Posted on December, 11 2023

• Side event “Inspiring Partnerships for Sustainable Financing for Tiger Landscapes“ is being held by the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Tiger Conservation Coalition at the CoP28 today.
• As an umbrella, keystone and flagship species, conserving tigers will help tiger range countries meet their global biodiversity, climate and sustainable development commitments.
• Bhutan will host a Conference on Sustainable Finance for Tiger Landscapes in 2024 in collaboration with a coalition of major tiger conservation NGOs and IGOs. 

Dubai, UAE - The Royal Government of Bhutan and the Tiger Conservation Coalition are hosting a side event today at the UNFCCC CoP28 in Dubai. The event titled “Inspiring Partnerships for Sustainable Financing for Tiger Landscapes” will delve into the critical connections between tiger conservation and the global climate and biodiversity agendas. 

At a time when climate change and biodiversity loss are pressing concerns worldwide, the event aims to highlight how a sustainably funded, landscape scale and tiger-focused plan of action will help countries across the Asia region meet their climate commitments and those under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The discussion will explore innovative strategies and collaborative partnerships to secure sustainable financing for preserving tiger landscapes. 

Tigers depend on and occur in almost all the forest types in Asia. As such, their status is tied to the health of those forests: the carbon they capture and store, the water they retain and release slowly and dependably, the resources they supply to local communities, and other essential ecosystem functions. 

Bhutan, known as a champion of environmental conservation and sustainability, will host and provide a perspective for hope at finding synergies between protecting tigers and meeting broader environmental goals. The event will feature a high-profile panel of the leadership of the Royal Government of Bhutan and Tiger Conservation Coalition members including IUCN, Panthera, WCS and WWF and climate experts from UNDP and private sector experts from HSBC. 

The event will take place on December 9th, 2023, at the Bhutan Pavilion in the Blue Zone of CoP28, providing a platform for collaborative action and generating momentum towards innovative solutions for financing tiger landscapes. This side event precedes a significant summit in April 2024 when under the patronage of Her Majesty The Queen of Bhutan, Jetsun Pema Wangchuck, the Royal Government of Bhutan will host a high-level Conference on Sustainable Financing for Tiger Landscapes. The Conference is being supported by the Tiger Conservation Coalition which includes EIA, FFI, IUCN, Panthera, TRAFFIC, UNDP, WCS, and WWF.

Stuart Chapman, Lead WWF Tigers Alive Initiative “Landscapes with wild tigers are healthy and vibrant ecosystems which are critical for carbon sequestration and helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Safeguarding tiger landscapes through sustainable financing will bring multiple benefits to the people and wildlife in these last remaining intact forests across Asia.”