the western forest complex of thailand - Wildlife Conservation Society

BEST OF THE WILD: WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY andTHE WESTERN FOREST COMPLEXOF THAILANDPHOTO CREDITS: COVER, INSIDE COVER, PAGES 2, 5 (BOTTOM), 6, 7 (BOTTOM), 8, 9 (TOP),10, 13-15: K. WAITANYAKARN/WCS THAILAND. PAGE 4: WCS THAILAND/DEPARTMENT OFNATIONAL PARKS, WILDLIFE AND PLANT CONSERVATION. PAGE 5: MAP: P. CLYNE, K. FISHER,L. HICKEY, AND R. ROSE. PAGE 7 (TOP): HUAI KHA KAENG WILDLIFE SANCTUARY. PAGES 9(BOTTOM) AND 12: KHAO NANG RAM WILDLIFE RESEARCH STATION.

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THE CASE FORCONSERVATIONWCS ENVISIONS a world in which people value and embrace the diversityof life, live sustainably with wildlife, and ensure the integrity of the naturalworld. We focus our conservation efforts on the best of the wild—landscapes andseascapes that are rich in biological diversity, and where long-term conservation ofwildlife and the natural processes they depend upon can be achieved. Our globalportfolio of 75 Best of the Wild sites, including the Western Forest Complex ofThailand, gives us a leading role in saving some of the wildest places that remainon Earth.The Western Forest Complex offers one of the planet’s greatest hopes forthe recovery of globally imperilled tigers. Two hundred tigers roam its largeblocks of forest today, but with additional protection the forest could support500 tigers due to its size and intactness. No other place in Asia can offer such asignificant contribution to tiger recovery. Also thriving here is a host of otherglobally threatened wildlife including Asian elephants, otters, gaur, and sixspecies of hornbills.This stronghold for wildlife and beacon for tiger recovery is a product of theforesight and commitment of the Thai government to create national parks andwildlife sanctuaries to protect the country’s natural heritage. Extending beyondthe border of Thailand into Myanmar, the full forest complex is one of the mostimportant transboundary terrestrial landscapes in Asia.The Wildlife Conservation Society’s investment in conservation of the WesternForest Complex has already laid the groundwork for success. Villages andgovernment take new pride in the globally significant wildlife and forest foundhere, science drives management, and innovative partnerships in law enforcementshow great promise for sustaining the Western Forest Complex as a majorstronghold for iconic Asian wildlife.Cover and inside cover: Rich withdiverse and intact habitats, theWestern Forest Complex gives usone of the best opportunities tosecure a large, and possibly thelargest, population of tigers in Asia.Previous page: This forest is hometo one of southeast Asia’s largestelephant populations, one that couldgrow significantly with protection.WESTERN FOREST COMPLEX | 3

WCS & THE WESTERNFOREST COMPLEXTop: Tigers are found in thehighest numbers in the core area,but they can also be foundacross most of the peripheralprotected areas.Next page: Gaur, a wild cattlespecies found only in the Asiantropics, are increasingly rareand are the key prey speciesfor tigers.THAILAND’S WESTERN FOREST COMPLEX is a wildlife oasis in acountry otherwise transformed by economic development. Rare wild cattle suchas banteng and gaur feed in grassy meadows, while Asian elephants roam theforests, and sambar deer gather at streams and salt licks.Birds that are increasingly rare across Asia thrive in the Western ForestComplex: green peafowls feed along the rivers’ sandbars and rufous-neckedhornbills flash their bright colors in the green montane forest. Healthy streamssupport three species of otters, all of which are increasingly stressed elsewhereacross Asia. And ever-present is the promise of a tiger’s track. Though tigersaround the globe are in steep decline, the Western Forest Complex remains one ofAsia’s safe havens for this majestic species. Here, tigers are making a comeback.Covering 7,230 square miles – about one-eighth the size of New York State– the Western Forest Complex is a large tract of intact forest that is made up of17 contiguous protected areas. Three large protected areas—Huai Kha Kaeng,Thung Yai West, and Thung Yai East—make up the core area, the most importantstronghold for wildlife in the region which was recognized as a World HeritageSite in 1991. This core area lies at the heart of the Western Forest Complex’sprotected area system and of WCS’s conservation strategy: WCS field scienceshows that as wildlife populations recover, they move out of this core area and intothe 14 surrounding protected areas. The future of the Western Forest Complexrelies on sustaining protection for this core area while increasing the reach andeffectiveness of protection into the surrounding, peripheral protected areas.Despite high levels of protection, the forest remains vulnerable to pressurescommon to many Southeast Asian forests: illegal hunting for wild meat to supplyboth local markets and restaurants across the region, and illegal tree cutting and4 | WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

cattle grazing. WCS addresses these threats with a threeprongedstrategy of using science to drive managementdecisions, strengthening local law enforcement, andbuilding support for conservation in local communities.WCS’s vision is that in 10 years the Western ForestComplex will be one of the most important tiger havenson Earth, nurturing a recovery of tiger populationsunparalleled in Asia. Here, one of Indochina’s largestintact forests will abound with elephant, rufous-neckedhornbill, otters, gaur, banteng, sambar deer, muntjac,and tapirs, as well as many dozens of species of rare plantsand amphibians. More than two decades of conservationleadership and constructive improvement of managementprograms have positioned WCS and its partners in theThai government and local conservation organizations tofulfill this ambitious vision.WESTERN FOREST COMPLEX | 5

