It is the Chinese Year of the Tiger and also the International Year of Biodiversity. So it seems more than fitting that this year will also see the first Tiger Summit, scheduled for this coming November, to be hosted by Russia’s Vladimir Putin, prime minister of the summit’s host nation.
The summit marks the culmination of efforts by the Global Tiger Initiative GTI), begun in 2008*, to address and mitigate the severe declines in tiger populations world wide. Leaders of 13 tiger range states and their supporting donors, NGOs and conservation groups will be asked to commit to “substantive measures” to prevent the extinction of the world’s last, wild tiger populations.
But what are these “substantive measures” and how are they to be implemented? A recently published analysis paper, by Walston et al, offers its findings and policy proposals ahead of November’s Tiger Summit.
In an analysis of global tiger population densities and ranges, researchers note that only 3500 tigers remain in the wild (1000 of which are most likely females), and currently occupy less than 7% of their historic range. The authors urge conservation leaders to refocus efforts on protecting tigers at “spatially well-defined priority sites”, supported by proven best practices of law enforcement, wildlife management, and scientific monitoring
The paper (Bringing the Tiger Back from the Brink—The Six Percent Solution) published Sept. 14, 2010 on PLoS Biology by authors Walston, et al identifies key ‘tiger conservation landscapes’ (see map below) and 42 “source sites” that contain almost 70% of the world’s remaining tigers, and in total, cover just 100,000 km². This area is less than .5% of tigers’ historic range and just 6% of their current distribution. Tigers (genus: Panthera) are by nature low-density (i.e., they live in small groups) and wide-ranging animals. The sites need to be permeable to accommodate the animal’s hunting an breeding needs. Thus, protecting this larger landscape from conversion and development is crucial. By protecting just this 6% of total tiger habitat, it is believed, this “commercially valuable” animal can be pulled back from the brink of extinction.
Location of 42 source sites, embedded within the larger tiger conservation landscapes (TCLs), areas that encompass the ecological habitats suitable for tigers (Russian sites shown in insert).
Globally, hunting (for pelts, teeth and whiskers for folk medicine) has taken the greatest toll on tiger numbers, with many seeing their biggest declines occurring just in the past two decades. Habitat loss and fragmentation (also known as habitat splitting) have also played a role in local extinctions. The authors assert that this minimum amount of landscape — properly/legally protected and managed — is required to insure >25 breeding females per source site. Further, this minimum breeding population can only be sustained if each source site is embedded in a larger landscape that can maintain >50 breeding females.
A hunted down Balinese tiger
This “landscape approach” has been validated by successful tiger conservation efforts started by the government of India in the 1970′s. Other conservation approaches have failed to stop declines. The authors assert that these past failures were due to the efforts (including monitoring and law enforcement) being too “geographically diffused”, thus allowing a “cost-risk ratio” to greatly favor illegal hunting. Using the example of efforts to save the African rhinoceros, the researchers note that only where preservation efforts were directed at small to medium size sites (such as Kenya’s rhino sanctuaries), and/or were well financed, were breeding populations maintained and the rhinos saved.
At present, most of the world’s tigers are in India, Sumatra, and Far East Russia, with smaller pockets holding on in Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Lao PDR, and Indonesia. The authors were not able to identify any candidate source sites in Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, or Vietnam. Russia’s tiger population (historically the largest in total numbers) has been experiencing steep declines just in the past five years. It is believed that this is due to a laxity since then in law enforcement.
A Bengal tigress with her cub
The researchers conclude their paper by assessing the costs of protecting tiger source sites (this includes: increased law enforcement, biological and law enforcement monitoring, community engagement, informant networks, and trade monitoring); they estimate the cost of this global conservation effort to be USD $ 83 million** per year, or roughly $930 km² per year (note: much of this money is committed to efforts in India, and so, currently, there is a short-fall of $35 million in the first year’s budget).
Despite this relatively modest cost, this phase of the GTI will be the largest conservation effort ever undertaken for any single animal. Preservation of just these 42 source sites (i.e. maintaining those breeding female numbers) will result in a 70% increase in the global tiger population.
Additional authors of the PLoS Biology paper include:Â John G. Robinson, Elizabeth L. Bennett, Urs Breitenmoser, Gustavo A. B. da Fonseca, John Goodrich, Melvin Guma, Luke Hunter, Arlyne Johnson, K. Ullas Karanth, Nigel Leader-Williams, Kathy MacKinnon, Dale Miquelle, Anak Pattanavibool, Colin Poole1, Alan Rabinowitz, James L. D. Smith, Emma J. Stokes, Simon N. Stuart, Chanthavy Vongkhamheng, Hariyo Wibisono
Related Stories:
1. 10 Fascinating Tiger Facts — And Photo Gallery!
2. Korean Tigers Back from the Brink of Extinction, But Not in South Korea
3. Friendship between LION, TIGER and BEAR [VIDEO & PICS]
* By Robert Zoellick, World Bank President.
** Cost estimate does not include one-time conservation infrastructure development, and costs related to the relocation of communities within source sites.
Top Photo:Â Siberian Tiger – Mila Zinkova ; CC- BY-SA
Bottom Photo: tigress and cub, Mayankkatiyar
Map: the authors; PLoS Biology
About Michael Ricciardi
Such a critical issue. Would be a huge shame to see this animal hunted to extinction