Lets Save Our Wild Tigers - Together - Appeal to the Heads of States and Other Delegates at the St. Petersburg Summit on Tiger Conservation

(posted by Devanshu Sood)

Today was the day for which we all had been preparing for throughout the course of our summit. We were to address the Heads of States and the other delegations present at the St. Petersburg International Tiger Forum in the form of an appeal from us the Youth, not only those of us who had assembled at our summit at Vladivostok but the entire youth of the world whom we represent at the summit.

An Appeal by Participants of the International Youth Tiger Forum

The day began with further deliberations on the Global Youth Outreach Project as we tried to break the impasse that existed on the implementation of the plan. It was imperative that we did so as we were to present this project along with a summary of our respective national youth outreach projects in association with the Youth Deceleration or Appeal that we were going to make to those assembled at St. Petersburg. We were able to do so a little before adjuring for Lunch and I must say that we accomplished more than we had hoped for in those four long hours. Everyone and more to say every nation was satisfied with the outcome of the deliberations and we were able to agree upon a broad Global Youth Outreach Project.

The Final Deliberations on the Youth Outreach Project

Following Lunch we began with our final rehearsals for the night before breaking off only to meet again later in the evening for Dinner after which we left for the venue from where the Television Up-link was going to be held, live to St. Petersburg.

Us during the rehearsals 

And finally ...........

We made our appeal to the Heads of States and the other delegations present at St. Petersburg.

It was met with an acceptance from those at St. Petersburg like none other. The political will that all of us conservators had been asking for since the need for conserving our nature, its wildlife, forests and everything that this Earth has to offer us in the form of its rich heritage and nature had finally arrived and come of age. The international summit at St. Petersburg on Tiger Conservation, which brought together Heads of Governments, Scientists, Biologists, Conservators and Policy makers amongst others of all the 13 countries where Tigers are still found and other nations who wish to aid the 13 Tiger Range countries in their efforts for the first time and the pledges made and the decleration of the summit along with the Global Tiger Recovery Programme which were adopted by the Delegations and the Heads of States at the summit in St. Petersburg is testimony to this fact. 

Our Appeal to the Heads of States and the other Delegations present at St. Petersburg

A professor who works on large predators at a leading Wildlife Institute in India said that our video link was very evocative, and was probably the best part of their Summit. It brought tears to his eyes to see us of different nations together, in sharp contrast to the politicized bickering which was going on at the Heads of Government Summit.

All of us after the Appeal at the venue from where the Television Up-link to St. Petersburg was conducted

The Youth Decleration along with our outreach plans along with their original PDF files have been shared in our next post. Feel free to use for academic or research purposes.

An Appeal by Participants of the International Youth Tiger Forum

Unfortunately the video above has been doubed into Russia and hence below we have included the unofficial transcripts of the video.


Unofficial Transcript

MR. ZOELLICK: Thank you very much, Prime Minister.

                                        

                                        Before we hear from the Prime Ministers of Lao PDR, Nepal, and Monique Barbut of the Global Environment Facility, the Russian Government has arranged for a visit by video with the Youth Tiger Forum in Vladivostok, which all of you know sits in the midst of a tiger landscape. Young advocates such as the members of the Youth Forum will be vital voices, and we also hope that some of these talented individuals will become the scientists and conservationists of the future.

SPEAKER: [Speaking Russian.]

[Applause.]

MR. ZOELLICK: Please.

SPEAKER: Honorable sirs and ladies, here in Vladivostok, we are happy to meet you, and I'm glad to pass the word to the Youth Delegates from the tiger range countries and the United Kingdom.

SPEAKER: Good afternoon. I am Anusha Shankar [pause] from India. Over the past week here in Vladivostok, the home of the Amur Tiger, young delegates from 14 countries have gathered to help protect the tiger. We are here because it is important; it is crucial for us to save the tiger. By saving it, we preserve the beauty of our natural world and help secure our future.

