Land Use Helps Tigers in Nepal: Villagers Improve Animal Forest Habitat

Tigers are rapidly declining across the globe as conservationists desperately try to bolster failing populations. Yet there may be some hope for these large, striped felines. It turns out that humans and tigers can coexist--at least in rural Nepal. Researchers have discovered that when Nepalese villagers are empowered to make local land management decisions, the resulting landscape changes can benefit both people and tigers.

Tigers face numerous potential conflicts with humankind. They require large areas for both hunting and raising their young. In addition, these felines inhabit some of the most densely populated regions of the world. Currently, there are just an estimated 3,000 tigers remaining in the wild.

One of these areas where tigers and humans come into conflict is Chitwan National Park. Established in 1973 to protect tigers, the park has significant costs for people living in the area. These residents depend on the forest for wood as fuel and building material. They also rely on local grasses to thatch roofs and feed their livestock. That's why in 1996, the Nepalese government added a buffer zone next to the park to allow people to have more access to the forest's resources.

In order to see how the creation of this buffer zone might have affected tigers, the researchers employed camera traps. These motion-sensitive cameras were mounted along animal trails and snapped photos of 17 different adult tigers at sites inside the park and in the buffer zone. In addition, the scientists employed satellite imagery to develop detailed maps of the local land cover. By superimposing evidence of the tigers' movements with these maps, the researchers could see what sort of land areas the large cats preferred.

So what did they find? It turns out that the amount of good tiger habitat in the park declined from 1999 to 2009. Yet the amount of good tiger habitat outside the park took a turn for the better. This occurred after the buffer zone was created and the local people gained some control over land use outside the park.

"In Nepal, we're finding that there is this middle ground where you can have people using the land and still not only keep land from degrading, but can improve habitat quality," said Neil Carter, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Policies in Chitwan's buffer zone, such as prohibiting livestock from freely grazing in the forests and community-based forest management, improved habitat quality."

The findings reveal that, in fact, some land use can be beneficial for tigers. In particular, they show that locals can manage forests in such a way that it's beneficial for wild animals. The study could have implications for how these tigers are managed in the future, and could be another way to keep these creatures from the brink of extinction.

The findings are published in the journal Ecosphere.