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CCES News from the Field

SHARPENING NATIONAL ACTION PLANS FOR BIODIVERSITY AND

TIGER CONSERVATION: THE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP FORUM The very sensitive eye sight, sense of smell and

hearing of Asian elephants are essential for

tracking radio collared tigers at Pench National

Park..

April 16th – 21st, 2010

Global Tiger Initiative

Conservation and Development Network

The Global Tiger Initiative -

Conservation

Development Network

(GTI-CDN)

The GTI-CDN facilitates strategic col-laboration among national and inter-national partners, and provides con-servation leaders and policy makers with the advanced knowledge, tools, and skill sets required for implement-ing effective conservation strategies. The GTI-CDN facilitates collaboration

among stakeholders in tiger-range countries who seek to strengthen the

capacity of individuals and institu-tions focused on the conservation of wild tigers, their prey, and their natu-

ral habitats.

GTI-CDN Team Members: Chuck Lydeard,

Steve Monfort, Andrey Kushlin, Ana Tinsler,

John Seidensticker, Susan Lumpkin (back row).

Andy Oplas, Andrew Zakharenka, Adriana

Bianchi, Marian delos Angeles, CMA Medeiros,

Keshav Varma, Jennifer Sevin, Suzy Sine,

Tatiana Pacheco, Anastasia Roze (middle row).

Mahendra Shrestha, Francisco Dallmeier, He-

manta R. Mishra (kneeling).

“Integrating Biodiversity Conservation into Sustainable Development”

Thirty-seven senior officials and policymakers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) - Conservation and Development Network (CDN) Executive Leadership Forum for Tiger Conservation in Washington, D.C. from April 16-21, 2010. This program is one of three capacity-building components of the GTI-CDN pilot phase:

1) The Executive Leadership Forum (ELF) designed to help career service, senior government officials and policymakers develop the necessary skills to implement practices and policies necessary to double the wild tiger population by 2022.

2) The Training of Trainers (ToT) Conservation Practitioners course designed to help conservation practitioners hone their technical skills. Part One of TOT was held in India this past March (see previous newsletters) and Part Two was held in Washington D.C., and Front Royal at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in June.

3) An ongoing Community of Practice that fosters collaboration through

Communication, networking and collaboration are critical success factors for the Community

of Practice that brings together members of the ELF and ToT (Training of Trainers) .

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knowledge-sharing among participants and stakeholders.

The goals of the GTI are to stop poaching and killing of tigers, and to double the

global wild tiger population to about 7,000 tigers in 2022, the next “Year of the

Tiger.” Achieving this will require a paradigm shift in conservation policy and

practice. GTI capacity-building programs are designed to help professionals

responsible for the environment, protected areas, law enforcement, finance,

economic planning, and infrastructure, take the necessary next steps to

integrate conservation practices into sustainable development.

The ELF modules allowed participants to review, evaluate and outline lessons

learned from case studies and best regional examples for tiger, wildlife and

habitat conservation. Professionals from the Smithsonian Institution, World

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP FORUM:

1. Strengthen skills in the development, implementation, monitoring and

evaluation of tiger conservation National Action Plans (NAPs) prepared for the

Year-of-the-Tiger Summit (September 2010).

2. Foster collaboration across agencies and sectors to achieve synergies and

greater impact on the ground.

3. Improve understanding of innovative approaches to mainstream

conservation and increase their use in sustainable development such as smart

green infrastructure, tiger monitoring and patrolling, habitat and prey

management aid, and financing.

4. Introduce the Conservation and Development Network as a community of

practice to provide training and professional support for conservation and

management of tiger landscapes.

Steps toward a Global Tiger Stabilization and Recovery Program

STRUCTURE OF THE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP FORUM (ELF)

ELF participants reviewing global trade and

demand, as it relates to tiger conservation.

Victor V. Bardyuk from Russia (left) and Suresh

Chand from India discuss different national

approaches to manage tiger and human inter-

actions..

