5 September 2022
Rajesh Gopal, Secretary General of the Global Tiger Forum, stated in his speech, “India and Russia are actively protecting rare animals, including the tiger. India has gained tremendous experience over the last 50 years and has a national programme to protect it in its natural habitat.” He also said, “It is impossible to separate the tiger and humans since they live on the same territory, so we need to improve tiger protection practices and legislation. At the same time, we need to train people to communicate with tigers and prevent conflict situations.”
Satya Prakash Yadav, Member Secretary, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) of the Republic of India, informed the audience, “India has almost three thousand tigers and there are 52 national reserves in India since 1973. These areas have special regulations for tiger protection and conservation and safety measures. Only 20 per cent of the reserves are accessible to tourism.” He also drew his colleagues’ attention to the fact that “poachers are the biggest threat to the tiger, while fires are destroying its habitat. Tiger protection is the prerogative of federal and provincial governments. By protecting and preserving the tiger, we preserve the entire ecosystem. We do this by creating animal migration corridors, establishing buffer zones, relocating people to other regions, conserving grasslands and foraging areas, building special crossings under roads, using various devices and technologies to fix the tiger, creating special funds for its conservation, training special personnel for the reserves, and having special agreements and protocols with bordering countries to protect and conserve the tiger.”
Malik Mahmud Al-Haythar, Chairman of the Advisory Council to the Provincial Government of Ache (Sumatra, Indonesia) said, “We protect all fauna and flora. The tiger is part of our ancient culture, tales and legends. It is in great danger here, as the forests cover only 1.0% of the island. We teach people how to coexist with tigers and how to protect livestock from them. We must unite our efforts with Russia to preserve the tiger in other countries of the world as well.”
Govindhaswamy Umapathy, Senior Principal Scientist of the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of India, believes that “it is necessary to work on all issues that help to conserve and protect the tiger population, paying attention to its biology, genetics and behaviour. This will make it possible to prevent conflicts between the people and the tiger living in the same area.
Sergey Aramilev, Director General of the Amur Tiger Centre, said in his speech, “The tiger population of 750 tigers in Russia is a success, but there are also problems concerning poaching, various conflicts in this sphere, and diseases of animals that are a food source for the tiger.”
Ekaterina Avdeeva, Head of the Expert Center on Criminal Law Policy and Execution of Judicial Acts, All-Russia Public Organization Delovaya Rossiya (Business Russia), noted that “the concepts of the tiger and the law are closely interrelated, and we need to approach these issues as comprehensively as possible. With regard to the Amur tiger, we need clear legal regulation in the field of regulations, standards and responsibility.” She also believes that “there is a need for adequate funding for this area from various sources for the use of modern technology.” Ms. Avdeeva added, “taking care of the environment will allow us to preserve nature not only for ourselves, but also for our descendants."
Singer and actor Dima Bilan has revealed that he is the fourth-degree guardian of a one-year-old tigress who underwent surgery to remove her cataracts and about his great relationship with his ward.
Karen Dallakyan, a veterinarian and President of the Save Me Foundation for Animal Welfare, shared his experience in rescuing sick animals: tiger cubs Zhorik and Hector, lion Simba, and leopard Eva. He also addressed the problems that need to be solved in this area in terms of law, in order not to be in violation of existing rules and regulations.
Daniil Putyatin, Director of the All-Russian Research Institute of Ecology, believes that “it is necessary to move to the next level of scientific research on tiger conservation and protection. But forest management is a problem because the forest preserves the forage base for the tiger.”