On 17 February, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi chaired a meeting on concluding the fieldwork portion of the coordinated effort to measure the Amur tiger population. The initial data confirms that the tiger habitat in Russia’s Far East has expanded.

“Based on an initial reading of the data, we can say with confidence that the Amur tiger conservation strategy, including reintroducing tigers into the wild, is starting to yield results, and that the rare animal’s habitat is expanding. These initial results allow us to assess the dynamics of the tiger population. For example, tigers are settling in northwestern areas of the Khabarovsk Territory through natural migration, while the process in the Jewish Autonomous Region and Amur Region is mixed, including both natural migration and reintroduction,” Mr Donskoi noted.

Field data is currently being processed. According to Mr Donskoi, the goal of the country and nature conservation organisations is to double the Amur tiger population by 2022. This year, there are plans to hold an international forum on global tiger conservation.

Sergei Aramilyov, director of the Primorye branch of the Amur Tiger Centre, said the count of big cats proceeded in stages and covered all habitats. “Coordinators now have the difficult job of processing and comparing the initial data,” he said. “This process is rather complex, and we should not expect preliminary results before May 2015. The results go beyond numbers and help us identify habitats with poor conditions. Public and private organisations should pay attention to the alarming state of these areas. Moreover, the results will make it possible to pinpoint areas where it is necessary to find compromise solutions for humans and big cats – tigers and leopards.”

After the meeting, officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Amur Tiger Centre signed a cooperation agreement aimed at more effectively implementing state programmes and measures as part of the Amur tiger conservation strategy. In the future, the agreement will serve as a framework for drafting a joint action plan to implement forest reclamation projects, support specially protected nature territories and game reserves, develop and upgrade current environmental protection mechanisms, and introduce new methods for studying the tiger and preserving its habitats.