Large carnivores are among the species most vulnerable to loss of habitat and habitat connectivity due to their need for large habitat areas.
While this often this makes them flagship species for connectivity projects, tigers in particular are also threatened by lack of prey, conflict with humans and over-harvesting, leaving them extirpated from 90% of their historic range in the last century. As apex predators, their decline can have cascading consequences for the ecosystems they inhabit and the services they provide.
Jhala, Y.V., Mungi, N.A., Gopal, R. and Qureshi, Q. 2025. Tiger recovery amid people and poverty. Science 387(6733): 505-510.
The conservation of large carnivores often highlights an ongoing debate in conservation: land sparing versus land sharing. Land sparing conservation strategies seek to set pristine habitats aside, preventing overuse by humans but often also excluding indigenous peoples. In contrast, land sharing strategies advocate for lowering land use intensities so that human activities like agriculture are less harmful to ecosystems.
A new study looks at how land sharing and land sparing conservation play a role in tiger recovery in India, and how habitat connectivity can unify the two strategies. In 2010, India joined the Global Tiger Recovery Program, which had the goal of doubling the global tiger population by 2022.
In India, land sparing is challenging due to high human population densities and the prevalence of poverty. On the other hand, land sharing can be difficult to achieve as it may exacerbate conflicts between humans and animals. Despite this, India’s initiative to protect the tiger was successful: the country is now home to ~75% of the global tiger population.
To understand India’s success, researchers examined the contributions of land sparing, land sharing, and other socio-ecological factors to tiger recovery in India. They surveyed potential tiger habitat for tiger occupancy, as well as prey and habitat quality, every 4 years from 2006-2018. They also evaluated how human impacts and socioeconomic variables impacted tiger occupancy.
Overall, tiger occupancy increased by 30% over the course of the study. Factors such as proximity to protected areas, higher prey abundance, low human density and moderate wealth were associated with tiger colonization. In contrast, isolation from protected areas, urbanization, infrastructure development, and higher frequency of armed conflicts were associated with tiger extirpation.
Corridors played an important role in the recovery of tigers in this study: colonization was more likely in areas that had corridors linking protected areas. Areas where tigers became extinct but were later recolonized were often proximal to corridors.
Tiger recovery in India demonstrates that land sharing and sparing, in concert with connectivity through corridors, are complementary conservation tools. Tigers benefited from protected areas but habitat corridors allowed tigers to colonize shared areas with humans. The successful recovery of the tiger in India points to the importance of government policy that spares habitat for large carnivores while also providing co-benefits for local communities who share land.
Related Posts
Connectivity in National Policies: India
Although best known for tiger and elephant corridors, India also protects a diversity of wildlife through decades of connectivity-focused conservation policies.
Land sharing, sparing and connectivity aid tiger recovery
India's efforts to protect tiger populations provide a template for conserving large carnivores in an increasingly human-dominated landscape.
Traditional Ecological Knowledge in corridor restoration
A case study in India supports the use of Traditional Ecological Knowledge to incorporate local information and increase community engagement, both of which can lead to better conservation outcomes for restoration efforts.
