Saving tigers saves on carbon emissions

Tiger conservation efforts in India have a positive environmental impact, according to a study¹ that measured improved carbon storage due to forest preservation, a key focus of the conservation approach.

By increasing forest cover, tiger conservation projects helped prevent the emission of at least 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide between 2007 and 2020, the study reports. During this period, 5,802 hectares of forests were additionally protected across designated tiger reserves.

The emissions avoided were equivalent to greenhouse gas released from cooking gas by 4.1 million Indian households per year.

The researchers say the deforestation prevented translates to potential revenue of US$6.24 million in carbon offsets and US $92 million in ecosystem services, by the avoided associated cost of emissions.

India is home to 3,167 tigers, the highest proportion of the world’s wild tigers (Panthera tigris). Although Project Tiger was launched in 1973 to rescue wild tigers from the brink of extinction, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), was set up in 2005 to step up efforts.

The government body has designated 53 protected areas as tiger reserves so far, resulting in enhanced monitoring and enforcement of forest protection. Key policy interventions in the reserves include regulation of extraction of forest products, reducing deforestation drivers, and encouraging alternative livelihoods for communities.

Conservation scientist, Aakash Lamba, and colleagues modelled the forest loss and associated carbon emissions reductions that were avoided in tiger reserves for conservation. They found that central Indian reserves were particularly effective in reducing forest loss and ensuring connectivity in tiger habitats.

Better mechanisms for fund disbursement by the NTCA, an increased emphasis on benefit sharing from ecotourism revenues with local communities, and the use of GPS-based mobile tools for enabling more efficient patrolling are responsible for successful forest protection in these reserves.

The Nawegaon–Nagzira tiger reserve performed best in the analyses, avoiding forest loss of 2,645 hectares and leading to reduced carbon emissions of around 416.95 kilotons. It was also crucial to maintaining connectivity between central India's tiger habitats.

“Understanding the dynamics of each successful reserve will be invaluable in identifying where other reserves can improve,” Lamba said. The results of the study by Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions at National University of Singapore come in the 50th year of Project Tiger, India’s flagship tiger conservation programme.

The analysis also found that none of the tiger reserves in northeast India had reduced deforestation between 2007 to 2020, suggesting conservation policies were likely inadequate in countering the high rates of deforestation in the region.

In the northeast, geographical remoteness, encroachment, shifting agricultural practices, illegal timber trade and mining around the fringes of reserves (such as Kaziranga and Dampa), undermined forest protection.