CCES News from the Field

The Smithsonian Conservation

Biology Institute

(SCBI)

is dedicated to conserving species

and habitats and training the next

generation of conservation

practitioners. SCBI efforts advance

one of the four main goals of the

Smithsonian’s new strategic plan,

“understanding and sustaining a

biodiverse planet.” SCBI staff

conduct research to aid in the

survival or recovery of species and

their habitats, and to ensure the

health and well-being of animals in

captivity and in the wild.

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Bank, nongovernment organizations, research organizations and academic

institutions led the sessions and discussions, and were available throughout the

forum for consultations with the participants.

Some of the topics addressed by experts and working groups included: tigers,

wildlife, habitats, people, and their interlinked values; trans-boundary and cross

-sector collaboration; monitoring tiger populations and habitats; National

Action Plans for tiger conservation; aligning communities, the private sector,

and ecotourism; managing demand for wildlife products; consumer education;

awareness and communication strategies; resource gaps and sustainable

financing; resource mobilization; patrolling

and intelligence gathering; effective

interventions against poaching and illegal

trade; addressing institutional and

governance challenges; and smart green

infrastructure and land-use planning.

THE TIPPING POINT FOR WILD TIGER SURVIVAL: TIGER POPULATIONS AND WILDLIFE MONITORING

Tigers are at the tipping point in their survival as a wild species and there are

multiple, interrelated reasons for their decline. If you can’t measure it, you

can’t manage it, and regrettably, it has been difficult to assess fully the status

and trends of tiger populations across diverse tiger landscapes and how tiger

conservation programs are performing in them. The presentation by Dr. John

Seidensticker from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and Dr.

Mahendra Shrestha from the Save The Tiger Fund made the case that

transparent and scientifically robust monitoring systems must be put in place

if we are to successfully stabilize and grow wild tiger populations. To meet

conservation objectives – such as doubling tiger numbers in little more than a

decade – it will be necessary to understand the biological factors that

influence the current and potential numbers of tigers at any specific site.

Seidensticker and Shrestha further explained that the number of tigers is

dependent upon the availability and abundance of suitable prey populations,

which must themselves be managed.

A habitat generalist that was once widespread across Asia, the tiger is the

continent’s largest carnivore and kills large prey, such as deer, pigs and cattle,

ranging in size from 20 to 100 kg. The size of a breeding female’s territory

reflects available food resources and must be large enough to support enough

prey to feed her and her offspring until they disperse at 19 to 28 months of

age. Breeding males’ territories are even larger and can overlap those of

several females. The number of tiger prey available in various biomes across

The Center for Conservation

Education and Sustainability

(CCES)

is part of the Smithsonian Conservation

Biology Institute (SCBI) and is dedicated

to studying and understanding the

complex relationship among

biodiversity, people, and the

environment, and to train the next

generation of conservation

practitioners. CCES is implementing the

GTI-CDN with multiple national and

international partners. CCES offers

professional training and certificate

programs in conservation and has an

academic partnership with George

Mason University in conservation

studies. CCES sustainability and

conservation programs develop

innovative and strategic partnerships,

facilitate biodiversity monitoring

networks, and work with conservation

and development stakeholders to

integrate biodiversity conservation into

sustainable development.

Common illegal tiger trade pathways shown in green. Source: WWF-US

CCES News from the Field

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The multi-

faceted

approach to

saving tigers

has a cost

that is not

well

understood.

That cost

needs to be

fully

integrated

with

regional

sustainable

develop-

ment strategies for tiger-range countries. Dr. Joe Walston from The Wildlife

Conservation Society presented the results of an extensive evaluation of the

cost of saving tigers that included 172 contributors from 28 organizations and

82 sites. The survey evaluated all the sites within the tiger range countries

where tigers remain. The survey also identified potential source sites— areas

that maintain biologically viable populations of tigers that can provide for

dispersion and expansion of tiger populations into other surrounding areas.

About 70 percent of the world’s wild tigers survive within less than 8 percent of

the remaining tiger landscapes and less than 0.7 percent of their historical

range. The current area for the source sites is estimated to be around 900,000

km2 and these areas contain an estimated 2,200 tigers. Only five source sites,

all of which are in India, have existing tiger populations close to their carrying

capacity (>85 percent). A preliminary estimate indicates that there are about

1,000 breeding-age female tigers in the wild. Many of the areas don’t have

AVOIDING THE UNTHINKABLE — THE COST OF SAVING EACH TIGER!

