Amur tiger conservation practices on the Russian Far East: Cooperation of Government Agencies and Civil Society Organizations

The Amur tiger is the world most northern sub-species of tigers. In the early 19th century, the animal was present in most of the Far Eastern regions in Russia, as well as in the Greater Khingan Mountains and west Wandanshan... [ view full abstract ]

The Amur tiger is the world most northern sub-species of tigers. In the early 19th century, the animal was present in most of the Far Eastern regions in Russia, as well as in the Greater Khingan Mountains and west Wandanshan Mountains in China. Due to unregulated hunting and poaching, Amur tigers were significantly extirpated across the most of its range, until a total ban on tiger hunting was introduced in Russia in 1947 and massive restoration activities were launched in Russia in the 1950-s and later in China. Currently, the Amur tiger population has restored its previous range across Sikhote-Alin in Russia and in the forested areas of Heilongjiang and Jilin Provinces in China. The latest entire range Tiger census in 2015 (organized once every 10 years) showed that the population has increased to as many as 540 animals in Russia (WWF 2015). However, there still remain threats to the species' survival, such as poaching; natural habitat degradation and destruction, exacerbated by prey depletion. The talk will focus on general Amur tiger conservation measures taken in Russia, focusing on the problem of tiger poaching and trade in Russia and China, as well as measures taken in both countries to address the problem. Successful collaboration of law enforcement and nature conservation agencies among themselves and with the local nature protection civil society organizations is the key to successful conservation of the Amur Tiger population.