Russia, one of the first in the world to receive a tiger certificate, presented at the Global Tiger Certification Meeting in Bangkok CA|TS development prospects in the Russian Far East.
The first global tiger certification CA|TS, organized by the Government of Thailand, took place on November 13-16 in Bangkok, Thailand.
More than 70 experts from 18 countries took part in it - representatives of CA | TS national committees, public environmental organizations, specially protected natural territories from countries of the tiger range - India, Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, China , Russia, as well as from other states interested in promoting voluntary tiger certification.
They exchanged experiences, discussed the next steps, the role and importance of CA | TS in the implementation of the Tiger Recovery Program, which was announced in 2010 at the Tiger Forum in St. Petersburg and set a goal to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022.
Our country was represented at the meeting by Dmitry Gorshkov, Director of the Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve named after K.G. Abramov is the first PA in Russia to receive the CA | TS certificate and, on behalf of the CA | TS National Committee, Sergey Aramilev, Director of the Primorsky branch of the Amur Tiger Center.
“Being one of the first is always an easy task. In fact, we face CA | TS, other Protected areas of Russia in the tiger's area in the world look at us and decide: whether to undergo CATS certification or not, therefore we have no choice but to keep the bar high. I am glad that we meet high international standards in tiger conservation, but more importantly, the number of rare cats in the territory of the reserve is actually growing,” says the candidate of biological sciences Dmitry Gorshkov, Director of the Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve, speaking at a meeting in Bangkok with the report "On the experience of obtaining a CA | TS certificate and the benefits obtained."
In 2015, the Sikhote-Alin nature reserve became the first in Russia and the second in the world, after the national park Chitwan in Nepal, a specially protected natural area that has been certified by CA | TS.
"Tiger in the modern world of "transparent" borders is impossible without international cooperation. Unfortunately for us, the Asian market continues to generate steady demand for various body parts of animals, including a tiger, so even if one country reaches beyond the successes in tiger conservation, but these neighbors are idle, then all efforts will come to naught. Therefore, the development of mechanisms such as CA|TS helps asparkam and nature reserves in the tiger habitat not only understand how important they are for tiger conservation, but also to understand what they need to work and where to go. Because the CA|TS is not just a certificate on paper is issued for three years and a realistic assessment of activities of protected areas a group of international experts who openly point out deficiencies and suggest ways of development", - commented the representative of the national Committee CA|TS in Russia C.b.N. Sergey Aramilev, Director of the Primorsky branch of the Center "Amur tiger", is presenting at the meeting in Bangkok of the report "Prospects of the CA|TS in Russia".
For the implementation of CA | TS certification, a dialogue is underway with all countries in the tiger range in Southeast Asia. According to preliminary data from the 2015 tiger census, at least 540 Amur tigers live in the Russian Far East. Russia is regarded as the second largest habitat area of a tiger in the world, and its participation is of great importance for promoting tiger certification.
“Russia was one of the first to begin certification of tiger habitats and received worldwide recognition. Following the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve, there are three more candidates for CA | TS in the Far East - the Joint Directorate of the Lazovsky Nature Reserve and the national park Zov Tiger, Anyuy National Park and the Land Leopard national park. The preparation of the registration of candidates for tiger certification has begun,” said the representative of the national committee CA | TS in Russia, Ph.D. Yuri Darman, Honored Ecologist of the Russian Federation.
Developed by international conservation organizations - the Global Tiger Forum (GTF), the Tiger Initiative, IUCN and the World Commission on Protected Areas, CA | TS certification includes 17 standards that will help manage tiger territories and assess the effectiveness of this management.
“CA | TS (Conservation assured tiger standards) - certification of tiger habitats is a tool that provides a single standard basis for assessing and measuring the performance of work carried out in the tiger range. 13% of the world's tiger population is located in Russia, and it is important that Russia also joined this program,” comments Khalid Pasha, Tiger Habitat Certification Coordinator (Tigers Alive Initiative).
At a meeting in Bangkok, the task was set to certify by 2022 150 specially protected natural areas in the countries of the tiger range.
