On 28−29 June, Khabarovsk hosted an international research and practice forum dedicated to Amur tiger preservation. The forum was organised by the Khabarovsk Territory government and the Amur Tiger Centre. It brought together 95 experts in wildlife protection.

The participants in the forum agreed that the Amur tiger population in Russia is stable in its given habitat. The population shows natural growth in certain areas, and the tiger range is expanding to the west, northwest and north.

The reintroduction measures taken in the Jewish Autonomous Region and the Amur Region helped to form two stable tiger groups in the Jewish Autonomous Region: in the Bastak Nature Reserve and the Zhuravliny and Dichun nature sanctuaries, as well as the future Pompeyevsky national park.

Among the discussed topics was the creation of breeding areas, or game protection areas, in hunting farms. “The law stipulates the creation of such areas, but how should they be marked? And what is more important − the punishment for not designating these areas or violating the regulations − is not prescribed. Earlier, such zones were called quiet areas, where animals could breed; they can be described as mini-reserves located within hunting farms. We also suggested calling such areas specially protected forest areas where tree logging is prohibited,” said Sergei Aramilev, general director of the Amur Tiger Centre.

Experts note that despite all achievements, there are certain problems that must be solved at the federal level. They include developing a unified procedure of decision making to resolve human-wildlife conflicts in Russian regions. The main objectives are to ensure the safety of people and their property and to protect large predators. To this end, groups to resolve conflicts with large predators were established in the Primorye and Khabarovsk territories. The Tiger Centre has the infrastructure for the temporary stay and rehabilitation of large predators.

“It is almost impossible to preserve the tiger without a developed hunting infrastructure. Hunters want the number of ungulates, the main prey of the tiger, to grow, and they can maintain the ungulate population in the tiger habitat thus helping the tiger survive. Secondly, we need to not just limit, but prohibit the logging of oaks. Oaks are crucial for the survival of boars, and therefore, tiger cubs. When the number of oaks decreases, it poses a threat to the tiger as well. All these conclusions are documented in the forum resolution and will be discussed at the government level,” said Yury Dunishenko, senior research fellow at the Far Eastern branch of the National Research Institute of Hunting Industry and Fur Farming.

These and other proposals are set forth in the draft resolution which will be drawn up by 16 July 2018. The reports and roundtable minutes will be published later.