Dr Alan Rabinowitz talks about the status of tigers in Myanmar. Pic: Aye Zaw Myo

THE key to saving Myanmar’s dwindling population of tigers from extinction is providing alternative incomes for the people who live in areas where the big cats roam, said Dr Alan Rabinowitz, the executive director of science and exploration at the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society.

“Tigers are not doing well in Myanmar. Because of hunting tigers and hunting the food that tigers eat such as samba, deer and wild pigs, tigers are still in danger of extinction,” Dr Rabinowitz told The Myanmar Times in an interview in Yangon last week.

“If we don’t do a much better job saving tigers, tigers will be gone in Myanmar because there aren’t many left,” he said.

Dr Rabinowitz was in Myanmar from February 28 to March 9, during which he attended a workshop in Nay Pyi Taw on the development of a curriculum for a new postgraduate diploma course in wildlife management at the Forestry University in Yezin.

Dr Rabinowitz has been doing tiger conservation work in Myanmar since 1996 and was instrumental in helping establish the Hukaung Valley Tiger Reserve in Kachin State in northern Myanmar in 2002.

At 21,890 square kilometres (8452 square miles) it is now the biggest tiger reserve in the world.

“I think no more than 200 tigers are left in the whole country. But Hukaung Valley is the best chance for them,” he said. “About 100 tigers are living there and another 100 are living in Tanintharyi Division.”

“My team tells me that the Tanintharyi forests are drier with more bamboo. They’re extensive and uncut, and the mountains along the border are not so high so tigers can roam both countries,” Dr Rabinowitz said.

In fact, one of the more ambitious plans by WCS and another US-based NGO, Panthera Foundation, is the establishment of a 5000-mile-long “genetic corridor” for tigers stretching from Bhutan to Malaysia, passing through northeast India, Myanmar and Thailand.

The idea, aimed at the long-term preservation of tigers in Asia, has already been presented to the United Nations and been endorsed by the new king of Bhutan, his Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who requested other heads of state to support similar efforts.

“The idea of the genetic corridor is to let tigers roam freely and crossbreed,” Dr Rabinowitz said.

He explained that the corridors did not have to be pristine parkland but could include agricultural areas, ranches, and other multi-use landscapes – just as long as tigers could use them to travel between wilderness areas.

“We’re not asking countries to set aside new parks to make this corridor a success,” he was quoted as saying last month in a report in ScienceDaily. “This is more about changing regional zoning in tiger range states to allow tigers to move more freely between areas of good habitat.”

He said the main challenge was finding a way to connect Hukaung Valley and Tanintharyi Division, mostly through Shan State.

“We know there are no tigers between there. We don’t need tigers to be there. We just need pigs and deer in the woodlands so tigers can have some area in the middle where they can feed while they travel,” he said.

He added that the corridor would be a success if even one tiger made the trip from one habitat area to another every 10 or 20 years.

In the meantime, Dr Rabinowitz said the Myanmar government has been “very good” in terms of establishing Hukaung Valley as a protected area for tigers.
Still, threats to the region’s tiger population remain, especially from local hunters who know they can make money from killing the animals and selling their parts to the Chinese medicine trade.

“It is very hard to stop the killing of tigers when local villagers know that if they kill even a single tiger they can buy a new house or do something that changes their life,” Dr Rabinowitz said.

“But Myanmar is not benefiting from the deaths of those animals. The hunter gets the least amount of money. He’ll get anywhere from US$200 to $500 while the trader can get about $100,000 when its parts, skin, bones, eyeballs and penis are sold in China,” he said.

Dr Rabinowitz said that to stop people from killing tigers, they must be made to understand the value of the animals when they are alive – that is, how to get money from live animals rather than dead ones.

“Tourism is very good for local people. It provides alternative job opportunities that can stop local people from hunting,” he said.

“Ecotourism is big money. Tourists hire guides, boats, cars. If tourists come and spend money to see wildlife, then the local people start feeling that wildlife is more valuable alive than dead.”

He said Hukaung Valley is a great place for ecotourism because it can be reached via airplane from Yangon to Myitkyina, followed by a three-hour drive by car to Tanai in the heart of the valley.

“The road is okay in the dry season but not in rainy season. There is a guesthouse in Tanai where tourists can stay and now two hotels are being built there,” he said.

“People can still experience the cultures of the Naga people, the Kachin, the Shan and the Lisu. They can go bird watching, ride elephants and see wildlife. That is what we need to develop in Hukaung Valley,” he said.

Dr Rabinowitz said tourism also gives people pride in their culture and a reason to preserve their traditions as tourists come to their villages.

“Tourism also allows people who live in remote regions to feel like they’re part of a bigger country rather than feeling like they’re in the middle of nowhere and nobody cares about them,” he said.

“Myanmar is very special. It has many places that would be very good for ecotourism, like Hkakabo Razi [in Kachin State],” he added.

Dr Rabinowitz said infrastructure was not an issue because most ecotourists prefer living in the local style while travelling rather than staying in fancy hotels.

“It doesn’t cost much to build this kind of accommodation and it will attract tourists who will spend a lot of money and raise the socioeconomic situation of the local people. At the same time, wildlife can be saved and the country can become united,” he said.