Le retour du tigre en Europe: le blog d'Alain Sennepin

... ET DEPOPULATION AU COMPTE - GOUTTES. Les cachalots des îles Canaris sont en baisse démographique constante. Les 2 à 3 décès annuels dans des accidents maritimes avec des navires sont supérieurs au nombre des naissances. Hakai Magazine, hier.Jason G. Goldman. "Death by a thousand ship strikes".

http://www.hakaimagazine.com/article-short/death-thousand-ship-strikes

A l'issue de la Conférence de New Dehli sur la protection des tigres sauvages, les autorités des pays représentés se sont engagés à mieux respecter les espaces naturels, reconnaissant ceux - ci comme un capital précieux et non un obstacle à éliminer ou contourner. Par ailleurs, l'Inde a mis cartes sur tables, en reconnaissant officiellement que son territoire abritait environ 2500 tigres. Times of India, ce jour. "Tiger countries agree to preserve big cat habitats."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Tiger-countries-agree-to-preserve-big-cat-habitats/articleshow/51851196.cms

Representatives from the 13 Asian countries with tigers, meeting this week in New Delhi, issued a resolution acknowledging that the forests in which tigers live are inherently valuable themselves and worthy of protection.
These forests can help preserve economic growth by safeguarding water supplies, improving air quality and providing homes for not only tigers but also birds, frogs and other mammals.
"Before, there's always been this conflict of development versus conservation, as if countries had to choose," said Sejal Worah, the program director for World Wildlife Fund in India.
"But in this resolution, it clearly states that natural capital is important to the economy of a country," she said. "Countries understand that preserving tiger habitats does not compromise growth. And that's important. That's new."
The world's tiger countries are all in Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. India has the most by far, with about 2,500. None of the others have more than 500 and some have just a few.
Many of the countries have growing human populations and fast-developing economies. By 2022, they want to double the world's wild tiger population from the all-time low of 3,200 hit in 2010.
On Monday, conservation groups announced that the world's tiger count had gone up to 3,890, according to 2014-15 survey data. That marked the first increase in the wild population census in more than a century. But that did not necessarily mean there were more tigers in the wild. The higher number may just mean scientists are getting better at counting them, with more sophisticated survey methods including camera traps and DNA analysis of scat.
An actual increase in wild tiger populations would also be hard to reconcile with the fact that their habitat is shrinking so fast. In just the last five years, tigers lost a full 40 percent of their remaining natural habitat, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
"The tiger is still teetering on the brink of extinction, and a too-hasty celebration of an increase in tiger numbers will only disservice efforts for the species' conservation," said John Goodrich, tiger program director at the New York-based big cat conservation group Panthera.
He and other tiger biologists said it was unrealistic to think the world could double its wild tiger population by 2022, unless tiger landscapes were vastly increased. Today, tigers roam across just 7 percent of their historical range.

"Rather than engaging in these tiger number games that distract them from reality, conservationists must now focus on enhancing and expanding recovery and monitoring of source populations, while protecting their remaining habitat and their linkages,"Goodrich and the other biologists wrote.

Cambodia this year declared its tiger population "functionally extinct," meaning it had no breeding tigers left in the wild. While in New Delhi this week, Cambodia's agriculture minister reportedly looked into repopulating the Southeast Asian country with Indian tigers.

India is ready to help, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said. "India is willing to cooperate with any country which does not have or has lost its tiger population in the course of history," he said Thursday.

India also agreed to strengthen controls against cross-border wildlife crimes, including trafficking in animals and animal parts such as tiger skins and bones and rhino horns.

LES COPAINS D'ABORD. Après un tigre et un bouc, un ours et un blaireau. The Siberian Times, ce jour. Black bear hug for badger in "odd couple" safari park.

http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/n0644-black-bear-hug-for-badger-in-odd-couple-safari-park/

NARENDRA MODI ASSOCIE LE RENFORCEMENT DES POPULATIONS DE TIGRES ET LE DEVELOPPEMENT. Dans son discours introductif à la 3ème Conférence asiatique sur le tigre, hier, le premier ministre indien a fortement insisté sur l'impératif d'une coopération internationale renforcée. Times of India, hier. PM Modi urges international collaboration for tiger conservation.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/PM-Modi-urges-international-collaboration-for-tiger-conservation/articleshow/51795913.cms?

