More than 140 young people in HCM City and Hanoi have applied to take part in an international conference on tiger conservation to be held in Russia 's Vladivostok next month.

The Youth Tiger Summit on September 12-18 is a sideline event of the World Wild Life Fund (WWF) meeting that will be held in St Petersburg .

Members of governments from all 13 countries where tigers exist will attend the meeting. They include Bangladesh , Bhutan , China , India , Indonesia , Cambodia , Laos , Malaysia , Myanmar , Russia , Thailand , and Vietnam .

Representatives from the World Bank's alliance Global Tiger Initiative, non-governmental organisations, and private institutions will also participate.

" Vietnam is a tiger habitat, but the population of the animal is endangered here," said Le Thanh Binh, director of the Biodiversity Conservation Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

"We hope the youth will actively work with WWF and us to send an emergency message to the public about tiger conservation," she added.

Tran Minh Hien, director of WWF Vietnam Country Programme, said that youth aged 18 to 25 have applied for the two envoy spots.

"We appreicate their concern and enthusiasm in protection of this rare species," she said.

A shortlist of 14 young people was made last week by WWF Vietnam and the Biodiversity Conservation Department. Nine out of 14 people are from Hanoi and the remaining are from HCM City .

The selection board will conduct three-round interviews and tests of the candidates before choosing the final two people.

All expenses of the trip will be covered by the organising board. The area around Vladivostok in eastern Russia is home to the Amur tiger.

At the Youth Tiger Summit, young people will visit a tiger habitat and trails, and receive first-hand information about the state of the wild population and conservation measures.

They will also work to write a Youth Declaration on tiger conservation, which will be presented to the heads of government at the tiger meeting via a video conference between Vladivostok and St Petersburg on September 17./.