Save a tiger, save an ecosystem: Why protecting the big cats is a biodiversity boon

About this episode

Debbie Banks discusses the status of tiger populations and the importance of their conservation for biodiversity.

Tiger populations have risen in some countries, such as Bhutan, Nepal and India, but the global population of the big cat species remains critically endangered, says Debbie Banks, campaign lead for tigers and wildlife crime at the Environmental Investigation Agency . The global tiger population was recorded at roughly 5,574 in 2022, with the species having disappeared from roughly 95% of its historical range. Banks joins Mongabay's podcast this week to detail the status of Panthera tigris, the successes and failures of the first Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP), what the second iteration (2.0) seeks to do differently, and what she thinks range countries need to focus on. "This story is very much a mixed bag of localized successes and elsewhere just stagnation … and a lack of political and financial investment to bring tigers back from the brink in some places." Making good on the commitments of GTRP 2.0, Banks says, would also benefit nations seeking to fulfill their environmental protection commitments under the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed upon by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). That's because tigers are what's known as an umbrella species, meaning…

People in this episode

Guest: Debbie Banks

Topics covered

• tiger conservation
• biodiversity
• ecosystem protection
• wildlife crime
• Global Tiger Recovery Program
• environmental protection

Keywords

• tigers
• biodiversity
• conservation
• Panthera tigris
• Global Tiger Recovery Program
• ecosystems
• apex predator
• wildlife crime

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Environmental Investigation Agency, Convention on Biological Diversity

Books & works: Global Tiger Recovery Program, Global Biodiversity Framework

Places: Bhutan, Nepal, India, historical range

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