International Tiger Day is organized today in Hanoi for the first time as organizers aim to raise public awareness and support for conservation of the species that is on the brink of extinction.
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The event is co-organized by Vietnam Environment Administration, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and TRAFFIC, the wildlife monitoring networks, to mark International Tiger Day with a series of activities at Thong Nhat Park. There will be workshops, games and exhibitions focusing on illegal wildlife trading.
Across Asia, tigers are being hunted and traded illegally for various human demands. In Vietnam, people hunt tigers mainly for their bones to make medicine and skins to make souvenirs, and thus have been pushed to the brink of extinction.
A statistic in 2010 of Education for Nature Vietnam is estimated that there are only 30 tigers living naturally in Vietnam.
Nick Cox, manager of WWF-Greater Mekong Program’s Protected Areas, Species and Wildlife Trade, said that despite being protected by law, tigers in Vietnam are still hunted to be sold to China and to serve local demands.
“Because tigers are top-level predators, they help keep the number of preying species in check and contribute to the balance and stability of the ecosystem, which all other species, including humans, are dependent on,” said Mr. Cox.
Due to the cross-border nature of illicit trafficking, the government of Vietnam has made efforts to cooperate with regional and international experts on the issues of tiger conservation.
Pauline Verheij, tiger trade program manager of TRAFFIC confirmed that there is scant evidence that tiger bones are effective in medicine.
Vietnam has actively participated in the International Tiger Conservation Conference and established the National Tiger Recovery Program, aiming to increase the number of the largest cat species by minimizing the threats they face.
The program enlists specific goals to protect tigers’ habitats, develop captive breeding facilities for tiger conservation outside of their natural habitats, and strengthen the investigation, prevention and punishment of tiger traffickers.
Last year, Russia held a summit with countries tigers still inhabit, with the attendance of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Tigers currently survive in Russia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam. Authorities of these nations have committed to preserve and protect tigers and increase the numbers living in natural habitat from 3,200 to 6,400 by 2022.
(Source: SGT)
