Towards Coexistence

Tigers live in some of the most densely populated countries of the world. Finding effective ways to partner with people living and sharing spaces with wildlife in these areas is vital for the long-term recovery of wild tigers. Human-tiger conflict is a serious threat to both communities and tigers, and governments and conservation organisations need to better engage communities in tiger landscapes to understand the challenges they face.

WWF’s holistic approach, known as People Centred Tiger Conservation, provides a framework to become trusted partners with communities by better understanding their priorities and values; maintaining dialogues and sustaining long-term engagement; and collaborating with communities and other stakeholders to develop innovative approaches to increase community stewardship for tiger conservation. By co-designing conservation strategies with communities this approach will ensure more informed decision making on planning and conservation to enable human tiger coexistence under changing conditions.

First pilot of revised Human Wildlife Conflict management approach in A tiger landscape

During 2023, Tigers Alive was involved in WWF’s finalisation of the revision of the C2C: Conflict to Coexistence Approach. This revision was critical to make it easier for countries to adopt it, improve the consistency of its application, and eliminate any bias of the process. It is now being rolled out in the first pilot site, Trong Gewog (village), in a tiger landscape Zhemgang District, Bhutan. This area was selected due to the high mortality of cattle due to tiger attacks. Focus group discussions and surveys were conducted in six communities to understand their wildlife conflict experiences. The results will be used to co-design human wildlife conflict management strategies that will address gaps in human wildlife conflict responses in the area, and consequently improve coexistence between communities and wildlife.

WWF is also preparing to pilot the C2C: Conflict to Coexistence Approach in Malaysia’s Royal Belum State Park and Thailand’s Dong Phayayen – Khao Yai Forest Complex in 2024.

Human Wildlife Conflict management workshop held in Northeast China

WWF-China and its partners held a workshop with a range of stakeholders to establish a National Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Network in northeast China. The discussion included representatives from the forestry bureaus of Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, and Three River Source National Park. It aimed to improve collaboration mechanisms that ensure effective support for human-wildlife conflict mitigation projects. The newly established National Human-wildlife Conflict Task Force, supported by WWF-China, will enhance industry engagement, inspire technological innovation, and ensure human-wildlife conflict mitigation is a long-term integrated aspect to wildlife conservation.

Capturing community perceptions and tolerance in Indonesia

During 2023, household community wellbeing and tolerance surveys were carried out in Solok District, West Sumatra. The social carrying capacity of these communities was recorded and the interview data, collected from 177 participants, is now being used to support the design of community engagement strategies which will improve community livelihoods as well as coexistence between people and tigers. WWF-Indonesia is now expanding the survey to other key sites where human-tiger conflict has been recorded.

WWF-Indonesia conducting household surveys © WWF-Indonesia

A tiger recorded on camera trap set to monitor wildlife in southern Myanmar. © WWF-Myanmar

Collaborating with communities in Myanmar

WWF-Myanmar remains committed to tiger conservation through collaborative efforts with local stakeholders and communities. Recent camera trap surveys in southern Myanmar, undertaken in partnership with local organisations, have confirmed not only the presence of a male tiger but also four other cat species and various prey species such as gaur, sambar deer, and serow. Significantly, the survey produced an encouraging revelation – the identification of the same tiger photographed previously in 2021.

Collaborating with local partners in the Northern Forest Complex area of Myanmar, WWF is planning a baseline analysis of tiger and prey abundance. Data collection for a comprehensive stakeholder analysis, development of engagement plans, and baseline socio-economic and sustainable livelihood assessments are also underway, laying the foundation for the expansion of future tiger conservation initiatives in this landscape.

All this underscores the power and importance of coexistence and community-led conservation initiatives when navigating the complexities of delivering conservation impact in the country.

FEATURE STORY

Tigers, snares, and Malaysia’s Guardians of the Forest

It's early morning and Merapi and his wife, Ayu, are getting their children ready for the day. Teeth are being brushed and food is being prepared. This sounds like a normal day for most but for Merapi this is just the start.

In a few hours he’ll be leading an anti-poaching patrol team deep into the rainforest of Royal Belum State Park, and this is a job that comes with high stakes. Patrols can last two weeks where teams hike through the jungle, sleep in hammocks, are attacked by leeches, cross rivers, all while carrying heavy packs and looking out for poachers. It's dangerous and tough work. Why does Merapi and his team risk their lives like this? To protect their home.

Merapi Mat Razi is an Orang Asli, which translates to ‘original people’, who are the Indigenous Peoples of Peninsular Malaysia. Part of the Jahai ethnic group, his family lives in one of 19 villages in the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex. Only Orang Asli are permitted to live within these protected forests.

During 2017 a crisis was declared as snares set by poachers littered the forest floor of Royal Belum State Park. These traps have decimated wildlife populations here, greatly threatening the country’s national animal: the tiger. There are now estimated to be less than 150 tigers left in the whole country (as of 2023); they're on the brink of becoming nationally extinct. In response WWF-Malaysia partnered with a number of the Orang Asli to form Project Stampede: an Indigenous patrol team tasked with scaling the forests of Royal Belum State Park to remove snares, collect data on poaching, and deter poachers.

WWF-Malaysia first started partnering with Indigenous communities in the area in 2009 and it was a few years later that Umi, WWF-Malaysia’s Senior Community Engagement & Education Officer, first met Merapi. “I knew Merapi maybe 10 years ago and the Merapi I knew had a shy personality, usually I did most of the talking. I saw Merapi slowly getting involved in conservation efforts and now we are working in conservation together as a team”, explains Umi.

