Landscape-scale conservation planning and wildlife monitoring In Southeast Asia

Abstract

Advances in data availability and methodology have greatly expanded the potential for landscape scale monitoring of biodiversity and the use of resulting insights for conservation planning. This collection of papers explores the use of modeling, monitoring, and conservation planning techniques to better facilitate landscape scale conservation in Southeast Asia.Chapter 1 focuses on the use of linear and logistic regression techniques for modeling occurrence patterns of tigers and tiger prey over a large landscape in western Thailand. I discuss the strengths and limitations of using these techniques to inform landscape scale monitoring and planning activities. Chapter 2 explores the potential for sign surveys of a landscape scale predator (tiger) to inform management decisions. I compare presence/absence and count survey frameworks and assess their value in informing landscape level management. A controlled study of tiger sign interpretation provides the much of the basis for the raw data used in this chapter and this study is presented in a detailed appendix. Chapters 3 through 5 focus on a biodiversity gap analysis conducted for Cambodia's protected area system. Chapter 3 provides a detailed account of methods used to map biodiversity surrogates for the country. Chapter 4 reviews the history and current status of Cambodia's protected area system and includes recommendations for revising IUCN category assignments for the system. Chapter 5 is a detailed account of a national level conservation planning exercise in Cambodia and how this process was translated into specific recommendations for improving Cambodia's protected area system.