Thailand praised for outstanding tiger conservation

Thailand has been praised for being a model for tiger conservation for other countries with wild tigers. Keshav Varma, Director of the World Bank-sponsored Global Tiger Initiative, on Monday praised Thailand for being an example for tiger conservation for other countries at a side meeting on tiger conservation, as part of the 16th Meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP16) being held in Bangkok from March 3-14. The side meeting at Bangkok's Queen Sirikit National Convention Center followed up the implementation of a plan to double the population of wild tigers in 13 counties by 2022. Thailand now has the second biggest population of wild tigers, about 250, after India with about 1,700 wild tigers; while the worldwide population of wild tigers stands at about 3,200. Varma, however, expressed his concern over the declining population of wild tigers in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal and called for serious suppression of their killing and trafficking. At the side meeting, Sivananthan Elagupillay of Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks, also proposed the construction of overpasses and underpasses at 37 transport crossings to complete wildlife trails, from southern Thailand via Malaysia to Singapore, for better wildlife protection. (TNA)