ENVIRONMENT | Protecting our natural resources
13 June 2008
World Bank Focuses on Plight of Tiger
Hollywood, government, private groups unite to conserve endangered species
Washington -- Within a week of the release of actor Harrison Ford’s public service announcements warning against trafficking in endangered wildlife, the World Bank has joined the fight with its focus on the tiger.
At a star-studded event that included actors Harrison Ford, Bo Derek, and Robert Duvall, the World Bank presented a five-point action plan to engage governments, nongovernmental organizations, scientists and conservationists in strategies to save the tiger.
“The crisis facing tigers overwhelms local capabilities and transcends national boundaries. This is a problem that cannot be handled by individual nations alone. It requires an alliance of strong local commitment backed by deep international support,” World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick told attendees gathered in front of the Sumatran tiger exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park for the Tiger Conservation Initiative announcement June 9.
The World Bank said this initiative is its first on endangered species.
Tiger populations have plummeted from an estimated 100,000 in the early 20th century to only a few thousand today. The latest official tiger census in India released in 2008 put the figure at a mere 1,411 left in the wild.
In response to conservationists who castigated the World Bank for funding projects that helped destroy tiger habitat in India -- which hosts the largest surviving population of wild tigers -- Zoellick promised the bank will review its policies.
“We at the bank are going to initiate a review to our own independent evaluation group of our projects in tiger habitats to learn from the lessons of the past for our future engagement,” he said.
BROAD SUPPORT FOR INITIATIVE
Grace Ge Gabriel, speaking for the International Tiger Coalition (ITC), said that “avoiding further damage to tigers brought by poorly planned development projects” is critical. “Nothing short of global action will bring back wild tigers.”
The ITC comprises 39 groups dedicated to halting the illegal wildlife trade. They are part of the global alliance that has pledged to work with the World Bank on the issue.
Ford, a long-time supporter of wildlife conservation, commended the World Bank’s plan “to work with tiger-range nations in order to secure a future for these magnificent creatures.” (See “Actor Harrison Ford Speaks Out Against Wildlife Trafficking.”)
After the event, Derek, who is a U.S. State Department special envoy on illegal wildlife trafficking, said, “I was really embarrassed to find out the United States is No. 2 in consuming endangered wildlife.” According to the U.S. State Department, the U.S. market for illegal wildlife products is second only to that of China.
Derek became active with the conservation organization WildAid in 2000 before becoming a State Department special envoy in 2006. She believes that striking at the demand side through consumer education is vital to saving declining species such as the tiger.
“We are responsible -- the consumer -- even more than the traffickers. When we buy the product, it’s our fault that the animal was killed,” she told America.gov.
“The problem is so much bigger than designating an area ‘protected.’ It’s not enough.” She says people shouldn’t believe a seller who claims a suspicious product hasn’t harmed an endangered animal. And people shouldn’t rationalize with “This is an antique, so it’s OK to buy this piece of ivory.”
“We just have to stop it altogether. There is no time to waste,” Derek said.
On her travels as special envoy she sometimes sees seized contraband. “To me the stuffed baby tiger was most heartbreaking,” she said, adding, “That did come in with a tourist,” in Miami, Florida.
At a press conference with Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment and Science Claudia McMurray, Derek highlighted the plight of threatened shark populations. Fins are cut off and sharks thrown back to die to satisfy Asian gourmet tastes.
McMurray said poaching organized by criminal networks, even more than habitat loss and human population growth, is pushing wildlife “to the brink of extinction.”
“This illegal trade … goes on primarily in Africa and Asia and the products come to China and to America and to Europe,” she said.
The Coalition on Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT) was formed in 2005 in response to this growing criminal trend. CAWT partners with governments and nongovernmental organizations to find ways of tackling the issues, such as establishing regional wildlife enforcement networks. (See “Canada Joins Coalition Against WildlifeTrafficking.”)
The World Bank initiative aims to develop strategies and action plans to restore tiger populations through increasing political will and to fund mechanisms to support tiger conservation.
In this it supports the 2007 CITES Conference of the Parties which asked all governments, intergovernmental organizations, international aid agencies and nongovernmental organizations for assistance “as a matter of urgency” to stop trade in Asian big-cat species to ensure their long-term survival in the wild.
The World Bank has also set a “Year of the Tiger” summit for 2010 to review the results and the status of the tiger, an “opportunity to hold our feet to the fire,” according to Zoellick.
More information is available on the World Bank Tiger Initiative Web site.
