, and one of a few with concrete ambitions for tiger reintroduction within the period covered by the plan.
FEATURE STORY
The Royal Government of Bhutan and the Tiger Conservation Coalition hosted a side event at the UNFCCC CoP28 in Dubai on 9 December 2023.
The event titled “Inspiring Partnerships for Sustainable Financing for Tiger Landscapes” delved into the critical connections between tiger conservation and the global climate and biodiversity agendas. This side event precedes a significant summit in April 2024 when, under the patronage of Her Majesty The Queen of Bhutan, Jetsun Pema Wangchuck, the Royal Government of Bhutan will host a high-level Conference on Sustainable Financing for Tiger Landscapes. The Conference is being supported by the Tiger Conservation Coalition, which includes EIA, FFI, IUCN, Panthera, TRAFFIC, UNDP, WCS, WWF and ZSL.
At a time when climate change and biodiversity loss are pressing concerns worldwide, the event highlighted how a sustainably funded, landscape-scale and tiger-focused plan of action could help countries across the Asia region meet their climate commitments and those under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The discussion explored innovative strategies and collaborative partnerships to secure sustainable financing for recovering tiger landscapes.
Bhutan, known as a champion of environmental conservation and sustainability, hosted the event at their pavilion and provided a perspective for hope at finding synergies between protecting tigers and meeting broader environmental goals. The event featured a high-profile panel of the leadership of the Royal Government of Bhutan and Tiger Conservation Coalition members, including IUCN, Panthera, WCS, and WWF, as well as a climate change expert from UNDP and private sector conservation solutions leader from HSBC.
Built with Shorthand