A Supplemental HCVF Assessment on the Sumatran Tiger ...

FINAL REPORT Tiger <strong>HCVF</strong> <strong>Supplemental</strong> <strong>Assessment</strong> – Serapung FMU
maintained until such a time that a comprehensive <strong>HCVF</strong> (or similarly detailed habitat
and population viability) assessment has been conducted within the Siak-Pelalawan
landscape, and a formal declaration has been made by local government and other
stakeholders to create a PSF conservation area in this landscape which is capable of
supporting an independently viable population of tigers.
With reference to Serapung district, due to the FMU’s location on the coastline, easily
accessible by people, resulting in high levels of human disturbance (facilitating tiger
poaching and prey-species harvesting by local communities) and habitat degradation
(due to illegal logging), the costs of maintaining the tiger in the Serapung habitat will
always be high relative to the limited conservation benefits accrued. Furthermore, the
position of the FMU on the periphery of the Siak-Pelalawan landscape, therefore not
vital for habitat connectivity, makes it a low priority candidate for inclusion in any future
conservation area network.
6.5 <strong>HCVF</strong> Recommendations for Tigers in the Serapung FMU
The findings presented in this report form the basis for recommendations relating to
<strong>HCVF</strong> delineation options for tigers in the Serapung FMU. The final SmartWood/APP
decision regarding delineation of <strong>HCVF</strong> should, for reasons outlined in previous
sections, be dependent upon the best available data regarding future tiger habitat
status in the wider landscape. A follow-up landscape-level <strong>HCVF</strong> assessment, as
proposed in section 6.1 above, would assist this decision-making process. However,
given the need for immediate management action, the two <strong>HCVF</strong> options
recommended here are designed to be implemented sequentially, moving from Option
1 to Option 2 in accordance with changing conditions and as a response to increasing
future certainty regarding viability of tigers in the wider landscape. Option 1 below
(section 6.5.1) represents an instant response to current conditions in the FMU,
requiring extension of the current logging moratorium in the indicative <strong>HCVF</strong> area as
previously defined by SmartWood. Some additional areas of FMU priority tiger habitat
are incorporated into this option. Option 2 (described in section 6.5.2) is recommended
as a replacement for <strong>HCVF</strong> Option 1, but appropriate only after a viable tiger
population has been secured in the Siak-Pelalawan forest block, or when the FMU can
be confirmed to have a low contribution (relative to other available habitat areas) to the
overall viability of tigers in this wider landscape. <strong>HCVF</strong> in Option 2, where partial
conversion of the current moratorium area is permitted, is primarily focused on
mitigating conflict between remaining tigers and adjacent human communities.
6.5.1 Option 1: Extension of Moratorium in Indicative <strong>HCVF</strong> Area
This <strong>HCVF</strong> option is recommended for immediate adoption as a temporary tiger
<strong>HCVF</strong> in advance of the completion of a landscape-level assessment and
development of an independent tiger conservation area in the wider Siak-
Pelalawan forest block. If a viable population of tigers in the Siak-Pelalawan block
can not be achieved in this way, or in the event that a landscape-level
assessment of the wider landscape concludes that the Serapung moratorium
area provides a critical contribution to long-term, regional tiger population
viability, then this <strong>HCVF</strong> delineation option is also considered to be the most
appropriate for long-term implementation.
Delineation of the <strong>HCVF</strong> follows the boundaries of the current SmartWood
logging moratorium (indicative <strong>HCVF</strong> area) and includes “set-aside” forests on
the eastern side of the FMU. Forests in Tandjung Datuk are also included as part
of this <strong>HCVF</strong> for tigers (see Figure 24). Long-term adoption of this <strong>HCVF</strong> option
will necessitate that the canals within the moratorium area are filled in order to
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