KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal inaugurated a conference of tiger specialists on Tuesday at 11am.

The conference is being organised with the assistance of World Bank.

It has been initiated to form a strategy to protect the endangered tigers. This is the first time that a conference has been organised for the protection of the tiger.

At least 210 specialists and the conservation workers discussed the lack of food, natural habitat and threat of poaching as the main reasons behind the endangerment of tigers.

Nepal Government Forest and Land Conservation Ministry has organised the conference with Nepal being the chair country of the Global Tiger Forum, an umbrella association of countries with a tiger population.

Earlier, a meeting of the forum, which was held on Monday had decided to observe 2010 as the year of the tiger.

14 countries with a tiger population as well as 20 other countries and conservers participated in the conference.