A session on "Best practices in tiger conservation" was held as part of the 2nd International Tiger Conservation Forum. Speakers from tiger range countries shared practical national experiences of using innovative mechanisms for monitoring and protecting the tiger, resolving conflicts and rehabilitating declining tiger populations.
The session moderator, Amirkhan Amirkhanov, Advisor to the Head of the Federal Service for the Supervision of the Use of Natural Resources, noted in his opening remarks that «the Global Tiger Forum can be an example for all those involved in tiger conservation».
Rajesh Gopal, Secretary General of the Global Tiger Forum, stated in his speech that «India and Russia actively protect rare animals, including tiger. Thus, for the last 50 years India has accumulated enormous experience and has a National program for its protection in its natural habitat». He also noted that «it is impossible to separate the tiger from humans because they live on the same territory». That is why it is necessary to train people to know how to behave in the tiger's range and prevent conflicts. At the same time, we will have to improve tiger protection practices and animal welfare legislation.
Satya Prakash Yadav, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), India, spoke next. There are almost three thousand tigers in India, and since 1973 there have been 52 national reserves, but according to Mr. Yadav only 20% of them are available for tourism. The Indian representative also noted that tiger protection in his country is the prerogative of the federal and state governments.
"By protecting and preserving the tiger, we preserve the entire ecosystem. For this purpose, we create corridors for animal migration, establish buffer zones, relocate people to other regions, conserve habitat and forage, build special crossings under roads, use modern devices and technology to fix the tiger, create special funds for its conservation, train special personnel for reserves and have agreements and protocols with bordering countries to protect and conserve the tiger," said Satya Prakash Yadav.
Malik Mahmud Al-Khaitar, Chairman of the Advisory Council to the Government of Aceh (Sumatra, Indonesia) stated that the tiger is part of Indonesia's ancient culture, tales and legends, but unfortunately, «we have a very dangerous predator here, as the forest covers only 1% of the island. We teach people how to coexist with tigers and how to protect our livestock from them». To conserve tigers in Indonesia and elsewhere, Malik Mahmud Al-Khaitar suggested that all countries join forces.
Govindhaswamy Umapati, senior principal scientist at the Endangered Species Conservation Laboratory of the Center for Cell and Molecular Biology (CCMV) at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of India, said, "We should work on all issues that help conserve and protect tiger populations, focusing on their biology, genetics and behavior. This will help prevent conflicts between the population and the tiger living in the same area."
Sergey Aramilev, General Director of the Amur Tiger Center, noted in his speech:
«The 750 tiger population in Russia is a success, but in order to keep it, we need to respond correctly and in time to new threats. Poaching still remains a threat, as does the need to resolve conflicts between tigers and people. Over the last few years the threat of wildlife diseases has become more and more acute. For example, African swine fever is currently threatening the tiger's food supply. Fortunately, the number of epizootics influencing the tiger population is not increasing, but, nevertheless, they can occur in the future and we have to be prepared for them».
Singer and actor Dima Bilan told that he recently became a guardian of a one-year-old tigress who had undergone a cataract surgery and that he was happy with her.
Also a member of the general council of the All-Russian public organization "Business Russia", a member of the expert advisory council of the committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on constitutional law and state building Ekaterina Avdeeva, a veterinarian, president of the Fund for animal protection "Save me" Karen Dallakyan and director of the FGBU "All-Russian Research Institute of Ecology" Daniel Putyatin spoke at the session.