Saving the Tiger: More Money or Less Power? (original) (raw)
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Implications of the shared socioeconomic pathways for tiger (Panthera tigris) conservation
Biological Conservation, 2019
Over the last century, numbers of wild tigers (Panthera tigris) have crashed, while human populations have boomed. Here we investigate future trajectories of human population within tiger range through analysis of the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs). These five pathways describe urban, rural and total population distributions by decade through 2100, based on plausible but contrasting scenarios of economic, education, migration, and urbanization policy. In 2010 approximately 57 million people lived in regions defined as "tiger conservation landscapes" (or TCLs); 8% of sympatric people lived in towns and cities that occupied 4% of tiger range. We show that tigers could share these same geographies with as few as 40 million (30% decline compared to 2010) or as many as 106 million people (an increase of 85%) by 2100. Those populations could be as much as 64%, or as little as 17%, urbanized, depending on the pathway. Urban areas are likely to expand, displacing between 6 and 22% of tiger's current range, depending on how urban growth is managed. Human population density thresholds compatible with tigers vary by region, from 140 persons/km 2 in the Indian subcontinent, to 10 persons/km 2 in the Russian Far East and northern China. SSP3, a future where nations indulge regional rivalries, would make conservation more difficult, whereas SSP1, with a focus on well-managed urbanization and education, could help relieve pressures. Tigers are a conservation-reliant species and will likely remain so through the 21st century, therefore we suggest coupling continued site-level protection with efforts to develop constituencies for conservation in Asia's burgeoning cities. 76 isolated tiger conservation landscapes (TCLs). A reanalysis by Walston et al. (2010) suggested that the situation was even more dire; remaining breeding tiger populations were restricted to as few as 42 "source sites" (SSs), which represented as little as 0.5% of the historical range (circa 1900). A combination of survey data and expert opinion about tiger density and occupied area suggested that < 3200 tigers lived in the wild ten years into the new millennium. While tiger populations have crashed, the human population of Asia has boomed (Fig. 1). When tigers were described by Linneaus in 1758, Asia was home to approximately 500 million people (Livi-Bacci, 2012). The human population grew to around 790 million by 1850, and then nearly doubled to 1.37 billion by 1950. Today, the population of Asia stands at over 4.44 billion (United Nations-Department of Economic and Social Affairs-Population Division, 2017), a tripling since the 1950s and nearly a nine-fold increase since the 18th century. In recent
…, 2007
Wild tigers are in a precarious state. Habitat loss and intense poaching of tigers and their prey, coupled with inadequate government efforts to maintain tiger populations, have resulted in a dramatic range contraction in tiger populations. Tigers now occupy 7 percent of their historical range, and in the past decade, the area occupied by tigers has decreased by as much as 41 percent, according to some estimates. If tigers are to survive into the next century, all of the governments throughout the species' range must demonstrate greater resolve and lasting commitments to conserve tigers and their habitats, as well as to stop all trade in tiger products from wild and captive-bred sources. Where national governments, supported in part by NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), make a consistent and substantial commitment to tiger conservation, tigers do recover. We urge leaders of tiger-range countries to support and help stage a regional tiger summit for establishing collaborative conservation efforts to ensure that tigers and their habitats are protected in perpetuity.
From intent to action: A case study for the expansion of tiger conservation from southern India
Global Ecology and Conservation, 2017
h i g h l i g h t s • To conserve the tiger it is critical to enable the persistence of the species across larger landscapes. • Establishing protected areas for tiger recovery remains one of the means of landscape approach. • While the gazetting of protected areas is necessary to enable this, it is not sufficient. • It is essential to benchmark and monitor the process that enable the recovery of tigers.
Alternative Financing Schemes for Tiger Conservation in Nepal
Many scientists and conservation workers agree that global tiger numbers in key areas could double by 2022 if efforts are taken immediately. Countries facing declining tiger numbers and having the ability to meet this goal have produced national tiger recovery plans that outline necessary program activities and their associated costs. To assess the financial feasibility of the tiger conservation program in Nepal and to recommend viable alternatives to secure funds to cover long-term tiger conservation costs, we conducted financial analyses of tiger conservation programs in Nepal. Our results show that the present funding level fails to cover the long-term costs of taking the recommended steps for tiger conservation. Thus there is a need to identify and secure alternative funding sources to supply approximately a 100% increase in revenues currently generated from tiger-bearing protected areas assuming a continuance of the current level of funding by the government. This finding is troublesome given the magnitude of the financial burden associated with necessary steps to increase the tiger population, plus the fact that no policy instrument exists that can target the revenue generated by the protected areas specifically for tiger conservation.
Journal of Environmental Management, 2021
Costs of large predator conservation may not be equitably distributed among stakeholders; these include farming communities, tourism business owners and visitors. Financial redistribution mechanisms based on accrued benefits and costs of conservation require relevant data unavailable in many locations. To address this, a contingent valuation method identified willingness to pay (WTP) among national park visitors and connected tourism business owners. Both groups derive benefit from government-funded conservation policies. The study was conducted in Bardia and Chitwan National Parks, Nepal 2017-2018; two locations world-renowned for tiger conservation. Local and international park visitors (N = 387) provided WTP for ongoing conservation via additional park entry fees. Tourism business owners (TBOs; N = 74) proximate to the parks stated their WTP for compensation funding provided directly to farmers. The majority (65%) of park visitors were willing to pay extra to support conservation (sample mean US$ 20) while 85 percent of TBOs supported their payment of funds for compensating farming communities (sample mean annual contribution being US$ 156). Valid WTP regression modelling found that visitor WTP was predicted by international travel costsand environmental organization affiliation. For TBOs indicating WTP, the amount to pay was predicted by annual net income from the tourism business. Application of study data indicates US$ 25 average increase to visitor park fees would maximise revenue and contribute a further US$ 495,000 available for conservation activities. Similarly, a flat-rate tariff on TBOs at the mean WTP amount would contribute more than double the annual budget available for farmer compensation (providing approximately US$ 43,000). More generally, the study findings are informative for policy-makers seeking equitable conservation outcomes while maintaining viable populations of critically endangered wild tigers. They should however be interpreted with caution given limitations of the sampling frame and method of data elicitation. Regardless, any policy decision effects require careful scrutiny to ensure desired outcomes are realized.