Within a week of the release of actor Harrrison Ford's public service announcements warning against trafficking in endangered wildlife, the World Bank has joined the fight with its focus on the tiger. At a star-studded event that included actors Harrison Ford, Bo Derek, and Robert Duvall, the World Bank presented a five-point action plan to engage governments, non-governmental organizations, scientists and conservationists in strategies to save the tiger. 'The crisis facing tigers overwhelms local capabilities and transcends national boundaries. This is a problem that cannot be handled by individual nations alone. It requires an alliance of strong local commitment backed by deep international support,' World Bank president Robert B Zoellick told attendees gathered in front of the Sumatran tiger exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Zoological park for the Tiger Conservation Initiative announcement June 9. The World Bank said this initiative is its first on endangered species. Tiger populations have plummeted from an estimated 100,000 in the early 20th century to only a few thousand today. The latest official tiger census in India released in 2008 put the figure at a mere 1,411 left in the wild. In response to conservationists who castigated the World Bank for funding projects that helped destroy tiger habitat in India- which hosts the largest surviving population of wild tigers- Zoellick promised the bank will review its policies. 'We at the bank are going to initiate a review to our own independent evaluation group of our projects in tiger habitats to learn from the lessons of the past for our future engagement,' he said. Grace Ge Gabriel, speaking for the International Tiger Coalition (ITC), said that 'avoiding further damage to tigers brought by poorly planned development projects' is critical. 'Nothing short of global action will bring back wild tigers.' The ITC comprises 39 groups dedicated to halting the illegal wildlife trade. They are part of the global alliance that has pledged to work with the World Bank on the issue. Ford, a long-time supporter of wildlife conservation, commended the World Bank's plan 'to work with tiger-range nations in order to secure a future for these magnificent creatures.' After the event, Derek, who is a US State Department special envoy on illegal wildlife trafficking said, 'I was really embarrassed to find out the United States is No. 2 in consuming endangered wildlife.' According to the US state department, the US market for illegal wildlife products is second only to that of China. Lea Terhune