AsianScientist (Jan. 29, 2019) – A study led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) reveals that the future of tigers in Asia is linked to the demographic transitions of human society. The findings are published in the journal Biological Conservation
Prior to the 20th century, there were more than 100,000 tigers estimated to be living in the wild. That number has since dwindled to between 3,000-4,000. At the same, the human population of Asia as grown from 790 million to over four billion over the last 150 years, with dire consequences for tigers and other wildlife.
However, researchers led by Dr. Eric Sanderson of the WCS found that human populations tend to peak, then go into decline, with implications on tiger habitats and numbers. The team looked at different scenarios of economic, education, migration and urbanization policy.
In 2010, 57 million people lived in areas defined as ‘tiger conservation landscapes’ that contained all of the world’s remaining wild tigers. However, by 2100, depending on population trends, as few as 40 million people could be sharing spaces with tigers. Alternatively, the number could increase to 106 million.
Over the long-term, the scenarios associated with the lowest human populations are also associated with the greatest levels of urbanization and education. At the same time, urban consumption is the source of many of the threats to tigers. Therefore, the authors say conservation authorities must engage with people in cities to save tigers, while continuing to support site-level protection efforts around the tigers’ natural habitats.
“Urbanization and the subsequent human demographic transition is arguably the most important historical trend shaping the future of conservation. How that transition plays out is not pre-determined. Rather, it depends on the policy decisions that governments, and the societies they represent, take with respect to fundamental matters such as urban governance, education, economic reform and the movement of people and trade goods. These decisions matter for us and tigers too,” Sanderson explained.
Study co-author and WCS senior vice president of field conservation Mr. Joe Walston added that conservation efforts need to be coupled with initiatives to alleviate poverty, enhance education for girls, reduce meat consumption and build sustainable cities if we want a world with tigers, forests and wildness to persist beyond the 21st century.
The article can be found at: Sanderson et al. (2019) Implications of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways for Tiger (Panthera tigris) Conservation.
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Source: World Conservation Society; Photo: Shutterstock.
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