International Specialists Discuss China's Threatened Cats

 

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                Cat specialists from the international community and China met in Beijing 24 August 1992 under the auspices of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group and the Endangered Species Scientific Commission of the People's Republic of China. They reviewed the status of the 12 species of Felidae found in China, conservation problems, and measures necessary to ensure their future.

                The meeting noted that China was second only to India in its wealth of wild cat species, a precious natural heritage. While information was largely lacking about the status of all these species because little field research had been carried out, it was apparent that populations were declining and becoming fragmented because of loss of habitat and persecution of cats as predators on livestock. Wild cats were being killed not only by direct hunting but also when falling victim to traps set for other species. Their future was a matter of serious concern.

                The meeting heard that the tiger, a first category protected species which has played a major role in the culture of the Chinese people from time immemorial, is critically endangered and could become extinct in the country within a few years. While a population of the northeast China tiger P. t. altaica survives in adjacent areas of maritime Russia, the South China tiger P.t. amoyensis is found only in China and its extinction would represent a major loss for China and the world as a whole. It would also be a tragedy for science as it is considered to be the stem subspecies of tiger from which other subspecies evolved and radiated to other parts of Asia.

                The meeting noted that tiger poaching appeared to be increasing in India and Nepal, apparently in order to smuggle bones to China for medicinal use.

                The existence of a tiger farm in Heilongjiang Province, which currently contains 62 tigers, was noted, as well as the longterm objective of releasing captivebred tigers in protected wild habitats.

                The meeting noted that surveys of the status of the leopard cat Felis bengalensis were being carried out by provincial authorities for the Ministry of Forests and were expected to be completed in 1993. In addition there is a proposal under consideration for a scientific survey of the status and ecology of the species and the very large trade in skins.

                The meeting heard a report on the meeting and resolutions of the International Snow Leopard Symposium in Xining, 2630 July 1992. It was reported that snow leopards Panthera uncia were also being poached for bones and a resolution called for action to curb the trade. Another resolution called for the establishment of ecodevelopment zones within and around protected areas in order to minimize conflict between wildlife and people.

                Recommendations

                The meeting of international and Chinese cat specialists recommends that action be taken immediately to stem the decline of China's cat populations and to prevent the extinction of some species. The following actions are required:

                1. In view of the decline in numbers of wild cats in China and the critical status of some species, urgent and effective measures need to be taken by the authorities, institutions and conservation organizations concerned to conserve this valuable natural heritage, not only for ecological reasons but because wild cats have long played an important role in the culture of China.

                2. A Task Force should be convened to coordinate research and conservation action. It should be required to report within six months.

                3. Adequate funds should be made available for research to establish the status of all species; the problems that have to be overcome to conserve them; and action programmes for conservation.

                4. Urgent conservation measures should be taken to save the South China tiger from imminent extinction. The priorities are:

                a. A special Task Force should be convened to plan and coordinate conservation of the subspecies. Cooperation between authorities, including the Ministry of Forests, Ministry of Construction, the Environmental Protection Administration and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, should be ensured.

                b. Measures should be taken to ensure the protection of the surviving wild population. The use of snares for hunting other wild species in tiger ranges should be banned as it is known that tigers have been injured and crippled by them.

                 c. A scientific captive breeding programme should be established, based on cooperation between Chinese zoos which hold the existing population. Establishment of a special breeding centre should be considered. In order to promote the genetic health of both the captive and wild populations, use should be made of modern techniques of embryo transplant and sperm collection.

                5. Efforts should be made to arrest the decline of the northeast China tiger and to rebuild the population. Cooperation should be established with the authorities in the Primorye province of Russia to ensure that genetic exchange between the two tiger populations can take place via protected corridors.

                6. The authorities concerned should give further assistance for development of the tiger breeding farm in Heilongjian Province, which has made great progress in husbandry and breeding of the northeast China tiger.

                7. The categories to which certain species have been assigned in the Chinese law for wildlife protection should be reviewed when the law is next revised. In view of the fact that Felis bieti is endemic to China and that little is known about its status, consideration should be given to placing it in Category I. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre should include F. bieti in the IUCN Red List of Endangered Animals as  Indeterminate.

                8. A proposal now under examination for a scientific status and trade survey followed by a population ecology study of the leopard cat Felis bengalensis should be encouraged as the results will be valuable for sustainable use of the species.

                9. Training in modern field census methods should be provided for wildlife officials.

                10. International and domestic trade in Felidae and their products should be monitored so that action can be taken if overexploitation is detected. If possible, a special organization should be established in China to carry out monitoring of all wildlife trade, including mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds, and covering live specimens and their derivatives.

