DOI: 10.1007/s00267-004-0273-9 Developing a National Tiger Action Plan for the Union of Myanmar ANTONY J. LYNAM* initiated a project to develop a revised National Tiger SAW TUN KHAING Action Plan. Extensive surveys confirmed tigers in only 4 Wildlife Conservation Society of 17 survey locations. Significant populations are thought International Programs to persist in the far North and far South of the country, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY USA 10460 where large, intact forests offer the potential for tiger recovery. With partnerships and collaborations, tiger pop- KHIN MAUNG ZAW ulations can be protected in the short term (<5 years) by Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division Forest Department expanding protected areas and corridors, mobilizing en- Ministry of Forestry forcement staff to reduce poaching of tigers and prey, and West Gyogone, Insein, Yangon, Myanmar amending existing wildlife legislation in accordance with international laws. Over the long term (5–20 years), re- ABSTRACT / A century ago, tigers were considered pests covery of MyanmarÕs tiger populations will depend on in- in Myanmar. Hunters claimed thousands, yet populations creasing support from local people, zoning tiger areas to persisted. In the past century, because of habitat loss and reduce habitat loss and disturbance, and maintaining prey depletion, coupled with the recent demand for tra- connectivity of existing national and transboundary forests. ditional medicines, tiger populations have been reduced to This article reviews the development of a new National a few hundred individuals. As a first step toward long-term Tiger Action Plan for the Union of Myanmar and discusses planning for tigers, and to guide efforts to increase pro- a blueprint for conservation measures aimed at saving ti- tected area coverage, the Myanmar government in 1998 gers from extinction. The potential importance of Myanmar for tiger The tiger (Panthera tigris) is declining across its conservation, a desire to boost coverage of protected range (Seidensticker and others 1999) because of areas, and the lack of any systematic data on the dis- shrinking habitats, expanding human populations, and tribution and abundance of tigers and their prey increasing demand for traditional medicines and wild prompted the Myanmar government to initiate a pro- meat. Despite the trends, relatively large (>10,000 km2) ject to develop a national tiger conservation strategy for contiguous tracts of natural vegetation provide high Myanmar. In this article, we discuss the development of potential habitats for tigers and other large mammals the plan and review threats to tigers and the history of in Southeast Asia and the Himalayan foothills (Lei- conservation planning for the species in Myanmar. We mgruber and others 2003; Wikramanayake and others summarize the current status and distribution of tigers 1998; Wikramanayake and others 2002). in the country and discuss the rationale for a National Within this region, Myanmar is a priority country for Tiger Action Plan. Finally, we propose solutions for tiger conservation because it includes a large propor- addressing the threats, recovering tiger populations, tion of the range and diversity of the remaining tiger and guiding future tiger conservation in the country. habitats (Dinerstein and others 1997). Natural forests cover one-third of the country (FAO 2004; UNEP 1995), some having relatively low human impact within Threats to Tigers them (Sanderson and others 2002). Myanmar provides a wide range of habitat and dis- turbance regimes for the tiger (Dinerstein and others 1997), but as in other parts of Southeast Asia, it is KEY WORDS: Tigers; Myanmar; Species recovery; Wildlife man- sensitive to a number of factors: past levels of hunting, agement a recent burgeoning trade of tigers and tiger parts, prey depletion, habitat loss and fragmentation, and Published online: November 29, 2005. inadequate coverage and lack of effective management *Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; email: in protected areas. [email protected] Environmental Management Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 30–39 ª 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. Tiger Conservation Planning in Myanmar 31 Tiger hunting has a long history in Myanmar (Mil- Tigers are also threatened by habitat loss. In Myan- ton and Estes 1963; Peacock 1933; Pollok and Thom mar, the annual net deforestation rate between 1989 1900; Sydney 1916), as it has in other parts of the range and 2000 was 0.2% (Leimgruber and others 2003), and (Duckworth and Hedges 1998; Hubback and others in some areas within the country the rate of forest loss 1924; Plas 1932; Ready 1904). In the colonial period, is more severe and exceeds the global average. Internal tigers