Making a strong pitch for tiger conservation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday underlined the need for collaboration between governments at the highest level to check trafficking in body parts of the wildcat.
Noting that conservation of tiger or nature is "not a drag" on development, the Prime Minister insisted that both can happen in a mutually and complementary manner and emphasised on the need to reorient the strategy.
Modi said forests are inseparable from wild animals and both are mutually complementary.
"Destruction of one leads to destruction of the other. This is an important cause of climate change which is now affecting us adversely in many ways. This is a global phenomenon which all of us are grappling with," he said.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation where tiger range countries will discuss key issues including anti-poaching strategies.
Noting that tiger habitats have reduced drastically across tiger range countries, the Prime Minister said the situation has been aggravated by the ongoing trafficking in body parts and derivatives of this magnificient animal.
"A major threat to the tiger is the demand for its body parts. The forest and its wild denizens are an open treasury which cannot be locked up. It is painful to learn about trafficking of body parts of tigers and other big cats. We need to collaborate at the highest levels of governments to address the serious issues.

"In India too we have been facing the challenge of poaching. The positive side for us in India is that the majority of people respect trees, animals, forest rivers. They consider earth as mother and the universe as one family," he said.

The Prime Minister said there is a need to define conservation as a means to achieve development rather than considering it to be "anti-growth".

En lien avec ce qui précède, des compagnies maritimes et aériennes indiennes sont entrées dans un dispositif international de contrôle renforcé du commerce illégal d'animaux sauvages : "Three of the biggest shipping and airline companies in India signed the Buckingham Palace Declaration that binds signatories to 11 commitments aimed at preventing traffickers from exploiting weaknesses in the covert journey of their products from killing field to marketplace. The commitments focus on information sharing, staff training, technological improvements, and resource sharing across companies and organisations worldwide." Extrait de : "Why India must not celebrate the rise in tiger numbers", Hindustan Times, hier.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/why-india-must-not-celebrate-the-rise-in-tiger-numbers/story-JFGYML5kXFjFwdqKvrwL6H.html

Plus largement, l'Inde annoncera demain son rattachement au SAWEN (organisme régional de lutte contre les atteintes à la vie sauvage, et qui compte aujourd'hui 7 pays en son sein : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhoutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) et le renforcement significatif des capacités d'action de ce dernier. Times of India, ce jour. "India to join South Asian Nations to curb wildlife crime".

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/India-to-join-South-Asian-nations-to-curb-wildlife-crime/articleshow/51815666.cms

Ainsi que : Times of India, ce jour. "Cabinet nod to adopt statute of South Asia wildlife Enforcement Network to check wildlife crimes".

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Cabinet-nod-to-adopt-statute-of-South-Asia-Wildlife-Enforcement-Network-to-check-wildlife-crimes/articleshow/51816144.cms

Voir aussi, extrait de l'éditorial de The hindu, ce jour : Keeping tigers in the green zone.

In the future, wild tigers will survive if countries can maintain inviolate core habitats for breeding populations, ensure habitat connectivity for genetic exchange and crack down on poaching of both tigers and prey. There are wildlife reserves in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Assam, West Bengal and Jharkhand where the Environment Ministry wants to improve conditions for tiger breeding. As part of this exercise, Rs.380 crore has been made available to Project Tiger this year. What is conspicuous, however, is the lack of political will to remove industrial pressures on forests. The proposal to widen National Highway 7 in Central India, for instance, has become controversial because of the dreadful impact it would have on tigers in the Kanha-Pench and Kanha-Nagzira corridors in Maharashtra. It is contradictory to talk of protecting source populations which occupy only 6 per cent of the habitat on the one hand, and simultaneously engage in destructive activities in the same forests. Mitigating the damage through benign alternatives is vital. Such green leadership would also make India’s collaboration with other countries in the Global Tiger Forum meaningful, demonstrating to them the unique experience of a populous nation conserving forests and wildlife and providing life-sustaining ecosystem services to all. The Environment Ministry must also view independent scientific organisations as partners, and stop putting up bureaucratic hurdles to research in protected areas. Effective conservation demands transparency.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/keeping-tigers-in-the-green-zone/article8467554.ece

Voir également les deux articles de fond de Vidya Venkat publiés dans The Hindu, ce jour.

Big cat population up by 690.

