Political will is top down, capacity building is bottom up

As you know, the tiger is in trouble. That is why we are here at the International Tiger Forum in St. Petersburg. There are less than 3,500 wild tigers left in the world and if we don't act now, the tiger is doomed. We are here at the summit to help build political will among tiger range states as well as to ensure that means are dedicated to capacity building.
 

As you know, the tiger is in trouble. That is why we are here at the International Tiger Forum in St. Petersburg. There are less than 3,500 wild tigers left in the world and if we don't act now, the tiger is doomed. We are here at the summit to help build political will among tiger range states as well as to ensure that means are dedicated to capacity building.
 

As you know, the tiger is in trouble. That is why we are here at the International Tiger Forum in St. Petersburg. There are less than 3,500 wild tigers left in the world and if we don't act now, the tiger is doomed. We are here at the summit to help build political will among tiger range states as well as to ensure that means are dedicated to capacity building.

Political will is the start, the top, and you work from the top down. But it is the "boots on the ground," the enforcement officers, the rangers in the field that combat poachers, that are the bottom. This is where political will, political capital, needs to be spent. This is working from the bottom up. It has been an eventful and productive week here in Russia and I believe we have made great strides in ensuring that the political will of the range countries that has been built at this summit, will continue and grow. If we can translate that will and take it down to the ground where the tigers are, we will be able to ensure their survival into the next millennium.

-- VM