News December 2016

News December 2016

NEWS DECEMBER 2016 GLOBAL TIGER FORUM GTF IS NOW ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK — FOLLOW US www.twitter.com/Unitedfortigers www.facebook.com/Globaltigerforum PAYMENT/DONATION TO GLOBAL TIGER FORUM The payment/donation to the Global Tiger Forum may be made though an Account Payee Cheque or Demand Draft in favour of “Global Tiger Forum” at New Delhi OR Please transfer the amount to ACCOUNT NAME: GLOBAL TIGER FORUM NAME OF THE BANK: BANK OF MAHARASHTRA, ACCOUNT No.: 020072263547 IFSC CODE: MAHB0001160, SWIFT CODE: MAHBINBBCPN, BSR CODE: 0231215 BANK ADDRESS: 01160 NEW DELHI U.P.S.C., SHAJAHAN ROAD, U.P.S.C. DELHI, DHOLPUR HOUSE, NEW DELHI-110011, INDIA. GRANT/DONATION TO THE GLOBAL TIGER FORUM WITHIN INDIA IS TAX EXEMPTED UNDER SECTION 80G OF THE INCOME TAX ACT. For online donation please go to our website: www.globaltigerforum.com GLOBAL TIGER FORUM GLOBAL TIGER FORUM IS AN INTER-GOVERNMENTAL INTERNATIONAL BODY FOR THE CONSERVATION OF TIGERS IN THE WILD GTFNEWS DECEMBER 2016 Edited by S P YADAV GLOBAL TIGER FORUM SECRETARIAT ARIHANTAM, HOUSE NO. 200, THIRD FLOOR JORBAGH ROAD, NEW DELHI-110003 INDIA CONTENTS 1. Note from the Secretary General / 5 2. IUCN Lists tiger farming as major threat, underscoring need for CITES action / 6 3. CoP 17 of CITES / 9 4. Conservationists welcome CITES support to end tiger farming / 10 5. News from Tiger Range Countries / 11 Bangladesh Bhutan China India Indonesia Malaysia Myanmar Nepal Russia Thailand Vietnam 6. The crime family at the centre of Asia’s animal trafficking network / 35 7. News from National NGOs / 39 a. Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) b. Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) c. WWF-India d. The Corbett Foundation (TCF) e. Wildlife Conservation Society — India (WCS-INDIA) and Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) f. Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) 8. Tiger Mortality Statistics of India — July to December 2016 / 53 9. Of the GTF / 00 GTFNEWS 5 NOTE FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL he Forum was quite busy during this period — engaging with tiger range countries and Torganizations for the tiger cause. Several important field workshops were held, marked by useful interactions with field managers and experts. With the strengthening of the Forum's secretariat vis-à-vis its enlarged mandate as an implementing arm of the DR RAJESH GOPAL Global Tiger Initiative Council, the work schedule was Secretary General quite arduous and interesting. With support from the World Bank, Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) and World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), the GTF closely collaborated with research organizations like Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to organize capacity building workshops for tiger and snow leopard range countries. The snow leopard agenda was discussed in Leh- Ladakh (India) during November 2016. The response was more than encouraging with active participation from Bhutan, Nepal, India and Russia, as well as experts from Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme (GSLEP), WWF and Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF). Likewise, two workshops were organized for tiger range countries with a view to strengthen the capability of field managers towards field monitoring and assessment of ecosystem services. These were held at Sariska (for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) and Kuala Lumpur (for Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Russia and Vietnam) The outcome of above workshops have resulted in evolving three important field documents: o A manual on economic valuation approaches/methodology for practitioners o Technical Guidelines for Habitat and Prey Restoration o Protocols for Habitat Quality and Wildlife Populations The Global Tiger Forum is working closely with WWF and Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC) on implementing the ranger information survey across India. This is part of a global survey undertaken by many like-minded organizations for the betterment of frontlines. The ongoing agenda of the GTF during this period includes the second phase of the Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS) project, security audit of some tiger reserves in India in collaboration with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), providing assistance in finalising tiger conservation plans of tiger reserves in India and technical assistance towards development of the zero-poaching strategy in Bhutan. 