LOCATION: Thung Yai Naresuan East and West Wildlife Sanctuaries, THailand
TARGET SPECIES: Tiger (Panthera tigris)
partners: University of Minnesota and the Seub Foundation
STATUS: in progress
We are collaborating with the University of Minnesota and the Seub Foundation with support from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to support community conservation in 14 communities in Thung Yai Naresuan East and West Wildlife Sanctuaries to conserve tiger (Panthera tigris) and their prey species banteng (Bos javanicus), gaur (Bos gaurus), and sambar (Rusa unicolor).
We are working with the 14 communities to review the rules, rules and regulations of the community in conserving resources, gathering information to understand the situation, context, and challenges of community conservation in the wildlife sanctuaries, training community rangers to patrol with sanctuary staff, and working with youth groups to increase their participation in conservation.
The wildlife sanctuaries are located in the Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM), a 19,000 km2 tiger landscape, composed of 17 contiguous protected areas, which supports the largest tiger population in Southeast Asia. Globally, it is one of 4-5 tiger populations that currently have a high probability of remaining viable for the next 100 years. However, breeding tigers currently occupy only 37% of this landscape. The project goal is to contribute to government efforts to refill this half-empty landscape so it can serve as a source to both re-establishing extirpated populations and rescuing those that are threatened.