Ice stars in new climate exhibition

But the focus of Russian conservationists last month was on the tiger, when the first tiger summit was held in St Petersburg. The high profile conservation conference was called by the Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin, and chief of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, and aimed to mobilise political, financial and celebrity support for a goal of doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022. Celebrities, such as Leonardo diCaprio, who pledged $1 million personally, and Naomi Campbell, joined the Chinese premier, Wen Jiahao, and the prime ministers of Nepal and Bangladesh. The leaders endorsed the Global Tiger Recovery Programme, an action plan to strengthen reserves, crack down on poachers and provide financial incentives to maintain a thriving tiger population. During the summit, major donors including Germany, WWF, the Wildlife Conservation Society and international financial institutions, promised $320 million over the next five years towards doubling their population. The 13 nations containing wild tigers are also spending substantial sums on related projects. “Overall this summit has been positive for tigers but it won’t stop poaching and trafficking because they haven’t put in place a mechanism to support enforcement,” said Steven Galster, director of Freedland, an organisation that helps to train wildlife authorities in southeast Asia. Ice stars in new climate exhibition