Network developed to track big cats

After nearly 20 years of efforts, China has developed a network for monitoring endangered Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, covering more than 12,000 square kilometers in the provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang, an expert said on Sunday.

Jiang Guangshun, deputy director of Feline Research Center of the Natural Forestry and Grassland Administration, made the statement at the International Forum on Tiger and Leopard Transboundary Conservation, which kicked off on Sunday in Harbin, Heilongjiang province.

With technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, Jiang and his team have recorded more than 4,000 infrared camera video clips of tigers and more than 600 clips of leopards, said Jiang's report on conservation of Siberian tigers and Amur leopards presented at the forum.

"By comparing data on tigers and leopards of China and Russia from 2013 to 2015, we confirm that 17 tigers and 42 leopards are shared populations of both China and Russia," he said. "Ecological environment has greatly improved since the natural forest protection project started in 1998, and all commercial logging has been stopped, which helped in protecting tigers and leopards."

"However, we still face great challenges," he said. "The distribution pattern of the two species suggests that the protection of the tiger and leopard requires the establishment of a network of protected sites, construction of international and domestic corridors, and formation of a permeable landscape. It needs attention and support from all over the world."

"Military fences, transportation facilities and farmland in the habitats have a strong impact on tigers' free migration in different areas in China and cross-border areas between China and Russia. Living in small and isolated areas may cause more inbreeding, which can be seen as a factor for declined immunity," he said.

"Therefore, the ecological corridor construction project, including the improvement of habitat quality, is an essential requirement. The project can ensure the ecological security of the cross-border areas, which is a good opportunity for jointly overcoming international ecological management and technical problems. It may also become a transnational cooperation model for the protection of endangered species."

Focusing on big cats all around the world, especially tiger and leopard populations, the two-day event attracted more than 300 representatives from 19 countries, including Nepal, Russia, Vietnam, and 10 international organizations, including World Wildlife Fund, an international NGO working in the field of wildlife preservation.

"As the flagship species, tiger and leopard are important symbols of healthy and stable natural ecosystem, which have high conservation value," said Zhang Jianlong, head of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

"The protection of tigers and leopards in the world has achieved remarkable results through the joint efforts of all parties, but we still face problems such as insufficient habitat areas."

Representatives held discussions on monitoring technology, restoration of populations and habitat areas, landscape resource allocation in protected areas, conflict resolution and other related technical and policy issues.

A consensus on tiger and leopard transboundary conservation was reached by all representatives at the forum. They also said sustained joint efforts were still necessary to achieve the recovery of tiger and leopard populations in transboundary areas.

Furthermore, the plan to establish an international exchange and cooperation mechanism for cross-border protection of tigers and leopards is expected to make important progress in the future.

Contact the writer at zhouhuiying@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Global 07/30/2019 page3)