RALLYING behind the urgency to save the critically-endangered Malayan tiger, WWF-Malaysia, in partnership with Maybank, recently launched Global Tiger Day 2020 — a month-long Malayan tiger-themed campaign.
Global Tiger Day in Malaysia kicked off on July 29, 2020 with a 30-minute Facebook Live launch via the StreamYard live streaming platform, with a series of tiger-themed content planned throughout the month, culminating in a virtual concert which will be broadcast on Aug 30, 2020 in the run-up to the Merdeka celebrations.
Malaysia is one of only 10 tiger-range countries in the world that is home to the tiger.
In the 1950s, Malayan tigers numbered an estimated 3,000 but preliminary findings from Malaysia's first National Tiger Survey have found that the numbers have dropped to less than 200.
This severe decline is thought to be largely a result of the snaring crisis across Southeast Asia that is decimating wildlife populations in the region.
According to a new WWF report, Silence of the Snares: Southeast Asia's Snaring Crisis, an estimated 12 million snares are set up every year throughout protected areas in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, while an average of 53,000 snares were removed annually from 11 protected areas in five Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia.
Within WWF-Malaysia's priority site of Belum-Temengor, the population of tigers has decreased by about 50 per cent in just the past 10 years.
In mid-2018, with Maybank's partnership support, WWF-Malaysia launched an ambitious initiative called Project Stampede which drastically increased the number of patrol teams comprising people from the local indigenous communities, to carry out patrols, remove snares and collect data on poaching.
These efforts have seen a 99 per cent reduction in snares encountered, with 227 active snares deactivated over a total of 22,800 km patrolled on foot over the past four years.
The fate of the Malayan tiger hangs in the balance and it is only through concerted and collective efforts at all levels can the species survive.
"I applaud the collaboration between WWF-Malaysia and Maybank for these continued conservation efforts, which include the protection and monitoring of tigers as well as engagement with local indigenous communities in the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex," said the Patron of WWF-Malaysia, Sultan of Perak, DYMM Paduka Seri Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, adding: "Conserving our natural heritage can only be possible if all parties continue to work together towards a common goal."
"This is a race that we should not drop out of even during unprecedented times such as the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic. We must continue the fight to save the Malayan tigers before it is too late," continued Shahril Azuar Jimin, CEO of Maybank Foundation.
"The cause of conserving the tigers cannot be seen as a short-term initiative but in fact, a meaningful journey of collaborative effort between various like-minded stakeholders. The work that we have done is far from over; we need to continuously place high-impact efforts in order to protect this majestic species and more importantly to ensure the greater ecosystem is not at risk," he added emphatically.
Concurring, Sophia Lim, executive director/CEO of WWF-Malaysia said: "The alarming decline of our national symbol is a clear indication that we need to step up where it matters. Global Tiger Day presents an opportunity not only to highlight our mission, but to translate awareness into action as a vehicle of change to raise the status and restore the majesty of our Malayan tiger."
Global Tiger Day, also known as International Tiger Day, was first celebrated in 2010 and founded at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia.
It had been called in response to shocking news that 97 per cent of all wild tigers had disappeared in the past century. Held each year on July 29, it's an annual celebration to raise awareness for tiger conservation.
LESS THAN 200 REMAIN
THE Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) is a subspecies unique to the Malay Peninsular. Back in the 1950s, Malaysia was estimated to have as many as 3,000 tigers.
However, the subsequent loss of habitat due to rapid development and agriculture expansion, as well as widespread hunting, has caused a drastic decrease in the local tiger population.
Preliminary estimates from Malaysia's first National Tiger Survey indicate that less than 200 remain.
Currently the majority of Malaysia's tiger habitats are contained within four states which still have a substantial amount of forest cover: Pahang, Perak, Kelantan and Terengganu.
The National Tiger Action Plan for Malaysia has also identified three priority areas for tigers in Peninsular Malaysia, namely Belum-Temengor, Taman Negara and Endau- Rompin.
The Malayan Tiger is now classified as a 'Critically Endangered' species under the IUCN Red List and is 'Totally Protected' under Malaysia's Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.
This Act addresses many deficiencies of the previous one, with an overall increase in penalties.
For example, the penalty for offences related to tigers and their derivatives can now reach RM500,000, and up to five years in jail.
Tigers are also listed on Appendix I of CITES (species threatened with extinction), in which trade is prohibited except in exceptional circumstances.
WHY TIGERS ARE IMPORTANT
Tigers are flagship species for their habitats; charismatic representatives of biodiversity within the complex and diverse ecosystems they inhabit.
As these animals need a lot of space to survive, their conservation will help maintain biological diversity and ecological integrity over extensive areas and so help many other species, including humans.
A healthy tiger habitat provides people with food sources and clean water. Ecotourism in protected areas that have tigers provides people with jobs and income.