Science-based management essential to achieve St Petersburg goal of doubling the number of tigers by 2022

NEW DELHI: The India story on tiger conservation has been a good one. The number of tigers in the wild increased from 1,706 in 2010 to 2226 in 2014. An all-India tiger census currently is underway, and preliminary state surveys suggest a substantial increase in the country’s big cat population. India is one of the 13 tiger range countries therefore a substantial increase in its tiger population is good news. However, serious gaps in the management of tiger conservation areas across range countries could make it difficult to meet the target of doubling the numbers of wild tigers by 2022 agreed to in the St. Petersburg Declaration on Tiger Conservation.
Without proper management of tiger conservation, the increase in tiger numbers would be difficult to sustain. “Effective management is thus the single most important action. To achieve this, long-term investment in tiger conservation areas is absolutely essential, and this is a responsibility that must be led by tiger range governments,” says SP Yadav, Assistant Secretary General, Global Tiger Forum.

Only 12.5 percent of the tiger conservation areas meet the globally agreed upon science-based standards. Safe Havens for Wild Tigers: A Rapid Assessment of Management Effectiveness against Conservation Assured Tiger Standards undertaken by Conservation Assured Tiger Standards, a partnership between governments, NGOs, and tiger conservation areas reviewed current management methodologies in 112 sites located in 11 tiger range countries including 72 sites covering an area of 93,610.79 km2 in India,

Conversation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS) is a partnership between governments, NGOs and tiger conservation areas. It was developed in response to the need for stringent conservation procedures that is essential to delivering on the goal of doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022 agreed to in declaration adopted at the St Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010. Tiger population is just one of the seven pillars of the Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards that are evaluated to assess the effectiveness of management of the tiger reserves.

Only three sites--Lansdowne Forest Division in Uttarakhand, India, Chitwan National Park in Nepal and Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve in Russia--have been awarded CA|TS Approved status.

Investment in the effective management of tiger conservation areas has been an important strategy for tiger conservation for many decades. Despite efforts, the sites are far from effective management strategies and tigers have consequently been lost from vast areas of their potential range. Over a third of sites surveyed have major management deficiencies. All sites in Southeast Asia have major gaps in management that prohibit effective protection. Of the total sites surveyed, 59 have fairly strong management though require some improvements. This can be remedied through targeted management investments.

Basic needs such as enforcement against poaching, engaging local communities and managing conflict between people and wildlife, remain weak for all areas surveyed.

“Ineffective management of tiger conservation areas leads to tiger extinction,” stressed Yadav.

The good news is that tiger monitoring is being implemented in 87 percent of sites. All sites surveyed in South Asian and East Asian countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Russia have management plans. But the same does not hold true for sites in Southeast Asia including countries like Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. About 85% of sites also have systems for assessing management effectiveness.

Despite poaching being one of the greatest threats faced by big cats, 85% of the areas surveyed do not have staff capacity to patrol sites effectively, and 61% of the areas in Southeast Asia have very limited anti-poaching enforcement. Effective tiger management is impossible unless there are enough skilled personnel to do all the jobs required: stopping poaching, managing community relations, keeping visitors safe and ensuring safe havens for tigers and other wildlife. Many protected areas are woefully understaffed. The assessment noted that “the average apartment block in an Asian city will probably have more guards than many national parks have rangers.”

Low investment from governments in Southeast Asia was stated as one reason for the lack of management of these supposedly ‘protected areas’. While 86 % of areas in South Asia, Russia and China stated that finances are, or are on the way to being sustainable, in comparison only 35% areas in Southeast Asia are in a similar position. “Unless governments commit to sustained investments in the protection of these sites, tiger populations may face the catastrophic decline that they have suffered over the last few decades. This funding is needed urgently, particularly for many sites in Southeast Asia to support recovery of its tiger population,” said Michael Blazer, Chair of the Executive Committee of CA|TS.

Functional connectivity between tiger habitats or reserves is essential. The 2010 Tiger Census in India showed a decline in the tiger occupied area, especially in areas outside of tiger reserves, indicating loss of habitat quality and extent, a crucial element for maintaining genetic connectivity between individual tiger populations. To remedy the situation, the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India delineated the minimal tiger habitat corridors connecting tiger reserves for implementing landscape scale tiger conservation. As a result all tiger reserves in India manage their tiger population based on a tiger conservation plan, which address specific prescriptions for core, buffer, and corridor habitats.

“Through an effective CA|TS framework, robust management plans for the tiger habitats and corridors can be prepared and security protocols can be established. The accreditation of Lansdowne Forest Division, Uttarakhand, in May 2017, the third CA|TS accredited site globally and the first in India, is significant since it is a crucial link between the Rajaji and Corbett Tiger Reserves,” said Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO of WWF-India.

“The tiger’s survival is a critical indicator for sustainable development in tiger range countries – it is intrinsically linked to the integrity of nature and the services it provides, upon which all development rests,” comments Midori Paxton, Head of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, United Nations Development Programme.

In India, the future of tigers in India depends on maintaining inviolate core habitats for breeding tiger populations, habitat connectivity for genetic exchange, and protection from poaching of tigers and their prey. As a country that has shown considerable improvement in its tiger population and made changes in its approach to management of tiger conservation areas, India can work in partnership with other countries to make good on the goal set at St Petersburg.