TIM eMagazine Vol . 2 Issue 9
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Credits : wwf . org
oney invested by governments , aid agencies and funds raised by supporters across the globe to save wild tigers have unseen benefits for Asia ’ s wildlife and millions of people , according to a new World Wildlife Fund ( WWF ) report - Beyond the Stripes : Save tigers , save so much more .
Tiger landscapes - which range from the world ’ s largest mangrove forests in the Sundarbans , to temperate forests in the snowy mountains of Bhutan - overlap with globallyimportant ecosystems , many of which are part of Asia ’ s last wilderness . These biodiversity-rich areas harbor a wealth of critically important goods and services that millions of people rely on , from mitigating climate change and safeguarding freshwater to reducing the impact of natural disasters and improving the health of local people .
The report highlights that securing tiger landscapes could help protect at least nine major watersheds , which regulate and provide freshwater for up to 830 million people in Asia , including in urban areas across India , Malaysia and Thailand . Similarly , safeguarding tiger landscapes could , in turn , protect the last remaining forests critical for carbon sequestration , helping to mitigate climate change .
“ Every dollar invested in saving the wild tiger also helps save many threatened species , and ecosystem services that are critical to millions of people ,” said Michael Baltzer , Leader of WWF Tigers Alive . “ Protecting the vast landscapes where tigers thrive helps to regulate freshwater , reduce the impacts of climate change and provide a source of clean air , medicinal plants , jobs , and so much more .” Yet , wild tigers are endangered , and their habitats are threatened ; having lost 95 percent of their global range , the cats are now confined to fragmented populations in Asia ’ s surviving forest habitats . Even in the remaining range where tigers roam , close to half ( 43 percent ) of the present suitable tiger habitat could soon be lost to unsustainable agriculture expansion and urbanization , the report warns .
Forest loss continues at an alarming rate in tiger range states . Malaysia and Indonesia are among the world ’ s leading producers of carbon emissions linked to forest degradation . If such trends persist , more key tiger landscapes could switch from absorbing carbon to becoming net carbon emitters . In Sumatra alone , the only place in the world where tigers , orangutans and rhinos are found in the same habitat , deforestation has reduced natural forest cover by more than 50 percent in the past three decades .
“ The success of protecting wild tigers is a perfect indicator for Asia ’ s sustainable development . With Asia ’ s rapid economic expansion , prioritizing tiger conservation will significantly aid in securing natural capital that is necessary to meet the region ’ s sustainable development goals ,” said Baltzer . “ Protecting tiger landscapes achieves a win-win for tigers , and for our future generations . But if we fail to save wild tigers , we may fail to save much more .”
As an apex predator , tigers need vast landscapes to thrive , sharing their home with many other endangered species , such as the Asian elephant , leopard , and orangutan . Protecting the tiger ’ s habitat thus helps to protect other threatened wildlife , including endangered but lesser known species that would otherwise receive little support – such as the pignose frog that spends most of its life underground , and is found only in the mountainous Western Ghats of India , where tigers have helped to spearhead the protection of natural sites . wwfus . org
Credits : wwf . org
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