His stealth, swagger and bright eyes might make him the king of the jungle, but Tigers are a rapidly vanishing race worldwide. Less than 3,200 of the fiery cat species exist. Which is also why 13 nations are working on protecting the tiger. Leaders from these countries where tigers are found, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam as well as representatives from leading wildlife organizations who met in Russia in 2010 are working on ways to create a better natural habitat, prevent poachers and the illegal trade of tiger parts as well as increase protected areas for tigers.

The St Petersburg Declaration on Tiger Conservation and the Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP) adopted at the International Tiger Forum in Russia, November 2010, calls for convening regular high-level meetings to review the implementation progress of the GTRP and its national priorities (NTRPs).  The global aim is to double the tigers population by 2022, when the year of the Tiger returns on the Chinese Zodiac. Which is why six nations recently arrived at the home of the Bengal Tiger to judge the progress of India’s Project Tiger and assess capacity building measures for tiger conservation.

During the meeting which was held in New Delhi from 15-17th May, which was their first post the St Petersburg Declaration, the team said levels of tiger seizures remain high at 53 annually. The analysis also identified persistent Tiger trade hot-spots such as Kathmandu, Hanoi and the Russia/Northeast China border.

The three-day meet also had representatives from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other funding agencies to discuss an action plan to ensure that by next year, the global tiger recovery programme does not have any gaps in funding. Funding will include for new tiger tracking technologies, innovative law enforcement monitoring tools and a Tiger trade monitoring system to assist enforcement efforts in the field where it is most needed.