Abstract
Conservation of habitats is critical for survival of endangered tigers. This paper develops a resource allocationmodel for tiger habitat protection incorporating information about threats to particular tiger subspecies, thequality of remaining habitat areas, the observed effectiveness of habitat protection by country, and the potentialcosts of protection projects for 74 habitats in Asia. Implementation of the model moves through two stages. Thefirst stage employs user-specified weights to combine numerous subindices into composite indices of speciesthreat, habitat quality, potential project costs and protection effectiveness. The second stage employs additionaluser-specified weights to combine the composite indices into priority scores and potential project budget sharesfor all 74 habitat areas.Exploration of model results suggests that changes in user-specified weights can have very significantconsequences for habitat priority scores. Illustrative scenarios indicate that no single priority ordering can beprescribed in such a diverse setting, and actual priorities will depend on the preferences of decision-makers, asrevealed in the weights assigned to species threats, habitat quality, cost elements, and effective protection. At thesame time, the model can make a useful contribution by identifying priority orderings that are consistent withdifferent sets of preferences. And it can inform policy discussions by allowing for extended exploration ofalternative strategies, along with providing feedback to decision makers about the implicit preferences associatedwith their resource allocation decisions.
Highlights
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the tiger as endangered in its Red list of Threatened Species of
This paper develops a resource allocation model for tiger habitat protection incorporating information about threats to particular tiger subspecies, the quality of remaining habitat areas, the observed effectiveness of habitat protection by country, and the potential costs of protection projects for 74 habitats in Asia
We have developed and implemented a model that translates detailed information about 74 tiger habitat areas into consistently-derived priority scores and potential project budget shares for those areas
Summary
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the tiger as endangered in its Red list of Threatened Species of (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/15955/0). The wild tiger population of tropical Asia dropped from about 100,000 to 3,500 in the past century. An estimated 2,380 Bengal tigers survive, along with 340 Indochinese, 500 Malayan and 325 Sumatran tigers. The surviving wild tiger population of tropical Asia inhabits a scattered arc from southwest India to northwest Indonesia, much of it in upland areas. Bengal tigers survive in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and northern Myanmar, while the remaining Indochinese tigers are found in western and southeastern Myanmar, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Sumatran tigers are confined to one Indonesian island and Malayan tigers exist only in Peninsular Malaysia and one small area in southern Thailand. Long term survival of the tiger is dependent on conservation of tiger habitats
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