The TIGER Landscape as Natural CapitalBa

nk

Wat

er,

Fore

sts,

Land

,M

iner

als,

Flor

a,Fa

una

FinancialAssetor Capital(stock)

Natural Assets or Capital(stock)

InterestEarnings(flow)

Environmental Services(flow)

climate

High densities of prey are necessary to support

viable populations of tigers. Female Nilgai and

fawn in Pench National Park, India.

The tiger landscape includes natural capital in the form of environmental services pro-

vided, including water, forests, land, minerals, flora, and fauna. Source: Marian S. delos

Angeles.

the tigers’ broad geographical range varies from about 1 to 100 individuals per

km². Tigers are estimated to remove 10 percent of all available prey within

their territories each year with average kill rates of about 50 ungulates per ti-

ger, per year. Seidensticker and Shrestha explained that tiger prey populations

are depressed both within and outside protected areas throughout most of the

tigers’ remaining range and currently there are virtually no individual protected

areas large enough to support viable tiger populations over the long term. Con-

servation, management and sustainable development must address very funda-

mental questions: How can tigers live next to people? How can people live next

to tigers? And what management capacity is required to make this possible?

COORDINATORS & INSTRUCTORS

Special Guest: Deepak Bohara

Minister of Forests and Soil Conserva-

tion, Government of Nepal

Budsabong Kanchanasaka, MoNRE

Barney Long, WWF

Craig Bruce, WWF

Crawford Allan, TRAFFIC

Eric Dinerstein, WWF

Fred Bagley, USFWS

Gustavo Fonseca, GEF

James Hampton, US FWS

Joe Walston, WCS

John Robinson, WCS

John Webb, US DOJ/MIST

Judy Mills, ITC

Mahendra Shrestha, STF

Mary Melnyk, USAID

Melissa Moye, WWF

Nadim Matta, RRI

Richard Worden, IEG

Sina Odugbemi, CommGAP

CCES News from the Field

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Bangladesh – Joynal Abedin Talukder, Joint Secretary of Development, Ministry of Environment and Forests; Isthiaq Uddin Ahmad, Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests (Planning), Department of Forest Agargaon, Dhaka; Md. Akbar Hossain, Conservator of Forests, Khulna Circle, Forest Department.

Bhutan – Phento Tshering, Chief Forest Officer, Nature Conservation Division; Norbu Wangchuk, Senior Planning Officer, Gross National Happiness Commission; Sonam Wangdi, Head, Human Wildlife Management Section, Nature Conservation Division, Department of Forest and Park Services.

Cambodia – Kry Masphal, Senior Officer, Department of Wildlife and Biodiversity; Meng Monyrak, Deputy Director, Department of National Park and Wildlife; H. E. Ouk Prachea, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Planning; H. E. Huot Bunnary, Deputy Secretary General of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Tauch Chan Kresna, Chief of World Bank Division, Department of Investment and Cooperation.

China - Wan Ziming, Director, Enforcement and Training Division, CITES Management Authority of China; Wang Weisheng, Director, State Forestry Administration, Department of Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Management, Wildlife Conservation and Management Division; Zhang Minghai, Professor, Northeast Forestry University, College of Wildlife Resources.

India – Suresh Chand, Chief Wildlife Warden, State Government of Assam; Sundara Raju Raman, Chief Wildlife Warden, State Government of Tamil

MEET THE LEADERS

COORDINATORS & INSTRUCTORS Smithsonian Conservation

Biology Institute

Steven Monfort

Director, SCBI

Francisco Dallmeier

Director, Center for Conservation Education

and Sustainability (CCES)