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/global-tiger-population-up-by-22-per-cent/article8461131.ece

Rising tiger numbers : Expert warn against premature celebration

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/rising-tiger-numbers-experts-warn-against-premature-celebration/article8467582.ece

Illustration tiré de l'article de Vidya Venkat "Rising tiger numbers : Expert warn again premature celebration", publié dans "The Hindu" du mercredi 13 avril 2016.

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/rising-tiger-numbers-experts-warn-against-premature-celebration/article8467582.ece

Le nombre de tigres sauvages répertoriés dans le Monde a officiellement augmenté entre 2010 (3200 individus) et 2014 (3890) , pour la première fois depuis un siècle. The Times of India, ce jour. World's wild tiger count rise for first time a century. De mon point de vue, les chiffres avancés, s'ils expriment souvent une tendance réelle (travail plus précis des recenseurs, hausse ou baisse effective des populations) sont de simples ordres de grandeur, parfois très approximatifs. De plus, la publication de ces éléments (et non "informations") la veille du Sommet de New - Dehli ne doit évidemment rien au hasard (voir "Chiffres politiques et réalités" mis en ligne le 17 janvier 2015).

http://europe-tigre.over-blog.com/2015/01/chiffres-politiques-et-realites.html

Face aux chiffres suivants officiellement avancés: Bangladesh, 106; Bhutan, 103; Cambodia, 0; China, more than 7; India, 2,226; Indonesia, 371; Laos, 2; Malaysia, 250; Myanmar, no data available; Nepal, 198; Russia, 433; Thailand, 189; Vietnam, fewer than 5. The experts said the Myanmar government count of 85 tigers in 2010 was not included because the data was considered out of date. Voici mon commentaire : les données concernant le Bangladesh, le Bhoutan et le Népal me semblent correctes, tout comme pour la péninsule indochinoise, où l'animal n'existe plus qu'à l'état résiduel. La situation est probablement identique au Myanmar. Thaïlande (entre 200 et 250 individus), Malaisie (300 individus) et Indonésie (600) ont des données sous estimées, modérément pour les premières, largement pour la troisième. La Malaisie comptait plus de 500 individus en 2010. Comme le Bangladesh (qui a lui aussi connu un fort recul de ses populations de tigres du delta du Gange), elle compte engager une vigoureuse politique de sauvegarde pour sauver son emblème national. Elle sous - estime sa population tigréenne dans un souci de mobilisation la plus rapide et la plus forte possible. A l'inverse, la Thaïlande, et plus encore l'Indonésie, sous - estiment les populations de tigres présents sur leurs territoires respectifs, qui n'ont pas baissé depuis 2010, jouant sur l'objectif de doublement du nombre pour 2022... Il s'agit donc, dans leurs cas, de sous - estimations de confort. L'Inde compte au moins 2400 à 2500 tigres (début 2015), la Russie 560 (début 2016), la Chine près de 40 (début 2016). La Corée du Nord, non répertoriée ici, abrite probablement plus d'une vingtaine de tigres dans sa région montagneuse du Nord - Est. Et ce soir, dans le Workshop sur les plans de réintroduction, les experts réunis à New Dehli feront le point sur la concrétisation du plan cambodgien en 2018 et celle du plan Kazakh en 2020, mais passeront sous silence celle de Chine du Sud qui interviendra dans la même période... Des représentants officiels du Kirghistan et du Kazakhstan participeront à la Conférence dans son ensemble.

Par ailleurs, à propos de "Still, this is the first time tiger counts are increasing since 1900, when there were more than 100,000 tigers in the wild.", tout est dans le "more than"... puisqu'il y avait au moins 40 000 tigres en Chine du Sud, le même nombre (minimum minimorum) en Inde, et plusieurs dizaines de milliers en Asie centrale où il est officiellement éteint depuis la deuxième moitié du siècle dernier...

Sur le long terme, si l'on ne prend en compte que les capacités d'accueil des milieux, les possibilités d'expansion des populations les plus fortes se situent en Malaisie, Thaïlande, et, plus encore, au Myanmar.

