Tiger Conservation Landscapes - Classes and Priorities

A Tiger Conservation Landscape (TCL) is a block or cluster of blocks of habitat meeting a minimum size threshold specific to habitat-type, where tigers have been confirmed to occur in the last 10 years and are not known to have been extirpated. A TCL has the following attributes: (1) A TCL has evidence of one or more tigers over the last 10 years; (2) A TCL can consist of several adjacent blocks of habitat among which tigers can disperse, up to a distance of 4 km; (3) A TCL need not be restricted to nor contain protected areas, but instead includes the entire landscape over which tigers may disperse and become established; (4) A TCL must meet a minimum core area requirement for its largest block of habitat that is specific to the habitat-type in which it is found; (5) TCL boundaries are defined either where habitat ends with no suitable habitat within 4 km for the tiger to disperse to, or at country or ecoregion boundaries. TCLs are identified according to their Class and Priority. Class refers to a TCL's current conservation status and probability for achieving conservation success in the next decade (Class I is highest, Class IV is not enough information). TCL priority indicates priority for conservation investment, ensuring the suite of Global and Regional Priority TCLs are representative across biomes and bioregions. For more information, see Chapters 4 and 6 in WCS, WWF, Smithsonian, STF 2006.