UNDERSTANDING THECHALLENGES & RISKSTop: Poaching is a serious threatto the wildlife here, includingthe endangered Phayre’s leafmonkey, which is hunted foruse in traditional medicines.Next page: Wild cattle species suchas banteng and gaur are importantprey for tigers and are also frequenttargets for poachers: a bantengslain by poachers (top) and a tigerconfronting a gaur that it has justkilled in the forest (bottom).THOUGH THE WESTERN FOREST COMPLEX still teems with wildlifeand has a strong protected area system in place, poaching remains a serious threat.The sale of wild meat is illegal, but nevertheless a local black market suppliesrestaurants in the area with illegally hunted banteng, gaur, sambar deer, muntjac,and wild pigs. Consequently, the high level of poaching of these prey species hasslowed the recovery of wild tigers.Wild tigers are sufficiently abundant in the Western Forest Complex to attractprofessional poachers, and the undiminished demand across Asia for tiger skins,bones, and other parts puts tigers in this forest at serious risk. Direct poachingof tigers is not common, but recent instances of poachers targeting tigers withpoisoned baits underscore the urgency of taking action now.Poaching cannot be curbed without more effective, motivated, and accountablelaw enforcement. Though the Thai government has committed to hiringpark rangers, their task remains daunting and their effectiveness limited. Toooften patrols are poorly equipped, unsystematic in their coverage, and weaklycoordinated. Using state-of-the-art technology and patrol design, WCS and theThai government are working together to improve patrols and ensure that theirfindings inform management of the forest.People living in several hundred small communities in and around the forestventure into the protected areas to collect non-timber forest products, to fishillegally, and to graze livestock. While the cumulative effects of these activities arenow relatively minor, they will have increasingly detrimental effects on wildlife ifleft unchecked in the face of human population growth. Instances of crop raidingby elephants and wild pigs are increasing, prompting retaliatory killing of wildlifeand diminishing public support for conservation. Moreover, people living in thesecommunities hunt illegally for the forest species that tigers prey upon.6 | WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

USING STATE-OF-THE-ARTTECHNOLOGY AND PATROL DESIGN,WCS AND THE THAI GOVERNMENTARE WORKING TOGETHER TO IMPROVEPATROLS AND ENSURE THAT THEIRFINDINGS INFORM MANAGEMENT OFTHE FOREST.Large development projects, such as new highwaysalong the forest’s border, are a recurring threat tothe integrity of the Western Forest Complex. In manyinstances, development agencies and some localcommunities are not fully engaged in the effort to keepthe Western Forest Complex intact. Targeted, sciencebasedoutreach and communications programs arebuilding constituencies for the long-term conservationof this forest and its world-class wildlife.WESTERN FOREST COMPLEX | 7

VISION FOR THE FUTUREWCS’S VISION is that the Western Forest Complex will be one of the mostimportant tiger havens on earth, nurturing a recovery of tiger populationsunparalleled in Asia. Here, one of Indochina’s largest intact forests will aboundwith elephant, rufous-necked hornbill, otters, gaur, banteng, sambar deer, muntjac,and tapirs, as well as many dozens of species of rare plants and amphibians.Top: Wild water buffalo are extremelyrare across Asia, and the WesternForest Complex is a major strongholdfor this endangered species.To secure this vision, we will hold ourselves accountable for achievingthe following over the next 10 years:• The tiger population in the core area increases by more than 50%.• The five main tiger prey species – gaur, banteng, sambar deer,muntjacs, and wild pigs – increase to at least 10 animals/km 2 inthe core area.• The distribution of tigers, their prey, and elephants expands beyondthe core protected area to an additional 20% of the peripheralprotected landscape.• The abundance and distribution of rufous-necked hornbillsincreases by 20%.• There is no decrease in the abundance and distribution of Eurasianotter, smooth-coated otter, and Oriental small-clawed otter inriver systems.• Elephant distribution increases by 50% in the western half of the coreprotected area.8 | WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

