"It's a historical event. It's like a dream becoming reality," the head of India's delegation Satya Prakash Yadav, an official with the environmental protection ministry, said during the closing session.

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, four of his counterparts from Asian countries China, Laos, Nepal and Bangladesh, along with the president of the World Bank, which supervises tiger protection programme financing, participated in the four-day tiger summit in Saint Petersburg.

Another participant, Hollywood star DiCaprio, was hailed as "a real man" by Putin after he managed to make his million dollar pledge in person despite having to make an emergency landing in New York on his way to the gathering.

The summit in Saint Petersburg is the first meeting of top state officials and international organisations, and is the first step to unblocking funds needed to launch a five-year 350 million dollar plan of action to save the cat.

"The summit will kick start collection of funding," World Bank tiger preservation plan coordinator Andrei Kuchlin told AFP.

"The World Bank and principal donors were waiting for a message from the countries. Now this message has been formulated. I am very optimistic," said John Robinson, vice president of US-based Wildlife Conservation Society.

The forum's main result is "consensus" between countries with tiger populations, Robinson told AFP.

"I've never seen so much enthusiasm for tiger preservation," said John Sellar of CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species).

Wild animal aficionado Putin, who is known for kissing a tigress and tagging polar bears, called on the international community to save the tiger from "catastrophe" and cited Mahatma Gandhi by saying "A country that is good for the tiger is good for everybody."

Participants applauded the forum, which they said must serve as a base for further tiger protection policies and programmes.

"The forum has met its objective, now it's time to transform decisions into actions on the ground," said India's Yadav.

The Indian subcontinent is home to half of remaining animals as well as responsible for 54 percent of all tiger poaching. China is the primary consumer of tiger-derived products, which are used in Chinese traditional medicine.

Russia's Amur tigers, which populate the Far Eastern Primorye region, have also suffered from habitat destruction and become targets for poachers eager to sell them across the Chinese border.

A Primorye court ruled on Wednesday to fine a tiger poacher 150,000 rubles (5,000 dollars) after he killed a tigress in June.

The man has to pay an additional 575,125 rubles (20,000 dollars) to the Russian state in damages, WWF Russia said in a statement.

Summit participants approved on Tuesday a declaration that strives to double the number of tigers before 2022, the next year that will be the year of the tiger according to Chinese calendar.

Tiger numbers dropped from 100,000 to 3,200 in the past century, while three sub-species have been completely wiped out.

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