NASA, the European Space Agency, and Google Earth Engine have collaborated with conservationists to create a real-time monitoring system called TCL 3.0 for tiger habitats, providing vital information to identify priority areas and monitor changes in habitat and populations. This new method of habitat modeling creates a dynamic map that can be updated with new information, revealing potential restoration landscapes that could increase tiger populations by 50%. The open-source mapping system code could potentially be applied to other vulnerable and threatened species, offering hope for the future of wildlife conservation.
NASA, the European Space Agency, and Google Earth Engine have collaborated with conservationists to create a real-time monitoring system called TCL 3.0 for tiger habitats, providing vital information to identify priority areas and monitor changes in habitat and populations. This dynamic mapping system uses satellite imagery and GIS technology to track tiger territories and identify potential restoration landscapes, offering hope for increasing tiger populations by 50%. The open-source mapping system could be adapted for other vulnerable species, signaling a positive outlook for wildlife conservation.
Tiger conservation efforts in India have prevented 1 million metric tons of carbon emissions by averting forest loss, according to a study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. Enhanced protection of Indian forests for tiger conservation has resulted in less deforestation and reduced carbon emissions. The avoided deforestation could be worth about $6.24 million in carbon offsets and could represent about $92 million in ecosystem services from the avoided social cost of emissions in India. The study shows how protecting biodiversity can benefit both species conservation and climate targets.
India's tiger population has grown to over 3,000 since the country's conservation programme began 50 years ago, but Indigenous people say wildlife conservation projects have displaced members of their community over the past half-century. Several Indigenous groups say the conservation strategies, deeply influenced by American environmentalism, have meant uprooting numerous communities who had lived in the forests for millennia. Experts say conservation policies that try to create a pristine wilderness have been influenced by prejudices against local communities.
