- The last Global Tiger Initiative summit (GTI) was held in 2010, where tiger-range countries discussed the fall in tiger populations and future plans for tiger conservation.
- Since then, while India, Nepal, and Bhutan have made visible efforts to save their tigers, some other countries saw a decline in tiger numbers and acted with a lack of transparency and accountability.
- During the next tiger summit in 2022, all tiger-range countries need to take charge of conservation issues instead of hiding the truth to avoid humiliation. Conservation efforts must entail transparency, accountability, and the creation of a supervising authority.
- The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Tiger conservation was already on the agendas of ecologists and biologists long before the U.N. introduced CITES in 1975. There were highs and lows in the last century, but the absolute low was in 2010 when the number of tigers in the wild dropped to around 3,200. The then-13 tiger-range countries and relevant organizations gathered in St. Petersburg, Russia, during the so-called Global Tiger Initiative summit (GTI). 2022 will see another tiger summit but, despite all good intentions, some countries will still act like saving tigers from extinction is not a serious matter.
This commentary will focus on two essential elements missing from international tiger conservation practice: transparency and accountability.
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