Experts say the population of Indochinese tigers has risen from 40 to more than 140 in Thailand’s Western Forest Complex, thanks to long-term conservation and law enforcement efforts.
A phenomenal 250% increase in tiger numbers has been recorded in Thailand’s Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM) over a 15-year period from 2007 to 2023.
WEFCOM is a vast conservation area in western Thailand, bordering Myanmar, covering around 18,000 square kilometres, including multiple protected areas, national parks and reserves. It is a major biodiversity corridor and one of the most important areas of forest in Southeast Asia.
The rise in numbers of the Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) in WEFCOM, from around 40 to more than 140 has been put down to long-term conservation measures and effective law enforcement, especially high-quality patrolling, protecting tigers and their prey from poaching and the destruction of habitat.
Prior to the new measures, illegal hunting and logging were rife in the forested area, with tigers on a path toward extinction.
“This increase was achieved due to the strong commitment and determination of the Thai government, and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) in strengthening law enforcement systems using the SMART patrol integrated with an intelligence-led approach for protected area management,” says Pornkamol Jornburom, Director of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Thailand.
“In Thailand, the system has been in place in since 2006 in the core area of the Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM), and then scaled up for implementation in more than 200 protected areas across the country.
“Well-trained and committed patrol teams greatly increased their patrol efforts, capturing a number of high-profile poachers, which sent a message to other would-be poachers. A scientifically sound monitoring system demonstrated that the increase in patrolling led to a decline in poaching and an increase in both tigers and their prey.”
Tigers in Southeast Asia
Tigers (Panthera tigris) are currently listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. India has also recorded significant increases in the country’s tiger numbers, due to conservation measures.
But Thailand’s increase stands in stark contrast to how tigers are faring elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Tigers disappeared from Java and Bali in the 20th century, and from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam by the mid-2000s.
In other parts of Southeast Asia, tigers are still under huge pressure from poaching and the loss and fragmentation of forest habitat. As a result, tigers now exist elsewhere in Southeast Asia only in small or isolated populations in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and Myanmar.
Thai success – and hope for the future
As WEFCOM’s apex predator, tiger populations are a signal of the overall health of the ecosystem, the increase in their numbers part of a large-scale, ecosystem-wide recovery.
The news demonstrates that tigers can be saved with long-term commitments on conservation measures.
“What Thailand is doing – committing resources and people to protection of wildlife and wild places – could be done in any country in Southeast Asia,” says Jornburom.
“The cost is not high, and the international NGO community has the expertise to support conservation and is seeking new funding to ensure that finances are not a problem. Thailand’s success in WEFCOM can be a role model for conservation and recovery of wildlife populations and can surely be replicated elsewhere.”
There is more to come, says Jornburom. “Thailand has the model for recovery of tigers in SE Asia. They are expanding their efforts within WEFCOM to more protected areas adjacent to those where success has occurred and expanding to other landscapes like the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex, with evidence of recovery on the way.
“They are also discussing translocation of tigers to landscapes where tigers have been lost. These are truly examples for other countries to follow.”
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