The head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, told those gathered at a news conference at the National Zoo that the conservation initiative will find out "how to work with the local communities, so we can preserve some of the areas in which the tigers live."

The World Bank will initially explore local and regional programs that have worked against poaching of endangered tigers, and will next determine how much financing it would take to help replicate the programs elsewhere.

Regional programs against tiger poaching are linked with rising populations tallied in the Russian Far East, according to the report from the World Bank.

Zoellick emphasized his group is "not the key player" but only serves as a catalyst for countries in the region to coordinate efforts to save tigers at risk in their areas.

The World Bank's initiative will focus 13 countries where tiger poaching threatens remaining populations in the wild: Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, China, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Indonesia, India, Russia and Vietnam.

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