IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Seidensticker, J.; Christie, S.; Jackson, P. | |
| Epilogue - vision and process in securing a future for wild tigers | |
| 1999 Book Chapter | |
Many of us think of those few places where tiger still live as natural wonders - little Edens, if you will. Saving Eden at whatever cost and means has been thought to be the goal. The vision emerging from Tigers 2000 is that we should not limit our vistion to just the Edens with their tigers, but think instead about recovering landscapes. We should put aside the notion that tiger reserved are self-contained islands, disconnected in a sea of non-compatible land-uses. Our vision should be of landscapes with their ecological and genetic processes intact. Protected areas are principal building blocks in this vision, but they cannot stand alone. We have emphasised the linkages between the needs of the tiger and the welfare of the people living near it. The future of wild tigers lies in a recovery process for tigers that includes, as essential elements, establishment and maintenance of sustainable relationships between people and their resources in habitats surrounding reserves, and maintenance of the connectivity within TCUs that is essential for ensuring long-term tiger population sustainability. The future of the tiger lies in recovering natural capital. Continued environmental deterioration is the alternative; along this road, the tiger and much else will be lost. |
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