The value of wild tiger conservation

Linkie, Matthew; Christie, Sarah

doi:10.1017/s0030605307041415

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(6 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In tiger-range countries, these are often some of the poorest and marginalised people in society. Millions of US dollars in donor funds are spent on in situ tiger conservation annually 24 , making it all the more important to direct resources to where they are needed most. Applying our social–ecological prioritisation framework assumes that characteristics of individuals surveyed within our study villages are representative of the wider Kerinci Seblat region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The need for socio-ecological information in conservation conflict mitigation is particularly urgent for tigers, which are flagship species and cultural icons for biodiversity and rainforest protection 11 , 24 . Tigers are on the brink of extinction, having undergone steep declines as a result of habitat loss, retaliatory killings and poaching 25 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Addressing human-tiger conflict using socio-ecological information on tolerance and risk

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tigers are critically endangered due to deforestation and persecution. Yet in places, Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) continue to coexist with people, offering insights for managing wildlife elsewhere. Here, we couple spatial models of encounter risk with information on tolerance from 2386 Sumatrans to reveal drivers of human–tiger conflict. Risk of encountering tigers was greater around populated villages that neighboured forest or rivers connecting tiger habitat; geographic profiles refined these predictions to three core areas. People’s tolerance for tigers was related to underlying attitudes, emotions, norms and spiritual beliefs. Combining this information into socio-ecological models yielded predictions of tolerance that were 32 times better than models based on social predictors alone. Pre-emptive intervention based on these socio-ecological predictions could have averted up to 51% of attacks on livestock and people, saving 15 tigers. Our work provides further evidence of the benefits of interdisciplinary research on conservation conflicts.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing human-tiger conflict using socio-ecological information on tolerance and risk

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Tiger landscapes have almost 3.5 times the density of carbon per hectare versus all land cover designations occurring outside tiger landscapes (WWF unpublished analysis 2010, based on Ruesch & Gibbs 2008). With carbon trading gaining momentum, range countries that conserve large forested landscapes for tigers could also earn carbon credits (see Linkie & Christie 2007; Venter et al 2009). The St. Petersburg Declaration calls for using mechanisms such as REDD+ to protect tiger habitat, which will sustain ecosystem services and contribute to climate stability.…”

Section: Recovering Wild Tiger Populations: An Overview Of Biologicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

A landscape-based conservation strategy to double the wild tiger population

Wikramanayake

Dinerstein

Seidensticker

et al. 2011

Conservation Letters

162

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In an unprecedented response to the rapid decline in wild tiger populations, the Heads of Government of the 13 tiger range countries endorsed the St. Petersburg Declaration in November 2010, pledging to double the wild tiger population. We conducted a landscape analysis of tiger habitat to determine if a recovery of such magnitude is possible. The reserves in 20 priority tiger landscapes can potentially support >10,000 tigers, almost thrice the current estimate. However, most core reserves where tigers breed are small and land-use change in rapidly developing Asia threatens to increase reserve and population isolation. Maintaining population viability and resilience will depend upon a landscape approach to manage tigers as metapopulations. Thus, both site-level protection and landscape-scale interventions to secure habitat corridors are simultaneous imperatives. Co-benefits, such as payment schemes for carbon and other ecosystem services, should be employed as strategies to mainstream landscape conservation in tiger habitat into development processes.

show abstract

“…Increased persecution is frequently observed where local tolerance for tigers has declined and this, in turn, presents an opportunity that is exploited by poachers [ 8 ]. The fate of the endangered tiger is concerning because it serves as both a flagship species and a cultural icon that is often used to protect biodiversity and their forest ecosystems [ 9 ]. Elucidating any factors that contribute to local tolerance should help ensure a future for tigers, while also informing how conservation conflicts may be managed elsewhere [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tolerating tigers: Gaining local and spiritual perspectives on human-tiger interactions in Sumatra through rural community interviews

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Religious beliefs and spiritual connections to biodiversity have the potential to reduce animosity towards wildlife that might otherwise present a real or perceived threat to local people. Understanding this social dynamic can therefore be important for formulating locally-appropriate species-specific conservation strategies. Using semi-structured interviews which incorporated human-tiger conflict scenarios, we investigated how beliefs towards tigers varied between ethnic groups living around a large protected area that is home to the largest tiger population in Sumatra. We gathered this information to determine the degree to which cultural tolerance may contribute to the survival of the tiger in the Kerinci Seblat landscape, Indonesia. From 154 interviewees, 133 respondents came from three main ethnic groups, Minangkabau, Kerincinese and Melayu. The majority (73.5%) of Minangkabau interviewees cited that their ethnic group had customary laws regarding tigers, as did 52% of Melayu and 44% of Kerincinese. Irrespective of ethnicity, most participants did not perceive there to be a connection between Islam and tigers. All participants acknowledged the existence of zoological tigers and two groups (Minangkabau and Kerincinese) held a strong common belief that different types of spirit tigers also existed. From presenting different human-tiger conflict scenarios, with varying levels of severity towards livestock or human life, an unprovoked tiger attack in the village elicited the most calls for the tiger to be killed. Yet, if a village or family member was killed by a tiger whilst hunting in the forest then most respondents across all ethnic groups said to do nothing. The frequency of this response increased if a tiger killed someone in the village who had committed adultery, reflecting beliefs associated with the role of the tiger as an enforcer of moral rule. Our study highlights the importance of consulting with local communities who live in close proximity to large and potentially dangerous carnivores when developing conflict mitigation strategies, which hitherto has not been the case in Sumatra.

show abstract

The value of wild tiger conservation

Cited by 12 publications

References 6 publications

Addressing human-tiger conflict using socio-ecological information on tolerance and risk

Addressing human-tiger conflict using socio-ecological information on tolerance and risk

A landscape-based conservation strategy to double the wild tiger population

Tolerating tigers: Gaining local and spiritual perspectives on human-tiger interactions in Sumatra through rural community interviews

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About