Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 51122 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 09VLADIVOSTOK110, SAVE THE TIGER NEXT SEPTEMBER

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09VLADIVOSTOK110.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09VLADIVOSTOK110 2009-11-16 02:22 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Vladivostok
INFO  LOG-00   EEB-00   AID-00   AMAD-00  CIAE-00  COME-00  INL-00   
      DINT-00  DODE-00  DOEE-00  DS-00    EUR-00   E-00     FBIE-00  
      UTED-00  VCI-00   H-00     TEDE-00  INR-00   IO-00    LAB-01   
      L-00     MOFM-00  MOF-00   VCIE-00  NSAE-00  ISN-00   NSCE-00  
      NSF-01   OIC-00   NIMA-00  EPAU-00  PM-00    GIWI-00  PRS-00   
      MA-00    SCT-00   ISNE-00  SP-00    SSO-00   SS-00    T-00     
      EVR-00   NCTC-00  FMP-00   EPAE-00  ECA-00   PMB-00   DSCC-00  
      PRM-00   DRL-00   G-00     NFAT-00  SAS-00   FA-00    SWCI-00  
      SEEE-00    /002W
   
R 160222Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1229
INFO MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
CIS COLLECTIVE
AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
UNCLAS VLADIVOSTOK 000110 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV PREL SCUL RS
SUBJECT: SAVE THE TIGER NEXT SEPTEMBER 
 
REF: VLADIVOSTOK 108 
 
 
----------------- 
Summary 
----------------- 
 
1.  (U) This is an action request.  See paragraph two.  Declining 
habitat, increased international awareness, and a star studded 
film festival create the "perfect storm" for a State Department 
program to help save the endangered Siberian tiger.  Tigers were 
recovering in the Russian Far East for a number of years as 
Chinese enforcement of poaching laws reduced demand for tiger 
parts and skins.  With declining enforcement on the Russian 
side, however, poachers have apparently found secure ways to 
kill, export, and market tigers abroad, and wildlife groups have 
been shocked to see tiger numbers crash by 40% (reftel) since 
the last census.  These figures reinforce the necessity of a 
coordinated international effort to reduce pressure on these 
endangered big cats.  Russians have the know-how to protect 
their tigers, but poaching and weak administration (rules and 
enforcement) are taking an immense toll. A "conservation 
culture" needs to be nurtured and embedded.  The best way is to 
bring much greater public awareness to the issue.  We have in 
the near future a great opportunity to achieve high visibility 
public outreach through events such as the 2010 Vladivostok 
International Film Festival, Tiger Day, or proposed Tiger 
Summit.  End summary. 
 
------------------------- 
Action Request 
------------------------- 
 
2. (U) Post proposes the Department, in coordination with the 
World Wildlife Fund, World Conservation Society and World Bank 
(which announced a big tiger conservation project in 2008) 
approach a well known celebrity conservationist, such as 
Harrison Ford, Conservation International Vice Chair, to come to 
Vladivostok to take part in the 2010 "Pacific Meridian" Film 
Festival, where Tiger protection will be a major theme of the 
festival. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Siberian Tiger: Winning or Losing the Struggle 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
3. As the World Bank puts it "The health of the tiger population 
is an indicator of biodiversity and a barometer of 
sustainability."  As with other global challenges, like climate 
chance, disease and poverty, the tiger crisis "overwhelms local 
capabilities and transcends national boundaries."  Russia's 
Primorye Region is home to the world's remaining Siberian 
tigers. It is one of the key environmental battlegrounds where 
the struggle to save the tiger species will be won, or lost. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Spotlights and Curtains 
---------------------------------------- 
 
4. A big spotlighted venue to promote tiger protection is the 
upcoming eighth international film festival "Pacific Meridian" 
to be held in Vladivostok in September 2010.  This past year's 
theme was the space program, highlighting U.S.-Russian space 
cooperation and the 40-year anniversary of the moon landing. 
Last year's film festival attracted French megastar Catherine 
Deneuve and American astronaut Alvin Drew.  Previous stars 
include Olympia Dukakis and Yul Brynner's son Rock Brynner.  The 
festival attracts media, film stars, and producers from 
throughout the Pacific. Human trafficking was the theme in 2007. 
 In both cases, these issues were widely covered by all media 
and supported by the Russian Ministry of Culture.  A tiger theme 
would generate enormous enthusiasm. 
 
5. The United States has a tradition of making a strong 
contribution to this festival, and this year we could use it as 
a vehicle to save one of the planet's most powerful symbols of 
environmental health and a species many Americans are already 
working on preserving.  Strong US participation fits into the 
long-term objectives of the US Government in this part of 
Russia.  Post has actively promoted conservation in the past by 
funding wildlife biologist Melody Roelke's visit to the Far East 
and organizing an international visitor program for Russians 
involved in conservation to visit the U.S. 
 
6. A celebrity spokesperson, and American conservationists 
accompanying him or her, could address poaching, habitat 
protection, fire prevention and other subjects to help garner 
critical public support for increased habitat protection.  Local 
conservation groups depend on public support for their tracking 
programs, reintroduction of native forest trees to ensure 
abundant game for tigers, mortality tigers to determine how and 
why tigers die, and reproduction studies. 
 
7. The Global Environment Facility, with the World Bank, 
Smithsonian National Zoo, and the International Tiger Coalition 
have also launched a new International Tiger Conservation 
Initiative aimed at protecting tigers in the wild.  They would 
be ideal partners in this proposal, and presumably may have 
funds of their own if convinced of the great value a focus on 
the preservation of the Siberian tiger could have.  Festival 
organizers, moreover, have paid for food, travel, and lodging in 
the past.  So it is possible that State's role could be more a 
facilitator, indentifying, promoting, and programming an 
appropriate American spokesperson with good conservation 
credentials and "star power." 
 
8. There are also other projects in the region that merit 
support, from individuals who run a bear rescue center in 
Ussurisk, to a youth salmon conservation league in Sakhalin, to 
a WWF endangered leopard station in Barabash.  In short, if 
Washington can find supporters, we can find projects.  Post also 
encourages visitors from OES to come to the Far East and see 
these projects and participate in the solutions to these 
environmental challenges.  Thank you for your support! 
 
ARMBRUSTER