{"id":888,"date":"2024-09-15T19:14:39","date_gmt":"2024-09-15T19:14:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/?p=888"},"modified":"2024-09-19T08:11:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T08:11:45","slug":"roaring-back-triumphs-and-challenges-in-tiger-conservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/15\/roaring-back-triumphs-and-challenges-in-tiger-conservation\/","title":{"rendered":"Roaring Back: Triumphs and Challenges in Tiger Conservation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roaring back may be an overstatement, but the number of tigers living in the wild is on the rise, and that is cause for optimism.<\/span><\/p>\n

The largest of all the big cats, <\/span>nine tiger subspecies<\/span><\/a> once roamed throughout central, eastern and southern Asia. In the past one hundred years, tigers have lost around 94% of their historical range and now live in scattered populations in 13 countries, from India to Southeast Asia, in Sumatra, China and the Russian Far East. <\/span>Caspian, Javan and Bali Tigers are extinct; <\/span>of the remaining six subspecies,<\/span> the South China Tiger has not <\/span>been observed<\/span> for many years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feline Factcheck: Current State of Tiger Conservation<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Tigers are currently <\/span>listed as<\/span> endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. In 2010, the wild tiger population was at an all-time low of about 3,200 individuals worldwide. However, by 2022, the population estimate from the Global Tiger Forum was about 5,574 wild tigers\u2014a 74% increase driven by a multilateral conservation agreement by tiger range countries and partners like WWF.<\/span><\/p>\n

This<\/span> is a stark contrast to<\/span> the 100,000 tigers that roamed the Earth at the start of the 20th century.<\/span> The drastic decline in tiger numbers is primarily due to habitat loss, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recovery has been remarkably uneven, with South Asia accounting for <\/span>the vast majority<\/span> of the increase. That\u2019s especially impressive given that it is one of the most densely populated regions in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

India, Nepal, and Bhutan have seen significant successes in stabilizing and even increasing their tiger populations <\/span>through rigorous conservation efforts<\/span>.<\/span> These efforts include anti-poaching patrols, habitat restoration, and <\/span>the establishment of<\/span> protected areas and wildlife corridors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tiger<\/p>\n

Photographed by Nat Hab Expedition Leader \u00a9 Surya Ramachandran<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Community-led Tiger Conservation<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

In its 2022\u00a0<\/span>Living with Tigers: How to Manage Coexistence for the Benefit of Tigers and People<\/span><\/a> report, WWF emphasizes the importance of involving local communities in conservation efforts. <\/span>It\u2019s<\/span> a complex interplay of economic, demographic and environmental factors <\/span>that shape tiger conservation<\/span>. Agriculture, transport and urbanization are treacherous for tigers<\/span>; <\/span>tigers can be treacherous to people and their livestock and livelihoods.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2020 nearly 47 million people lived within the boundaries of the tiger range, and an additional 85 million people within 10km of those landscapes. These human populations are also shown to be on the rise<\/span>; <\/span>up 7.5 percent in tiger landscapes since 2015 alone and projected to continue growing into the foreseeable future.<\/span><\/p>\n

The survival of tigers in the wild depends to a large extent on the degree to which people living in the area will tolerate their presence. <\/span>In areas where tigers <\/span>are found<\/span>, community-based initiatives have proven <\/span>to be<\/span> effective, <\/span>especially<\/span> when they help <\/span>to<\/span> increase the general level of education and economic opportunity.<\/span> Community initiatives often include education programs about the importance and value of tigers, compensation schemes for livestock losses, and the development of sustainable livelihoods that do not rely on forest resources, including ecotourism or tiger-related conservation travel.<\/span><\/p>\n

By 2050, three of the <\/span>top four economies in the world are likely to<\/span> be countries with tigers.<\/span> China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Bangladesh\u2019s economies are all projected to continue <\/span>growing rapidly<\/span>. The impacts of this growth on tiger conservation are hard to predict; rural depopulation could result in increased tiger habitat.<\/span><\/p>\n

If conservation and development are sustainable and equitable, there could be opportunities to <\/span>both<\/span> expand habitat and fund development that <\/span>could support<\/span> local communities, including a focus on wildlife corridors to ensure viable wild tiger populations.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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