Setting Priorities for Tiger Conservation

Publisher Summary Tigers are increasingly disappearing from the ecosystems where they evolved and the nation states in which they live. Their vast range in Asia has been reduced to a small number of isolated populations, they are hunted intensively for the trade in tiger parts, and the prey on which they depend is reduced throughout much of their range. Many different people and organizations are striving to reverse these trends. Species conservation planning is the science and art of allocating conservation efforts to those priority places and actions that will provide the greatest returns for species survival and ecological function in the wild. It requires clearly stated goals, an assessment of the current status of the species, a directed process for selecting where to work, and a mechanism to measure success. The field of species conservation planning as a whole has changed over the past decade. Species conservation planning has also changed in terms of the data and methods available. This chapter outlines the datasets and methods used, presents the essential results, and sets measurable conservation goals against which future efforts—successful or otherwise—can be measured.