6 GTFNEWS IUCN LISTS TIGER FARMING AS MAJOR THREAT, UNDERSCORING NEED FOR CITES ACTION 27TH SEPTEMBER 2016 Dear CITES Delegates, We, the undersigned, ask CITES Parties to take note of the recent overwhelming vote by members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in favour of recognizing “tiger farming” as “a serious threat” to the conservation of Amur tigers and Amur leopards in the wild. The motion was formally adopted during the IUCN’s World Conservation Congress in September 2016 (see full text below). The IUCN is the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, composed of governments, government agencies, non-governmental organisation, scientists and business associations. IUCN includes more than 1,300 member organisations from over 170 countries and 16,000 experts to make up what is universally acknowledged as the global authority on the status of the natural world. A total of 91 percent of government members and 86 percent of non- governmental members voted for adding “tiger farming” as a “serious threat” to Amur tigers and Amur leopards, along with “their isolated and small populations, prey and habitat degradation, illegal trade and anthropogenic impacts.” The IUCN vote echoes sentiments of the 45 non-governmental organisations that on 29 July 2016, International Tiger Day, jointly called on “countries with tiger farms to adopt urgent action to end tiger breeding for commercial purposes and phase out tiger farms… to achieve the goals of Zero Demand for tiger parts and products and Zero Poaching of tigers,” which can be read in full at https://eia-international.org/international-tiger-day-zero-demand-zero- poaching. In light of the IUCN vote, we strongly urge Parties to support this significant recognition of tiger farming as a threat to the survival of Asian big cats by adopting draft Decisions approved by the Standing Committee, as contained in CoP17 Doc. 60.1 (Annex 1). In addition, we urge you to support the proposal from India in CoP17 Doc. 60.2. CITES has for decades recognized farming of tigers for commercial trade in their parts and products as a major threat to conservation. However, the CITES Secretariat has found little progress in Parties’ implementation of relevant Decisions and Resolutions. The draft Decisions presented by the Standing GTFNEWS 7 Committee to CoP17 were arrived at following extensive multilateral debate and consultation which began at the 65th meeting of the Standing Committee in 2014, and call for the long-overdue full implementation of existing CITES measures. Therefore, in essence, we simply ask you to vote in favour of the execution of Resolutions and Decisions previously approved following careful consideration. We thank you in advance for your support of wild tiger conservation. 21st Century Tiger, A.J.T. Johnsingh, Tiger Biologist, ALTA, Animal Welfare Institute, Animals Asia Foundation, Annamiticus, BAAVAN — Bagh AapAur VAN, Big Cat Rescue, Bombay Natural History Society, Born Free Foundation, Born Free USA, British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Conservation Action Trust, Conservation and Environmental Education 4 Life, The Corbett Foundation, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, Education for Nature - Vietnam, Environmental Investigation Agency, FOUR PAWS International, FREELAND, The Fund for The Tiger, Global Tiger Forum, Humane Society International, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund, Nature Conservation Society, Amravati, Prerna Singh Bindra, Wildlife Conservationist/Journalist/Author, Pro Wildlife, Ranthambhore Foundation, Sanctuary Nature Foundation, Save Wild Tigers, Species Survival Network, Tiger Awareness, Tiger Research and Conservation Trust, TigerTime, TOFTigers, Valmik Thapar, Tiger Expert/Author, WildAid, Wildlife Conservation Nepal, Wildlife Conservation Trust, Mumbai, Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, Wildlife Protection Society of India, Wildlife Society of Orissa, Wildlife Trust of India, WildTeam Bangladesh, WildTiger Conservation Research and Development, Wild Welfare, World Animal Protection, Zoological Society of London o Motion 006 - Conservation of Amur tiger (Pantheratigrisaltaica) and Amur leopard (Pantherapardusorientalis) in Northeast Asia o ACKNOWLEDGING that Amur tiger (Pantheratigrisaltaica) and Amur leopard (Pantherapardusorientalis) are keystone species, providing a charismatic focal point for conservation action in Northeast Asia; o NOTING that Amur tiger and Amur leopard still face the risk of extinction: Amur tiger only has two populations with about 500 individuals and Amur leopard only has one population containing less than 100 individuals; o ALSO NOTING that the temperate forest landscape retained in the species’ historical range, including Far East Russia, Northeast China, the Korean peninsula, and even part of Mongolia, is the future for Amur tiger and Amur leopard, providing massive potential habitat for restoring the population in Northeast Asia; o RECOGNISING that the recovery of Amur tiger and Amur leopard can provide significant benefits to national economic development, as well as to local communities; o AWARE that the restoration of tigers and leopards

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