Summit on tigers produces agreement

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Governments of 13 countries where the world's tigers still live, meeting in Russia for a wildlife summit, say they've endorsed a proposal to save the big cats.

Delegates to a summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, agreed on plans intended to double the number of tigers by 2022, the BBC reported Wednesday.

The countries say they will focus on protecting tiger habitats, addressing poaching and illegal trade, and providing the financial resources for the efforts.

Tiger numbers have dropped in the last 100 years from about 100,000 to less than 3,500 tigers in the wild today, with a 40 percent decline in just the past decade, and some populations could disappear within the next 20 years, conservationists say.

The United Nations Environment Program says the St. Petersburg Declaration will strengthen international collaboration to protect the Asian wild tiger.

"There was clearly a loud roar from St. Petersburg this week on behalf of the last remaining tigers on our planet," said John Robinson, chief conservation officer with the Wildlife Conservation Society.

"World leaders rarely find agreements at conferences and summits but the beloved tiger has proven to be a uniting force," he said.