Tiger New Year to enhance Bangladesh-China ties

Siberian tigers are seen at a local forest safari park in Qinyang, Central China's Henan province, Jan 29, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is a festival commemorating the coming of spring and the start of a new lunar year. It is the most important festival in China, with a different zodiac symbol for each year, this year's being the tiger. The tiger represents bravery, vitality, and strength, which can help people overcome misfortune and bring auspiciousness and tranquility.

The tiger is also Bangladesh's national animal. It is the sign of Bangladeshi people's valor, courage, and bravery. Every Bangladeshi carries the soul of a Bengal Tiger in his or her heart. As China enters the Year of the Tiger, people from all walks of life in Bangladesh have sent Chinese New Year congratulations. At the commencement of the Chinese Lunar New Year, world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, also expressed their greetings.

It is a source of sadness that this brave species may become extinct in the near future if suitable actions are not taken immediately. The current global wild tiger population is believed to be around 4,000, signifying a 95 percent reduction in the last century. The Royal Bengal Tiger, which is native to Bangladesh, is also facing a substantial population decline. According to the most recent census of 2018, the number of tigers in the Bangladesh part of Sundarbans, - rose to 114, up from 106 recorded during the previous survey in 2015. Poaching crisis, habitat degradation and extreme weather due to greenhouse gas emissions and increasing salt in the water and soil are directly linked to the decline of the Bengal Tiger in Bangladesh.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, tiger numbers have declined dramatically over the last century, from 100,000 to as few as 3,200 in the wild by 2010. Faced with this dilemma, tiger range countries came together in 2010 at the St Petersburg Tiger Summit to set an ambitious goal of doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022.

China has traditionally been a strong supporter of and implementer of worldwide tiger conservation efforts. It has gotten ahead of schedule in safeguarding Siberian tigers, also known as Amur or Manchurian tigers, by vowing to triple the number of tigers by 2022. The Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park were established on Oct 12, 2021. According to data from the park's management office, the number of wild Siberian tigers had climbed to 50 by October 2021, up from 27 at the start of the pilot program in 2017.

"The Bangladesh government is working with the determination to conserve the wild tigers by achieving zero poaching target with the active participation of the local community," according to the Bangladesh environment minister at the Fourth Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation. He also stated that the Bangladesh government is implementing the National Tiger Recovery Program (2017-2022) and the second-generation Bangladesh Tiger Action Plan (2018-2027), which include tiger surveys, genetic studies, SMART patrolling and monitoring by drones inside the Sundarbans, and a capacity-building program for forest officials and the local community, all with the goal of ensuring the Sundarbans and Bengal Tigers' protection and conservation.

Md Abdul Latif, director of the Bangladesh National Zoo, told Xinhua News (China) recently, "We all know that the exchange of knowledge plays a very important role. My humble request is to the Chinese government to share their research knowledge with us so that we can also benefit from it," adding that China is doing research and trying to use the knowledge to make wild animals more human-friendly.

China is also committed to helping countries that are more vulnerable to biodiversity loss, as well as establishing a fund to aid developing countries in their efforts to protect biodiversity. On Oct 13, 2021, while hosting the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, also known as COP15, in Kunming (China), China announced that it would establish a biodiversity fund with 1.5 billion yuan (about $230 million) to benefit developing countries.

Bangladesh has taken steps to increase forestation and create natural habitats for its tigers, and it is high time for Bangladesh and China to collaborate by exchanging experiences, expertise and data to restore tigers' bravery in the wild.

Finally, from Bangladesh, a heartfelt greeting of Happy Tiger New Year.