IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Maddox, T. | |
| Fat cats and tiger economies: oiling the wheels of collaboration | |
| 2005 Conference Proceeding | |
The frequently alarming conservation status of many of the world's best known cats leads many people to the conclusion that the cats are a particularly fragile and vulnerable taxon requiring sanctuary in the remotest wild areas. In many cases this is not the case, with some of the most endangered species displaying both a surprising tolerance to a variety of habitats together with a remarkable fecundity. On their own, these characteristics are unlikely to be enough to ensure survival, but by recognising cat's intrinsic survival abilities may open the doors to some non-conventional conservation approaches. In many parts of South East Asia the landscape is dominated by industry; logging concessions, crop plantations aid mineral extraction. For many these industries represent the future in an area still suffering from past economic crises. For others they represent both the biggest threat and potential key to the future of conservation, but the line between success and sell out is very thin. The debate on whether conservation should or could be compatible with commercial interest continues to rage. In this presentation we search for compatibility between one of the world's most endangered species, the Sumatran tiger, and some of the industries responsible for the biggest threats to tigers and their environment in Indonesia. Accompanying a sister paper in the main IMC event that looks in more detail at biodiversity on and around an oil palm plantation, this presentation concentrates more on the wider implications across the industrial landscape, using the tiger as the focus species. The presentation focuses on four particular questions. Firstly, how necessary is tiger conservation in the industrial landscape? Secondly, when can tigers survive in such areas and how? Thirdly, what needs to be done by industries and conservationists to make a collaboration work? And finally, what implications do these answers have for other species, felids and beyond? The presentation is based on findings from the Jambi Tiger Project, a research-based conservation project representing a collaboration between the Zoological Society of London, the Indonesian government and a commercial oil palm plantation in Sumatra Indonesia. |
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