RI needs other countries to save its tigers
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia should increase its tiger population through cooperation with neighboring countries which have been used to smuggle the endangered species, a chief conservationist said.
Cooperation with neighboring countries is one effort to increase the tiger population and to prevent the smuggling of the endangered species, Director of Fauna and Flora International Indonesia Programme, Darmawan Liswanto, said here on Tuesday.
He said that cooperation with other countries could be agreed at a high level forum on the World Tiger Rescue Meeting in Bali on July 12 to 14, 2010.
At the forum titled "Pre Tiger Summit Partners Dialogue Meeting" 13 countries with a tiger population are expected to draw a world tiger population recovery plan.
However, according to Director of WCS-Indonesia, Noviar Andayani, safeguarding tigers cannot rely merely on 13 countries. "Countries that have tiger population cannot do tiger salvaging without the support of other countries. The meeting in Bali is important to serve as a place to discuss ways how to overcome the decline in tiger population," said Noviar.
Meanwhile, Darori, director general of forest protection and nature conservation (PHKA)of the Ministry of Forestry, said that damaged forests contributed to the decline of the tiger population.
Darori said that the Ministry of Forestry was doing its best to double the number of the population of wild tigers whose number now was only 400 heads.
Executive Director of WWF Indonesia Efransjah said the Ministry of Forestry had been making tiger conservation efforts such as restoring the critical areas of Sumatran tiger`s habitat.
With regard to the funds to conserve tigers the government has calculated the needed one at US$170 million, he said.
In the meantime, the funds available at the PHKA only amounted to Rp15 billion for the overall conservation effort, which included safeguarding tigers.