                        During the forum, we walked the Tiger Trail. We met with experts who are passionate about tiger conservation. We learned about the Amur Tiger and exchanged information about the situation of tigers in each of our countries. We also drafted a youth appeal in which we call upon the government officials and our citizens, especially the youth of our countries to help us let the tiger survive in its home, in the wild.

                      Thank you.

[Applause.]

SPEAKER: Good afternoon. I am Sosata Jiang Chang [pause] from Laos.

                      We young people care about tigers. We support you to save our wild tigers. Please support our youth outreach projects. We hope that this meeting of heads of government, it's not the last. We strongly urge that at least once in every three or four years our countries meet again to assess progress.

Thank you.

[Applause.]

SPEAKER: Good afternoon. I am Shao Xiang Yung [pause] from China.

                          We hope for and we demand that you, the heads of the governments, sign a declaration which you have proclaimed to the world and henceforth save the tigers together.

It's really a great chance for the youth from 14 countries to come together and from this Declaration, with a passion for tiger conservation and the beliefs for a better world.

                         Thank you.

[Applause.]

SPEAKER: Good afternoon. I'm Duncan Thomas, from the United Kingdom.

                          One can judge our attitudes towards the environment by our action for the tiger. Although in the United Kingdom we have no tigers, the conservation of nature is a global issue and one in which our country can, and should, invest.

                        125,000 British people signed the petition to save the tiger. We support your efforts, and we urge you to make this summit the change in direction that we so crucially need.

                      Save the tiger.

                      Thank you.

[Applause.]

SPEAKER: Good afternoon. I am Kabita Kunwar [pause] from Nepal.

                          I am proud and happy to be on the land of Amur Tigers. It is a great achievement for us to be here. Compared to the historic period, only 3,200 tigers remain. Loss of habitat, poaching, depletion of species and conflict between human and tiger have led to the decline the number of tigers. They are on the verge of extinction.

                         It's a great pleasure to get a chance to see them, but I am shocked [pause] that our future generations may not get the chance to see them.

                        We want to hand over living planet with tigers and full of natural wonders, so I would like to request everyone and especially heads of governments to give their hands for saving the tigers. Let's pledge to save the tiger and save so much more.

                       Thank you.

[Applause.]

SPEAKER: Thank you. With this, I am passing the word to St. Petersburg, to the Prime Ministers of the tiger range countries.

[Applause.]

MR. ZOELLICK: Well, we would all like to thank you for taking the time and energy to pass this issue on to another generation, and I want to thank the Russian Government for hosting you and the World Wildlife Fund for bringing you into this very important action plan.

                      As the host, Prime Minister, do you want to say anything?

PRIME MINISTER PUTIN: Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank all the participants again and to underscore the point made just now by our young friends and colleagues gathering in Vladivostok.

Of course it is of paramount importance to protect this magnificent, regal animal, the tiger, for future generations. But it is even more important to develop, on the basis of work in tiger conservation, some general approaches to wildlife protection and principles for collaborative efforts that could go hand in hand with development. The idea behind this is to create conditions that would stimulate economic and infrastructure development while at the same time enabling us to preserve what we have been given by God, so that future generations can enjoy all the splendor of nature on this planet.

                   I’d like to thank the World Bank and you personally, Mr. Zoellick, for coming up with the idea to hold such forums and for your own conservation efforts. Thank you very much indeed.

[Applause.]

MR. ZOELLICK: Do any of the other Prime Ministers wish to respond?

SPEAKER: Good afternoon, I'm Dmitri Lapaya [pause] from Russia.

                          Thank you very much for your kind attention. We wish you success in your work, and we hope we will save the tiger together!

SPEAKERS: Let's save the tiger together!

[Cheering.]

[Applause.]

MR. ZOELLICK: <Spaciba>, and thank you.

The entire video of the High Level Segment of the International Tiger Conservation Forum, St. Petersburg held from the 21st till the 24th of November, 2010 can be viewed  by clicking here.


As the video at this link has been doubed into Russian the English transcript has been provided at the official site of the summit, click here to access.