Amur Tiger Conservation Education Program
groups are local villagers and especially schoolchildren, because it is easier to influence
children's mentality than that of adults. Since 1998 Phoenix has been supporting a
number of eco-centres in the region and initiated their creation in some cities.
Experienced educators conduct ecological classes and lectures, give slide presentations
and organize other activities for children and adults.
Below we present our results achieved from January through December 2010 in terms of
the Amur tiger conservation project that combines conservation-oriented ecological
education and outreach activities for children and adults of the region. We are glad to
report that the project has met its objectives. Upon completion of the project the
awareness of local people, including children and adults, about the state of Amur tigers
and importance of wildlife and habitat conservation significantly increased. In 2010, as
many as 13,538 children attended 685 eco-lessons, excursions, clean-up actions and other
events. Phoenix, according to its proposal, was also responsible for financing stable care
for injured, orphaned or sick wild tigers, however Severtsov's Ecology and Evolution
Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences backed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin voluntarily covered all costs to rehabilitate tiger cubs and release them back in the
wild.
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
I. Rehabilitation of rescued tigers
The four Amur tigers were rehabilitated during the reported period. We are glad to report
that the Russian Government, namely Severtsov's Ecology and Evolution Institute of the
Russian Academy of Sciences, covered the costs of rehabilitation of those tigers. The
Institute is running an Amur tiger research program in the Ussuriisky Nature Reserve and
has a support from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Thus, we reserved the funds
allocated by the 21st Century Tiger for the second half of the 2010, in case some financial
assistance from NGOs would be required for medical treatment, care, feeding or
transportation of rescued tigers. Luckily, there were no such cases, and we spent this
amount for additional ecological education and outreach activities in Primorye.
II. Ecological Education and Outreach Activities
Environmental education in the North of Primorye
Education forms an essential component of the conservation programmes of the Phoenix
Fund. The main threats to the survival of the Amur tiger are poaching of the big cats
themselves, poaching of their prey species, illegal logging and very frequent human-
induced forest fires that reduce both quality and quantity of the habitat. These threats can
be reduced with education as they are directly related to attitudes and behaviour of local
people, and especially of villagers living in forest settlements and small towns in or close
to- tiger and leopard habitat. The ultimate and long-term objectives of Phoenix's education
projects is to diminish the threats to Amur tigers and their forest habitat.
During the reported period the experienced educators conducted regular classes devoted to
the Amur tiger and other wildlife at local schools. These classes included videos, slide
presentations, lectures, games, quizzes and contests. All in all, as many as 685 ecological
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