WWF-India selects Youth Tiger Ambassadors

New Delhi : World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-India has selected two Youth Tiger Ambassadors ahead of the International Tiger Forum which is being hosted later this month at St. Petersburg, Russia.

They will be introduced to the nation on Friday.

The International Tiger Forum is being held to commit to global action for the conservation and rehabilitation of tigers across their range. It promises to be the most significant meeting ever held to discuss the fate of a single non-human species.

They will represent India at the Youth Summit, being held in parallel to this high level government meeting on tiger conservation. The International Youth Summit will take place from 19-24 November 2010 in Vladivostok, home to the Amur tiger, at the same time as the high level meeting.

They will be a part of the delegation comprising representatives from all tiger range countries.

The Youth Ambassadors will visit Siberian tiger trails and get a first hand account of the state of wild tiger populations in Russia and measures being taken for their conservation.

They will also develop a Youth Declaration on tiger conservation, which will be presented to the Tiger Forum, via video- conference between Vladivostok and St. Petersburg. Involving the youth at this important meeting will draw further attention to importance of tiger conservation and convey the concern of the future generation on the plight of this species.

WWF-India invited applications for the Youth Tiger Ambassadors from youth in the age group of 18-22 years who were talented, progressive-minded and willing to devote their time, energy and ideas on raising awareness to save the tigers.

Over 150 applications were received. After a three step process of scanning application, 5 individuals were short listed on criteria?s of passion for wildlife, educational background, ability to learn about conservation, and the age limit.