were considered pests because they interfered fragmentation of habitats from the construction of with timber operations by killing elephant calves and dams, roads, and pipelines, which is increasing in livestock. Until 1931, the government provided licenses Myanmar, can disrupt habitats by creating barriers to and bounties for killing tigers. This led to depopula- dispersal (Goosem 1997), thus isolating tiger popula- tion on a massive scale. For example, during the 4-year tions (Smith and others 1999) and leading to increased period from 1928 to 1932, 1,382 tigers were reported mortality (Kerley and others 2002). Forest degradation killed in British Burma (Prater 1940). This approxi- caused by livestock grazing, shifting and permanent mates the current estimated population of tigers in all cultivation, mining, permanent human settlements, of Indochina (Jackson 1997). More recently, increasing and plantations is widespread (Global Witness 2003; demand for traditional medicines (Nowell 2000), tro- Rao and others 2002). phies (Martin 1997; Martin and Redford 2000), and For many years, Myanmar had one of the least live tigers in Thailand and China has threatened developed protected area networks in Southeast Asia MyanmarÕs wild tiger population. Organized hunting (Balmford and Long 1995). Current government to supply the burgeoning trade (Rabinowitz and others budget allocations for protected areas may be less than 1995) has led to their extirpation in some areas (Ra- that recommended for effective management (James binowitz 1998), with the effect of escalating prices on and others 1999). Legislation to protect both wildlife the black market (Rao and others 2005). and their habitats (Ministry of Forestry 1994) is weak The sale of tiger products has been banned by the and difficult to enforce (Gutter 2001), in part because Convention on the International Trade in Endangered of low staffing and training deficiencies, so that only Species (CITES) since 1975, but thrives in illegal mar- one-third of protected areas are effectively managed kets along the Chinese border in the states of Kachin (Aung submitted). Land use planning and economic and Shan, and the Thai border in the states of Shan, ventures often have consequences in human commu- Kayin, and Mon, where it is uncontrolled (Davidson nities that conflict with the goals of protected areas. 1999; Martin 1997; Martin and Redford 2000). At least Despite the threats, the tiger in Myanmar is far from 10,000 kg of tiger bone representing 500 to 1,000 tigers a lost cause. Wildlife trade networks are organized, al- was imported by East Asian countries between 1970 beit limited in comparison with those of neighbor and 1993 (Hemley and Mills 1999). countries that have superior communications and Tigers are obligatory predators of large mammals, so transportation infrastructures. Prey and tiger popula- they are sensitive to reductions in the available prey tions can be restored if they can be protected from base (Karanth and Stith 1999; Seidensticker 2002). A hunting and trade (Kenney and others 1995; Madh- hundred years ago, people living in and around for- usudan and Karanth 2002). Large extensive wildlands ested areas traditionally hunted wildlife for subsistence of forest, shrubland/savanna, and grasslands (Leimgr- using poison arrows and primitive traps. With im- uber and others 2003) provide high potential habitat proved hunting technologies such as wire snares and for tigers. The protected area system grew from less black powder guns, some rural people in Myanmar now than 1% of the land area in 1996 to the current level of meet their subsistence needs for wildlife and generate 7% (Rao and others 2002). Training programs for a surplus for sale. Hunting is a serious threat to the nature conservation and wildlife staff have been led by integrity of most protected areas in Myanmar (Rao and several international conservation organizations in others 2002; Aung submitted), and likely occurs at Myanmar: the Wildlife Conservation Society, the some level in all areas that support wildlife. With the Smithsonian Institution, and the Harrison Institute. development of transportation networks, wildlife hun- One-third of the Nature and Wildlife Conservation ted in remote areas can now be moved more efficiently Division (NWCD) staff has received basic instruction in to urban markets (Robinson and others 1999). Tiger wildlife survey techniques, and some of these staff are vendors also offer other tiger prey species and other actively engaged in wildlife projects. Currently, 60% of wildlife prohibited by CITES (Bennett and Rao 2002; protected area wardens have undergone training in Global Witness 2003; Hill 1994; Martin and Redford protected area management methods. Staff and stu- 2000; Rabinowitz and Khaing 1998; Rao and others dents