How to Save a Tiger
USAID’s tiger champions work to protect big cats in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal
Tigers are among the world’s most charismatic species, presiding over the mangroves and rainforests of Asia with a regal presence. Throughout history, we have admired these incredible creatures. However, during the 20th century, tigers nearly went extinct due to human-wildlife conflict, poaching, and habitat loss.
When USAID began investing in tiger conservation in 2010, there were only 3,200 tigers in the wild. Working with partners, we have reached a population of 5,574 in 2023. Despite these gains, numerous threats to forests and ecosystems still exist and the tiger remains endangered. Every effort to conserve these majestic cats is as crucial as their role to regulate prey populations and maintain the balance of the entire food cycle.
On International Tiger Day, I want to celebrate the dedicated USAID tiger champions at our Missions in South Asia who work tirelessly to ensure these iconic animals thrive for generations to come.
Bangladesh
The Sundarbans of Bangladesh is a mangrove forest home to an increasing number of tigers and is surrounded by millions of people. Co-existence can be challenging.
In 2014, USAID Senior Technical Specialist Sumaiya Firoze managed USAID’s Bengal Tiger Conservation Activity, helping train Village Tiger Response Teams. The locally-led initiative is implemented by WildTeam, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, and the Bangladesh Forest Department.
When humans and tigers live in close proximity, incidents such as tiger attacks on humans or humans hunting tigers can occur as a result of habitat encroachment, competition for resources, and more.
Between 2014 and 2018, these teams responded to multiple human-tiger conflict incidents. As a result of USAID’s training, they were able to successfully handle 100 percent of these incidents, and worked with the Bangladesh Forest Department to safely release the tigers back into the forest and away from the stress of being in a closely shared environment.
“I managed a significant project to protect the Bengal tigers, which is a testament to USAID’s trust on female-led local leadership and solutions,” Sumaiya said.
India
India is home to about 66 percent of the world’s wild tigers, according to 2023 estimates from the Global Tiger Forum.
USAID Project Management Specialist Soumitri Das’ interest in biodiversity conservation started with a field visit to Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in 1996 as part of his graduate studies. Later, he got an internship with the Biodiversity Conservation Prioritisation Project, which was funded by USAID.
Tiger Matters was Soumitri’s first project supporting big cats. USAID and the Wildlife Conservation Trust focused on the Central Indian Landscape, home to a large number of Indian tigers, and provided the resources to establish new tiger conservation areas, such as the Umred-Karhandla and Ghodazari wildlife sanctuaries.
USAID’s conservation efforts in India continue through the recently launched Strengthening Landscape Management and Conservation Project, which works with the Government of India and local partners to improve the management of the nation’s ecologically critical landscapes.
Soumitri believes tigers are important for our own survival.
“Tiger habitats provide various ecosystem services that we take for granted,” he said. “In India, hundreds of rivers and streams originate from and are sustained by forested tiger landscapes.”
The survival of tigers is crucial to maintaining the ecological balance that protects us all.
Nepal
Thanks in part to USAID’s big cat conservation work over the last 14 years, the wild tiger population in Nepal has rebounded from a dangerously low 121 tigers in 2009 to 355 tigers in 2022. This success, nearly tripling its tiger population, far exceeded Nepal’s international commitment to double its wild tiger population by 2022.
USAID Environment Specialist Netra Sharma Sapkota is proud to have managed several tiger conservation programs in partnership with other organizations and the government of Nepal. Working across the traditional tiger range of the Terai protected areas, buffer zones, and community forests, Netra has led the efforts to improve park-community relations, boost livelihood opportunities, and combat poaching.
“Big cats are index species. An increase in the number of big cats means the entire forest ecosystem’s health has improved,” Netra said. “It also means improved climate resilience, clean air, enhanced foundation for economic growth, and increased tourism potential.”
Big Cats Mean Big Opportunities
Sumaiya in Bangladesh, Soumitri in India, and Netra in Nepal all understand that saving tigers is not just about preserving a majestic species. It’s about our future as well.
Tiger conservation maintains the health and balance of our ecosystems, ensures thriving biodiversity, and secures a sustainable future for all life on Earth.
Thanks to USAID’s tiger champions like Sumaiya, Soumitri and Netra, every day at USAID is International Tiger Day because big cats mean big opportunities!
About the Author
Michael Schiffer is the Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Bureau for Asia.
