{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Save a tiger, save an ecosystem: Why protecting the big cats is a biodiversity boon","description":"Tiger populations have  risen in some countries, such as Bhutan, Nepal and India, but the global population of the big cat species remains critically endangered, says Debbie Banks, campaign lead for tigers and wildlife crime at the Environmental Investigation Agency. The global tiger population was recorded at roughly 5,574 in 2022, with the species having disappeared from roughly 95% of its historical range. Banks joins Mongabay\u2019s podcast this week to detail the status of Panthera tigris, the successes and failures of the first  Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP), what the second iteration (2.0) seeks to do differently, and what she thinks range countries need to focus on. \u201cThis story is very much a mixed bag of localized successes and elsewhere just stagnation \u2026 and a lack of political and financial investment to bring tigers back from the brink in some places.\u201d Making good on the commitments of GTRP 2.0, Banks says, would also benefit nations seeking to fulfill their environmental protection commitments under the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed upon by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). That\u2019s because tigers are what\u2019s known as an umbrella species, meaning that protecting them also protects ecosystems and a host of other species and biodiversity contained within these ecosystems. \u201cTigers are an apex predator, therefore a keystone species, an umbrella species, a flagship species. And by saving tigers\u2026we save so much more.\u201d Please take a minute to let us know what you think of our podcast, here. Image Credit: A tiger in Sumatra. The Sumatran subspecies is critically endangered due to habitat loss and hunting, and now faces additional threats from two hydropower dams planned to be constructed within their habitat. Image courtesy of Pete Morris. \u2014\u2014\u2014 Timecodes (00:00) Introduction (03:07) The global status of the tiger (10:33) Threats to the tiger (24:16) Law enforcement and reducing tiger demand (33:35) The Global Tiger Recovery Program (42:02) Protecting tigers \u2018saves so much more\u2019 ","author_name":"Mongabay Newscast","author_url":"https:\/\/www.mongabay.com\/podcast\/","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/40508680\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/199763850"}