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http://news.lp.findlaw.com/ap/i/1104/10-27-2009/20091027033508_20.html
Experts: Tigers fast dying out despite campaigns
By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press Writer
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) - The world's tiger population is declining fast
despite efforts to save them, and new strategies are urgently needed
to keep the species from dying out, international wildlife experts
said Tuesday.
"We are assembled here to save tigers that are at the verge of
extinction," Nepal's secretary of forest and soil conservation,
Yuvaraj Bhusal, told a conference of tiger experts from 20 countries,
including the 13 where wild tigers are still found.
An estimated 3,500 to 4,000 tigers now roam the world's forests, down
from the more than 100,000 estimated at the beginning of the 20th
century. All the remaining tigers are in Asia.
Participants at the conference, which also includes the World Bank,
the World Wildlife Fund and other groups, plan to discuss strategies
for tiger conservation, as well as challenges such as poaching, the
trade of tiger parts and conflicts between tigers and local
populations.
"Despite our efforts in the last three decades, tigers still face
threats of survival. The primary threat is from poaching and habitat
loss," Nepal's prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal told the conference.
He said extreme poverty has also challenged efforts.
"Global and regional solidarity and corrective measures are more
necessary now than ever to face these challenges," the prime minister
said.
Bhusal, the forest secretary, said participants hope to make high-
level policy makers in their countries more aware of the animal's
possible extinction.
The 13 countries where wild tigers are still found include Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal,
Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The conference continues through Friday. |
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