There are many programs and tools to help in identifying wildlife corridors. While these tools cover a wide range of input data, expertise, and potential goals, they often leave out the human aspect of corridor implementation.
While incorporating anthropogenic factors into corridor planning is not a new idea, translating this need into reality is complicated. Using models to identify potential corridors can already be complex without adding in additional data sources and layers. However, the development of a flexible, adaptable, and easy-t0-use framework that incorporates human-wildlife interaction could help managers and other decision-makers identify more suitable and effective corridors.
Tantipisanuh, N., Phakpian, S., Tangtorwongsakul, P., Vinitpornsawan, S. and Ngoprasert, D. 2024. Identifying wildlife corridors to restore population connectivity: An integration approach involving multiple data sources. Global Ecology and Conservation, p.e03015.
Researchers in Thailand have done this by developing a Bayesian Belief Network to assess corridor suitability, with Asiatic black bears as a case study. The bears are listed as vulnerable by IUCN, and key to their conservation in Thailand would be creating a corridor that links two large forest patches within the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex World Heritage site.
The framework combines three key aspects of identifying wildlife corridors: 1) ecological data, such as bear habitat suitability and the percentage of tree cover; 2) landscape characteristics, including land conversion difficulty, distance from the forest edge, and suitability of the corridor location; and 3) the human dimension, such as threat level toward bears and human attitudes toward corridors. This framework was then used to identify the most suitable potential corridor for black bears across a major highway barrier, and to determine appropriate management strategies for improving corridor suitability.
The model results were able to successfully predict one road segment with the highest potential to become a wildlife corridor, creating a clear target for management actions. Three other road segments, although they did not pass the criteria of having more than 25% of the surrounding areas classified as highly suitable for a corridor, still had high potential.
The most effective management strategy, out of eight possible scenarios, was to improve human attitudes toward wildlife corridor construction. Second most effective was to decrease human-wildlife conflicts, which has been shown to greatly improve local corridor support. The least effective strategy, i.e. least likely to increase the area highly suitable for a corridor, was to decrease human threats such as hunting, wildlife pet trade, and vehicle collisions.
This type of structured, decision-making model can be useful beyond black bears in Thailand. It creates a clear path for incorporating a human dimension into wildlife corridor assessments, and can be adjusted to fit multiple species and non-forested lands. Frameworks such as these can be essential to creating more realistic recommendations for corridor placement, especially when paired with other inputs such as economic costs. They add one more tool to the toolkit of corridor planning and assessment that can lead to more effective corridors and better conservation outcomes.
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