Examining stakeholders’ intelligence-led conservation strategies for preventing and detecting wildlife crime in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve: A mixed-methods study

Abstract

Research on wildlife crime has been steadily increasing within the fields of criminology and conservation science. However, the policing aspects of this issue remain under-explored. A robust, intelligence-led approach is deemed more proactive and effective in policing wildlife within and around Protected Areas (PAs). This study enriches the literature on wildlife policing by examining the intelligence-led conservation strategies employed by stakeholders in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR), a PA located in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. The study utilises a mixed-methods approach, collecting quantitative data from rangers and qualitative data from local community members. The findings suggest that there is significant scope for enhancing intelligence-led wildlife policing in MTR. A notable lack of training and technological implementation in intelligence-led conservation approaches among rangers was observed. Moreover, local community members were found to be largely supportive of the rangers' efforts in intelligence-led wildlife policing. The detailed findings of this provides valuable insights for the management of MTR and other tiger reserves, enabling them to review and enhance their existing intelligence-led initiatives to ensure effective conservation.