WCS is committed to saving the Western ForestComplex, one of the largest intact forests in Indochinaand the Asian landscape with the potential to support thegreatest increase in tiger numbers, by ensuring that itscore and peripheral regions are protected from poachingand encroachment and valued for their natural integrity.Managing at this scale will allow tigers and other wildlifeto disperse back into the wider landscape. This willhappen when all 17 protected areas in the Western ForestComplex are managed with the highest standards of lawenforcement, trade in illegal wild meat is curbed, and localcommunities support wildlife conservation.Top: Sunrise over the undulating hills of the Western ForestComplex. Bottom: WCS envisions a future where tiger cubsfrom this forest have a secure future in a large, healthy, andtruly wild landscape.WESTERN FOREST COMPLEX | 9

ADDRESSING THE RISKSTO DELIVER ON OUR VISION, WCS will achieve four managementoutcomes that, in turn, will secure our conservation targets.To ensure that law enforcement effectively protects tigers, tiger prey,and other wildlife in the Western Forest Complex, WCS will:• Train and equip park rangers to perform systematic and effective lawenforcement in the core protected areas to combat poaching, illegalcollection of non-timber forest products, and illegal livestock grazing.• Expand park ranger law enforcement training and provision ofequipment throughout the protected area complex.Top: Green peafowl, found in healthynumbers here, are an endangeredspecies native to southeast Asiaand a close relative of the peacock.To ensure that the sale of illegal wild meat is curtailed, WCS will:• Strengthen and expand a system of wildlife informants and a wildlifevolunteer network to improve the information available to lawenforcement agencies.• Equip and build the capacity of law enforcement agencies to arrest andprosecute traders and restaurant owners who traffic in illegal wildlife.• Build on existing partnerships with law enforcement and Thaiuniversities to conduct molecular-genetic analyses of confiscatedbushmeat to be used as evidence in criminal trials.• In collaboration with partner conservation organizations, promotepublic awareness to reduce demand for wild meat in the communitiesaround the Western Forest Complex.10 | WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

ABOUT WCSTop: Leopards are found throughoutthe Western Forest Complex.Next page: Dhole, also calledAsiatic wild dogs, were oncefound throughout most of tropicaland temperate Asia, but haveseen drastic reductions in habitatand are now largely limited toprotected forests like this one.WCS SAVES WILDLIFE AND WILD PLACES by understanding criticalissues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions thatbenefit nature and humanity.WCS conserves critical landscapes and seascapes by helping governments,national organizations, and communities establish and manage parks andprotected areas, and integrate them with the complex matrix of surrounding landuses. We conserve species of conservation significance – those that are vulnerable,important to humans, and powerful icons of nature – and, with partners, setconservation priorities across their range. And we build alliances to address fourglobal conservation challenges: the interdependence of conservation, sustainabledevelopment, and human livelihoods; natural resource extraction; the interfacebetween wildlife, domestic animals and human health; and climate change.During a century of conservation, WCS has helped to establish more than 150protected areas around the world, including Gabon’s expansive new national parksystem and the first no-take marine reserve in Belize. We helped save the Americanbison from extinction and attracted global attention to the plight of Mongoliangazelle, mountain gorillas, humpback whales, and tigers. We created the firstinternational veterinary program focused on free-ranging wildlife. We believe investing people in conservation, and have established innovative partnerships withcommunities in Zambia, Cambodia, and Bolivia to ensure that people benefit fromconservation. WCS field conservation activities are enhanced by our four zoologicalparks and an aquarium in New York City, which connect people to nature and builda powerful US constituency for wildlife conservation.WCS is committed to save the Best of the Wild – 75 landscapes and seascapes in60 countries around the world.* Please join us in this mission.*For a full list of the WCS Best of the Wild Scapes and other Best of the Wild publications, please visit www.wcs.org/bestofthewild14 | WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

W C S I S G R A T E F U L T O T H E F O L L O W I N G F O R L E A D E R S H I P S U P P O R T O FO U R W O R K T O C O N S E R V E T H E W E S T E R N F O R E S T C O M P L E X :Asian Development BankThe Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg FoundationNational Geographic Society’s Conservation TrustRobertson FoundationThe Ruttenberg FamilySave The Tiger Fund, National Fish and Wildlife FoundationUS Department of StateUS Fish and Wildlife ServiceW C S ’ S S U C C E S S I N T H E L A N D S C A P E C A N B E A T T R I B U T E D I N P A R T T OO U R S T R O N G L O C A L P A R T N E R S H I P S :Elephant Conservation NetworkFoundation of Western Forest Complex ConservationHornbill Research FoundationKasetsart UniversityKing Mongkut’s University of Technology ThonburiMahidol UniversityPantheraPetroleum Authority of Thailand: Exploration and ProductionRareRoyal Forest Department of ThailandSeub FoundationSmithsonian InstitutionThai Border Patrol PoliceThai Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant ConservationThai Ministry of Natural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of MinnesotaWWF ThailandZoological Park OrganizationO C T O B E R 2 0 1 0Wildlife Conservation SocietyAsia Program2300 Southern BoulevardBronx, New York 10460-1099718.741.8162 • asiaprogram@wcs.org