                The meeting was attended by 14 Chinese cat specialists and eight from the USA and Europe. The Foreign participants pledged their support for conservation of the wild cats of China, and their willingness to assist efforts to obtain foreign assistance, where necessary.

 

CN17 Autumn 1992

 

 

 

 

                Recommendations for Snow Leopard Conservation

                Xining, China, July 1992

 

                Recognizing the snow leopard as an indicator species of its high altitude ecosystem, we, the participants of the Seventh International Snow Leopard Symposium, recommend the following conservation programs on an international scale and endorse the basis of collective participation to carry out such programs:

                1. Based on critical habitat and ecological needs, possibilities should be explored to identify and establish transboundary parks, both across province boundaries within each snow leopard country and between adjoining countries, with particular notice regarding the Khunjerab National Park and the Taxkorgan Nature Reserve on the PakistanChina border. Another transboundary example is the Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal and Qomolangma Nature Preserve in Tibetan China.

                2. In view of both national and international trade in snow leopards and their parts, the symposium urges all countries to enact legislation, if it is not already existing, and actively enforce hunting laws and CITES rules, and to train, educate and equip all officials responsible for preserving and managing such wildlife laws.

                3. Because of the fragmented nature of snow leopard populations, the symposium urges all countries having snow leopard populations to join the Snow Leopard Information Management System (SLIMS) for gathering fundamental data which could then be used in critical and crucial decisions regarding the conservation and management of snow leopard reserves.

                4. Realizing the critical role of communities, especially graziers, in the overall survival of snow leopard, the symposium urges all governments in the snow leopard zones to initiate ecodevelopment programs within and around parks for the economic uplift of such communities, so that the existing conflict between local communities and snow leopard conservation can be mitigated and subsequently resolved.

                5. Realizing the significance of livestock losses because of snow leopard predation, the symposium urges all respective governments in the snow leopard zones to explore appropriate ways of economic incentives/compensation for livestock owners who suffer losses because of such snow leopard predation.

                6. Certain countries in the snow leopard zones, as well as certain provinces within a country (such as Qinghai Province in China) have no specific conservation programs for snow leopard. Such programs should be initiated with the help of international funding agencies if local full funding is not available.

                7. At the request of the Russian delegation to the Seventh International Snow Leopard Symposium, the Mongolian scientists will study the feasibility of creating a corridor between GobiAltai and Southern Siberia. If feasible, a proposal will be prepared for the legal establishment of such corridor.

                8. Keeping in view the importance of the Altai Mountains for snow leopards, the symposium urges the government of Mongolia to continue its bioecological studies there.

                9. Keeping in view the availability of good snow leopard populations in all of the former socialistoriented countries, the symposium urges these new governments to initiate joint cooperative programs for the conservation and management of snow leopards and their habitat.

                10. Realizing the importance of the Kokoxili area in China as habitat of rare animals such as snow leopard, wild ass, Tibetan gazelle, wild yak, etc., the symposium urges the government of the Peoples Republic of China to create a nature reserve in Qinghai Province, this reserve to cover approximately 83,500 sq. km. (39o20'N to 36oN latitude, 89o30'E to 93oE), and to also consider the following reserves in Sichuan and Gansu Provinces:

                * Arksai County Snow Leopard Reservation Area

                * Liqiaru Snow Leopard Area

                * Arba Snow Leopard Reservation Area

                * Ganzi Snow Leopard Reservation Area

                * Baoxin Snow Leopard Reservation Area

                11. Realizing the proven and potential negative impacts of organochlorines and other related compounds on uppertrophic level predators such as snow leopard, the symposium urges countries in the snow leopard zones, especially the Himalayan region, to abandon the use of such toxic and persistent pesticides.

                12. Realizing the fact that most of the nature reserves and national parks in the snow leopard zones have no management plans, the symposium urges all the governments to initiate efforts to develop and implement management plans. (Eg. The participants emphasized implementation  of the management plan developed for the Pin Valley National Park in India).

                13. Realizing the need for cooperative efforts both in the wild and captivity to protect snow leopards, the symposium urges all governments, institutions and scientists working on snow leopards to exchange information and material.

                14. Considering the abundance of captive snow leopards and the high genetic variability now existing in zoos in North America and Europe, the symposium encourages zoos in the above regions to assist all qualified zoological gardens to obtain their snow leopards through cooperative captive programs before considering taking them from the wild.

                15. Realizing the fact that most of the Resolutions of the Snow Leopard Symposium have been difficult to implement and monitor, the participants of the Seventh Snow Leopard Symposium urge the International Snow Leopard Trust to create a monitoring committee to assess the status of the followthrough on the Resolutions and to report their status at subsequent symposia.

 

CN17 Autumn 1992