Science-Based Conservation of Amur Tigers in the Russian Far East and Northeast China

It was into this chaos that the American team arrived with a simple objective: collect the best possible information on the ecology and population dynamics of Amur tigers as a basis for implementing effective conservation actions. Today, conservation activities focused on the Amur tiger are multi-faceted, broad-based, and implemented by a variety of organizations, both governmental and non-governmental. Some of the most successful programs are predicated on credible science and effective monitoring to inform the conservation process. This chapter explores the relationships and explains how research has informed and guided Amur tiger conservation over a 15-year period. The “traditional” approach to conservation used by many large organizations and donors is to collect initial information as a basis for developing and implementing conservation strategies. Surveys that provide fundamental knowledge about changes in abundance of tiger populations can guide conservation efforts. Conservation planning has become a highly developed process, and there have been numerous algorithms and in-depth research to identify priority landscapes for biodiversity conservation. There is a need for research and conservation to evolve in close alliance, in which the necessities of conservation define the research priorities, and the findings of the research inform and guide the conservation actions.