The Economics of Protecting Tiger Populations: Linking Household Behaviour to Poaching and Prey Depletion

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is classified as endangered (IUCN, 2000). The population of wild tigers continues to decline, despite substantial conservation investments by governments and international agencies. This paper presents a formal economic analysis of the two most imminent threats to the survival of wild tigers: poaching of wild tigers and hunting their prey. A model is developed to examine the interactions between wild tigers and farm households living in and around tiger habitats. The analysis extends the most recent model of tiger demography to incorporate predator-prey interactions and explores the sensitivity of tiger populations to key economic parameters. To our knowledge this is the first formal investigation into the economic causes of declining tiger populations. It is hoped that the analysis may contribute to the policy debate on how best to protect one of the world’s most endangered wild cats. 1 School of Economics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5001, Australia. Email [email protected] and [email protected] 2. Wildlife Conservation Society, International Programs, Bronx, New-York 10460. Email [email protected] 3. U.S. Geological Survey, Florida Caribbean Science Center, Sirenia Project, 412 NE 16th Ave.; Rm 250 Gainesville, FL 32601. Email [email protected] *The authors appreciate gratefully the assistance, comments and suggestions from Kym Anderson, Edward Barbier, Erwin Bulte, Anthony Cheshire, Jon D. Harford, John Hatch and Suraj Saigal. Information provided by the Wildlife Trust of India is also gratefully acknowledged. The usual disclaimers apply.