The world's count of wild tigers roaming forests from Russia to Vietnam has gone up for the first time in more than a century, with 3,890 counted by conservation groups and national governments in the latest global census, wildlife conservation groups said on Monday.
The tally marks a turnaround from the last worldwide estimate in 2010, when the number of tigers in the wild hit an all-time low of about 3,200, according to the World Wildlife Fund and the Global Tiger Forum.
India alone holds more than half of the world's tigers, with 2,226 tigers roaming reserves across the country, from the southern tip of Kerala state to the eastern swamps in West Bengal, according to its last count in 2014.
But while experts said the news was cause for celebration, they stopped short of saying the number of tigers itself was actually rising. In other words, it may just be that experts are aware of more tigers, thanks to better survey methods and more areas being surveyed.
Still, this is the first time tiger counts are increasing since 1900, when there were more than 100,000 tigers in the wild.
"More important than the absolute numbers is the trend, and we're seeing the trend going in the right direction," said Ginette Hemley, senior vice-president of wildlife conservation at WWF.
The global census, compiled from national tiger surveys as well as the International Union for Conservation of Nature, was released a day before ministers from 13 countries meet for three days in New Delhi.
The countries teamed up with conservation groups after the disappointing count in 2010, and pledged to double wild tiger numbers by 2022. Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio joined the effort.
"Tigers are some of the most vital and beloved animals on Earth," DiCaprio said in a statement. "I am so proud that our collective efforts have begun to make progress toward our goal, but there is still so much to be done."
Not all nations are yet seeing progress. While Russia, India, Bhutan and Nepal all counted more tigers in their latest surveys, Southeast Asian countries have struggled. They are also behind the others in conservation measures, and do not yet conduct a tiger census on their own.
"When you have high-level political commitments, it can make all the difference," Hemley said. "When you have well protected habitat and you control the poaching, tigers will recover. That's a pretty simple formula. We know it works."
Cambodia is looking at reintroducing tigers after recently declaring them functionally extinct within its borders, meaning there are no longer any breeding tigers in the wild. Indonesia has also seen a rapid decline, thanks to having the world's highest rate of forest destruction to meet growing demand for producing palm oil as well as pulp and paper.

Tigers are considered endangered species, under constant threat from habitat loss and poachers seeking their body parts for sale on the black market. They are also seeing their habitats rapidly shrinking as countries develop.

The global tiger count is based on data from 2014. Here is the tally broken down by country:

Bangladesh, 106; Bhutan, 103; Cambodia, 0; China, more than 7; India, 2,226; Indonesia, 371; Laos, 2; Malaysia, 250; Myanmar, no data available; Nepal, 198; Russia, 433; Thailand, 189; Vietnam, fewer than 5.

The experts said the Myanmar government count of 85 tigers in 2010 was not included because the data was considered out of date.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Worlds-wild-tiger-count-rise-for-first-time-in-a-century/articleshow/51773245.cms

Le Premier Ministre indien Narendra Modi inaugurera demain la Conférence Internationale de New Dehli. Voir : Times of India, ce jour. PM to inaugurate international meet on Tiger conservation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will tomorrow inaugurate the third Asia ministerial conference on tiger conservation where tiger range countries will discuss key issues including anti-poaching strategies.
"More than 700 tiger experts, scientists, managers, donors and other stakeholders are gathering to discuss issues related to tiger conservation," an official statement said.
Ministers and government officials from all tiger range countries namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, India, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russian Federation, Thailand, Vietnam, besides Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan, having ranges of snow leopard will participate in the conference.
While several tiger range countries like India, Nepal, Russia and Bhutan have registered an increase in tiger population, the status of tiger remains "endangered" and tiger population has decimated to non-viable level in some range countries, which is a cause for concern.
"We have allotted Rs 380 crore to the Project Tiger in the current fiscal year, which is an all-time high and indicates that the Government of India is committed to the conservation of our national animal 'Tiger'," said environment minister Prakash Javadekar.
He said that due to the concerted efforts of the government and other stakeholders, more than 70% of the global wild tiger population is in India.
He also said that saving the Tiger means much more than ecological balance and "it is helping in combating adverse effects of climate change as well".

Additional Director General (Project Tiger) BS Bonal said that the delegates will discuss all important issues like landscape conservation and habitat management, tiger reintroduction, monitoring protocols, anti-poaching strategy, modern tools and technology for monitoring amongst others.

"The countries will report the status and progress of their global or national tiger recovery programme and will come out with a futuristic declaration for tiger conservation," he said.

It can be mentioned here that during the Global Tiger Summit at St Petersburg held in 2010, tiger range countries committed to double the tiger number by 2022 and adopted the global or national tiger recovery programme.

This conference is being co-organized by the Environment ministry, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Global Tiger Forum, Global Tiger Initiative Council, Wildlife Institute of India, WWF and Wildlife Conservation Trust.