Post-conflict recovery of tigers (Panthera tigris) in a transboundary landscape: The case of Manas National Park, India

Abstract

Armed conflict has negatively impacted wildlife in biodiversity hotspots across the world. However, by incorporating conservation measures into conflict resolution and post-conflict recovery strategies, populations may be better protected and species recovered. We present in this study the recovery of tigers (Panthera tigris) in Manas National Park (MNP), a UNESCO world heritage site located in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) of Assam, India, that had experienced armed ethnopolitical conflict for two decades. We document conservation attention through management input received and the tourism revenues generated and evaluated concurrent change in tiger population dynamics. The park received, on average, ~300 USD/km²/year in federal allocation towards tigers compared to ~1000 USD/km²/year estimated for protecting and monitoring tigers effectively across source sites. In the post-conflict period, protection infrastructure and workforce has been gradually rebuilt, especially in the Bansbari and Bhuyanpara administrative ranges. We also documented a rise in tourism, which boosted management budgets. Finally, combined with increased prey availability and functional connectivity with Royal Manas National Park, Bhutan, this has contributed to an over three-fold increase in tiger density (adults/100 km²) from 1.06 (95 % CI; 0.66–1.49) in 2011–12 to 3.64 (2.57–4.89) in 2018–19. High adult survival, long female tenure, breeding, and recruitment contributed to this growth. Overall, these findings show that when local communities, governments, and conservation agencies provide immediate and sustained conservation attention following the end of conflict, conditions for species recovery can be conducive, and species can be recovered.