Building trust and shared values is the foundation for successful long-term conservation partnerships and that’s exactly what Project Stampede is. “It’s very important to engage with Indigenous Peoples on tiger conservation. We know that the Orang Asli are residing within Belum-Temengor, so they are the key stakeholders for conservation efforts”, continues Umi. Her warm personality and commitment to the communities she works with is a special combination, for her it’s personal. “They treat me as family. This is something that I can’t put into words. I’m so grateful. This is a real partnership, where we are learning with each other.”

Since it started the Project Stampede teams have reduced the number of active snares in the forest by 98%. However, while gains have been made, progress is fragile as poachers are still very much a threat to tigers and other wildlife across the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex.

Many Orang Asli are involved in community initiatives led by the government’s Indigenous affairs department or NGOs, in tourism, agroforestry, and some take work outside of their communities in towns and cities. But for WWF’s community partnerships in Belum-Temengor Forest Complex there are many projects waiting to be explored. Social landscape mapping projects to better understand the relationship dynamics in communities and how tiger conservation projects can affect them are underway. It’s critical to understand how communities are changing and adapting and how this affects long-term sustainable tiger conservation projects.

For Merapi though, when asked if he has hopes for the future of tigers in Belum-Temengor, Merapi’s answer was short, instant, and delivered with a wide grin. “Yes.”

Merapi Bin Mat Razi sits under the community shelter in a community in Royal Belum State Park, Malaysia. © Emmanuel Rondeau / WWF-US

A patrol team walks through the forests of Royal Belum State Park, Malaysia. © Emmanuel Rondeau / WWF-US

A tiger caught in a snare and later died as a result of its injuries in Royal Belum State Park, Malaysia. © Lau Ching Fong / WWF-Malaysia

Ambos, an elder of the Sungai Raba village, and Umi sit and chat about their day, Temengor Forest Reserve, Malaysia. © Emmanuel Rondeau / WWF-US

Merapi holds a snare that was removed by his team from the forest floor of Royal Belum State Park, Malaysia. © Emmanuel Rondeau / WWF-US

nepal: Ferns and Felids on the Fringes

In the Terai Arc Landscape in Nepal the tiger population has rebounded from a baseline estimate of 120 tigers in 2010 to an estimated 355 tigers as of 2022. However, human-tiger conflict continues to pose a major hurdle to securing a future for tigers and people.

Some buffer zone communities living in or near forests rely on the forests to collect resources to support their livelihoods. Algae is collected from water bodies and used as a feed for ducks being raised for self-consumption and business. Another resource collected are fiddle ferns and asparagus, which is considered a delicacy in local cuisine. Collecting resources such as these can bring people into direct contact with tigers using the same spaces.

In partnership with local buffer zone community forests, WWF-Nepal has initiated a project to support these communities who rely on these resources from the forest. The project aims to reduce the frequency of forest visits but still preserve local community practices. Communities have participated in the cleaning campaign of 200 metres by 10 metres of a local stream to increase nearby algae production and reduce human-tiger conflict in the area. After clearing the stream, the community planted the algae for their consumption. This will eventually reduce the need for communities to go deeper into the forest to search for the resource, substantially reducing the probability of encountering tigers. If successful it will be scaled up to other areas.

Predator proof livestock husbandry in nepal

Open grazing by livestock is an integral part of subsistence agriculture in the buffer zones of protected areas in the Terai Arc Landscape, Nepal. This grazing practice though can lead to encounters with tigers that results in a casualty of livestock or even human life. Integrated grazing management through promotion of improved breeds, providing technical capacity on livestock farming and support for installing improved livestock sheds are very important to shift the open grazing practices into stall feeding practice. WWF-Nepal in partnership with local buffer zone user communities have supported improved livestock sheds and predator proof corrals that could reduce livestock depredation. This also helps to control open grazing which substantially degrades the forest grazing lawns that are vital for tiger prey species.

Managing human-tiger conflict in India

WWF-India has supported state Forest departments in the Terai Arc Landscape to monitor radio-collared tigers ranging beyond protected area boundaries. Tigers in agricultural areas in the landscape are also being monitored using camera traps and by Bagh Mitras, a network of volunteers who have been mobilised to monitor wildlife and help mitigate conflict in corridors and other areas around Protected Areas. While insights continue to emerge as these data are analysed, there have been some important learnings about how animals appear to be behaviourally adapted to successful use of agro-ecosystems. Some tigers maintain territories and even raise cubs almost entirely in the agricultural matrix around forests. Some of these tigers move in close proximity to settlements, particularly after dark. While these radio collared tigers have occasionally been spotted by people at a safe distance, there have so far fortunately been no reports of threatening behaviour towards people. It is evident that these farmland-dwelling tigers attempt to assiduously avoid people even as they extensively share space with them. These learnings are vital to designing conflict management and corridor conservation strategies in multi-use landscapes like the Terai Arc.

Radio-collared tiger in India. © WWF-India

Radio-collared tiger in India. © WWF-India

Human wildlife conflict is a key issue in the Terai Arc Landscape, and tragically, there several human casualties are attributed to large carnivores each year, even as tigers and leopards continue to succumb to retaliation and frequently need to be rescued and rehabilitated. WWF-India is working closely with local communities and diverse stakeholders to design, implement and scale up innovative and effective conflict management strategies and interventions. In one recent initiative, WWF-India has partnered with Indian Institute of Technology trained engineers who are developing and testing cameras that can be affixed to light drones and used to reliably detect tigers and other wildlife in sugarcane plantations, which provide dense cover.

TOWARDS

COEXISTENCE