Photo credit: ondrejprosicky/Adobe Stock
On the occasion of Earth Day 2024, the Royal Government of Bhutan is hosting the Sustainable Finance for Tiger Landscapes Conference under the patronage of The Queen, Jetsun Pema Wangchuck. The conference will launch an ambition to mobilize $1 billion in new funding over 10 years for the preservation of tiger landscapes, which are vital to maintaining biodiversity, sequestering carbon, supplying resources to over 100 million people, and ensuring the overall health of our planet.
Co-organized by the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Tiger Conservation Coalition, of which World Wildlife Fund is a part of, the conference will include expert panels leading insightful discussions on sustainable finance, linkages with the United Nations’ Global Biodiversity Framework, and the role of public-private partnerships in safeguarding tiger landscapes. The two-day event brings together tiger range countries, visionary private and public sector donors, thought leaders, international development agencies, and conservation non-governmental organizations including WWF to foster dialogue, collaboration, and innovative solutions for the conservation of tigers and tiger habitats.
Formed ahead of the 2022 Year of the Tiger, the Tiger Conservation Coalition comprises a diverse group of tiger conservation organizations and multilateral agencies that support tiger range countries in realizing their long-term tiger conservation ambitions and delivering impact for nature and people from the local to the global levels.
“Bhutan is honored to host this globally significant event on tiger landscape conservation as part of our ambitions to be a world leader in environment sustainability, carbon neutrality, and biodiversity conservation," said Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay.
“Since 2010, the Global Environment Facility has provided more than $197 million in financing and mobilized another $880 million in co-finance for tiger conservation. To increase effectiveness of the GEF’s investments, and to mobilize sustainable financing for biodiversity conservation and use, we need to expand collaboration across all sectors of society. This conference will bring together varied experts and leaders to focus on this iconic species and help determine how to realize biodiversity financing at the scale we urgently need," said Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility.
As the world’s largest cat and an apex predator, tigers play a significant role in the structure and function of the ecosystems on which humans and wildlife rely. They are a “landscape” species, needing large areas with diverse habitats, free from human disturbance and rich in prey.
“Landscapes with wild tigers are healthy and vibrant ecosystems which are critically important in a climate changing world. Securing these tiger landscapes through sustainable financing will bring multiple benefits to the people and wildlife across Asia," said Stuart Chapman, Chair of Tiger Conservation Coalition and Lead of WWF Tigers Alive.
Keynote speakers will include a global environmental champion, the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay; CEO and Chairperson of the world’s biggest biodiversity fund, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez; and WWF-US President and CEO Carter Roberts. Collectively speakers and panelists will shine a spotlight on tigers and their potential to maximize contributions to global biodiversity, climate, and sustainable development agendas.
As the world grapples with the urgent need for conservation efforts, the Sustainable Finance for Tiger Landscapes Conference in Bhutan stands as a beacon of hope, inspiring collective action towards a sustainable and harmonious coexistence between humans and the magnificent creatures that inhabit our shared planet.
As a member of the Tiger Conservation Coalition, WWF-US supports the overarching goals of the summit to foster a robust conversation among governments, non-profit organizations, and financial leaders about the need for long-term financing strategies in support of endangered species and their landscapes.
About the Tiger Conservation Coalition
The Tiger Conservation Coalition brings together leading biologists and experts in wildlife crime, human-wildlife coexistence, policy, finance, development and communications, with unprecedented alignment on achieving tiger conservation at scale. Its member organizations include the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Environmental Investigation Agency; Fauna & Flora; Natural State; Panthera; TRAFFIC; the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the Wildlife Conservation Society; Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). For more information contact info@tigercoalition.org.
Originally posted by WWF-US.