John Seidensticker

Director, Conservation Ecology Center

Jennifer Sevin

Managing Director, Capacity Building and

Academic Programs, CCES

Charles Lydeard

Management Director, GTI-CDN, CCES

Ana Tinsler

Program Specialist, GTI-CDN, CCES

Suzy Sine

Management Support Specialist, GTI-CDN,

CCES

Smithsonian Office of Policy and Analysis

Carole Neves

Director, Office of Policy and Analysis

Andrew Pekarik

Program Analyst

Lance Costello

Social Science Analyst

Claire Eckert

Research Scholar

Kathleen Ernst

Social Science Analyst

Sarah Block

Researcher

Benjamin Wilson

Research Intern

National Zoological Park’s

Office of Communications

Pamela Baker-Masson

Associate Director, Communications

Jodi Legge

Deputy Associate Director, Communications

Lindsay Renick Mayer

Public Affairs Specialist

CCES News from the Field

sufficient tiger populations to remain viable over the long term. The total

overall cost of managing, protecting and intensively monitoring these sites is

about US $90 million. A great portion of these resources is already committed

by the tiger-range country governments. The good news is that if all source

sites reach their potential carrying capacities, their collective tiger population

would more than double.

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Nadu; Ramesh Narain Mehrotra, Chief Wildlife Warden, State Government of Rajasthan.

Indonesia – Harry Santoso, Director of Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Forestry, Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation; Siti Chadidjah Kaniawati, Deputy Director for Species Conservation, Ministry of Forestry, Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation.

Lao PDR – Bouaphanh Phanthavong, Director, Department of Forestry,

Division of Forest Resource Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry;

Bounthanh Philachanh, Director, Department of Forest Inspection, Division of

Aquatic and Wildlife Inspection, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry;

Vilaysone Sourigna, Director, Department of Energy Promotion and Develop-

ment, Ministry of Energy and Mines; Khamphanh Nanthavong, Deputy

Director General, Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Foestry.

Malaysia – Dato’ Abd Rasid Samsudin, Director General, Department of

Wildlife and National Parks; Sivananthan T. Elagupillay, Director, Department

of Wildlife and National Parks; Rahman Yusof, Principal Assistant Secretary,

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Nepal – Shyam Sundar Bajimaya, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Forests and Soil

Conservation; Megh Bahadur Pandey, Deputy Director General, Department of

National Parks and Wildlife Conservation; Babu Krishna Karki, Colonel, Nepal

Army, Ministry of Defense; Prakash Kunwar, AIG Police, Nepal Police, Home

Ministry; Kailash Pokharel, Under Secretary, Foreign Aid Coordination Division,

Ministry of Finance; Aditya Bahadur Shah, General, National Park Protection

Division; Nepal Army.

Russia – Victor V. Bardyuk, Director, Environment Protection Department of

Khabarovsk Territory, Government Ministry of Natural Resources.

Thailand – Ronasit Maneesai, Senior Forester, Department of National Parks,

Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Ministry of Natural Resources and

Environment; Budsabong Kanchanasaka, Senior Wildlife Biologist, Department

of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Ministry of Natural

Resources and Environment.

Vietnam – Nguyen The Dong, Deputy Director General, Vietnam Administra-

tion/MONRE; Le Xuan Canh, Director, Institute for Ecology and Biological

Resources.

COORDINATORS & INSTRUCTORS The World Bank and

The World Bank Institute

Sanjay Pradhan WBI Vice President Keshav Varma GTI Program Director Andrey Kushlin GTI Program Coordinator Priya Basu GTI Finance Division Adriana Bianchi Institutions Development Specialist Jose Edgardo Campos Senior Advisor Richard Damania Lead Economist Marian S. delos Angeles Senior Economist Johannes Keiss Economist Bruno Laporte Director, Thematic Knowledge and Learning Andy Oplas Communication Specialist Andrew Pekarik Wildlife Specialist Juan Quintero Lead Environmental Specialist John Roome Director, Sustainable Development Claudia Sobrevila Senior Environmental Specialist Anand Seth GTI Senior Advisor Richard Worden Senior Environmental Specialist Andrew Zakharenka GTI Wildlife Governance Specialist

Tiger pugmark on display at the Interpretive

Center, located in India’s Khana National Park.

Photo by Jennifer Sevin.

CCES News from the Field

Visit www.globaltigerinitiative.org often for new updates and information. Photo Credits: Francisco Dallmeier (unless otherwise stated).