Tigers in Malaysia: using science to influence policy

Current best estimates estimate that Malaysia is home to only 250-340 adult tigers, with 85% of their habitat located within managed Forest Reserves that permit selective logging.  Conservation challenges in the region abound, with threats of fragmentation, poaching, and clear-cutting interrupting critical landscape connectivity.  Given these challenges, authors Rayan and Linkie, in their recent paper in Biological Conservation, set out to collect data on where tigers occur and move, with the explicit goal of providing science-based management recommendations to authorities on where to preserve corridors within the landscape. Their research provides critical data on tiger location and movement in the region and in the process shows two key results:

1. Camera trapping showed that tigers were three times more prevalent in primary forest than in the logged Forest Reserve, where poaching appeared to be a bigger threat.  This was the first demonstration of the differences in tiger populations between different types of managed forests, which is particularly useful information given that 80% of Peninsular Malaysia’s tiger habitat consists of Permanent Forest Reserves.
2. Data on tiger occurrence and movement was used to successfully persuade the Malaysian government to protect two critical forest corridors needed to maintain tiger connectivity and finalize plans for a viaduct.  By combining spatial modelling with government engagement, the study was able to greatly impact conservation policy for an endangered top predator.