Prioritizing areas for conservation action in Kawthoolei, Myanmar using species distribution models

Montgomery, Clara; Stokes, Demelza; Wantai, Seree; Moo, Saw Sha Bwe

doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2020.125918

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…In 2018, despite the Burmese military's ongoing violations of the ceasefires, the Salween Peace Park was formally declared by Mutraw The Salween Peace Park is a vast ICCA, covering 5,485 square kilometres in a forested, mountainous region of global significance for biodiversity (Paul et al, 2021) (Figure 2). Camera trap surveys have identified 23 mammal species of global conservation concern, including some of the most significant tiger and leopard populations remaining in Southeast Asia (Greenspan et al, 2020). The park is also home to about 70,000 people in more than 340 villages (Clingen, 2019).…”

Section: Case Study and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation for self-determination: Salween Peace Park as an Indigenous Karen conservation initiative

Abraham

Roth

Twa³

2023

AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

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States have long used protected areas to consolidate control over Indigenous Peoples’ territories, undermining community-based governance and access to resources. Despite this history, Indigenous Peoples around the world are increasingly designating their own protected areas to defend ancestral territories and assert self-determination. This paper examines Indigenous conservation politics in the Salween Peace Park in Kawthoolei, an autonomous territory of the Karen (Sino-Tibetan language-speaking peoples living primarily in Burma and along the Thai-Burma border). Local villagers and the Karen National Union envision the park as a grassroots initiative for peace in an area that has suffered decades of armed conflict between the Burmese military and the Karen movement for self-determination. Using the Salween Peace Park as a case study, we engage Indigenous scholarship on politics of recognition, resurgence, and refusal. We explore intersections and tensions between these political strategies, highlighting ways that Indigenous protected areas mobilize different forms of power to advance self-determination.

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Section: Case Study and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation for self-determination: Salween Peace Park as an Indigenous Karen conservation initiative

Abraham

Roth

Twa³

2023

AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

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“…Alternatively, human activities in Kweekoh, which occurred with greater frequency during the day, may have impacted leopard activity and their proclivity for crepuscular and nocturnal movement (Van Cleave et al, 2018). Thailand's protected areas offer more established law enforcement practices than is possible in Kawthoolei (Greenspan et al, 2020), thus likely reducing human activities and maintaining higher prey abundances compared to Kweekoh, conceivably driving differences in leopard behaviors between the different landscapes.…”

Section: Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Now extinct in Singapore, Vietnam, and Laos, small and isolated populations still remain in Cambodia, Thailand, southern China, Malaysia, and Myanmar. Across their range, leopards have a highly variable diet (Lovari & Mori, 2017;Rostro-García et al, 2018) and can even persist within human-modified landscapes (Braczkowski et al, 2018;Dhanwatey et al, 2013;Greenspan et al, 2020;Ramesh et al, 2020). However even in areas where they were previously believed common, the disappearance of local leopard populations have been overlooked (Giordano et al, 2017), highlighting their vulnerability to anthropogenic pressure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Initial biodiversity assessment reports from the region however suggested promising evidence of leopard presence in some protected areas, at least based on camera trap inventories conducted from 2014 to 2015 (Moo et al, 2017). Follow-up camera-trap surveys have yielded additional evidence of an isolated population of leopards occurring in the remaining forests of Kawthoolei (Greenspan et al, 2020). These rapid inventory assessments were not specifically designed to assess local leopard population status, and thus only recorded leopard presence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occupancy, density, and activity patterns of a Critically Endangered leopard population on the Kawthoolei‐Thailand border

Montgomery¹,

Stokes²,

K'lu³

et al. 2023

Population Ecology

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Large carnivores have been largely extirpated from Southeast Asia due to deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and poaching. Estimating the density of endangered carnivore populations, and identifying relationships between species occupancy and both environmental and anthropogenic factors, is essential for effective conservation planning. Recently, the IUCN conservation status of the Indochinese leopard (Panthera pardus delacouri) was upgraded to “Critically Endangered.” We surveyed Kweekoh Wildlife Sanctuary in Kawthoolei, an area administered by the Karen ethnic group in eastern Myanmar, to quantify (1) leopard population density using spatially explicit mark‐resight (SMR) models, (2) leopard occupancy as influenced by important ecological variables, and (3) potential differences in activity between melanistic and spotted leopard morphs. Leopard density was estimated to be 1.39 ± SE 0.22/100 km2. Leopard occupancy (ψ = 0.43; 95% credible interval: 0.26–0.67) increased further from roads, at relatively higher elevations, and in areas with higher relative abundance of wild boar. Leopard activity was cathemeral, with higher activity during night hours, and significant overlap (Δ = 0.84; 95% confidence interval: 0.71–0.96) between melanistic and spotted morphs. However, melanistic leopards were more active during twilight hours than spotted individuals whose activity did not significantly vary throughout the day. Indochinese leopard density estimates in Kweekoh were among the lowest reported from Southeast Asia. Leopard occupancy was highest in the sanctuary's core areas, suggesting the presence of negative anthropogenic impacts along the sanctuary borders. We suggest our low density estimates warrant immediate and decisive conservation action, including better protection for leopards, their habitat, and their prey.

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“…Among others, Myanmar's biodiversity is threatened by various factors, including deforestation, population growth, indiscriminate burning, and mining. In this economy, 26.8% of the habitat corresponds to protected areas that are more exposed to vulnerable situations [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Government Stability and Investment Profile on Forest Area: The Role of Natural Protected Areas

et al. 2022

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Forest area plays a fundamental role in air and water quality and directly impacts agricultural productivity. This research aims to examine the impact of government stability and investment profiles on forest cover in countries within the ASEAN region. Specifically, the research includes Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. In the research development, we examine the role which protected natural areas play in the conservation of forests. We employ second-generation cointegration methods of cross-section dependence and slope heterogeneity. The results suggest that forest cover has been significantly reduced in this region, while government stability and the investment profile have a volatile behavior. The second-generation cointegration test results suggest there is no long-term relationship between the three series. Likewise, the short- and long-term elasticities highlight the importance of environmental protection policies to conserve forests.

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Prioritizing areas for conservation action in Kawthoolei, Myanmar using species distribution models

Cited by 7 publications

References 69 publications

Conservation for self-determination: Salween Peace Park as an Indigenous Karen conservation initiative

Conservation for self-determination: Salween Peace Park as an Indigenous Karen conservation initiative

Occupancy, density, and activity patterns of a Critically Endangered leopard population on the Kawthoolei‐Thailand border

Impact of Government Stability and Investment Profile on Forest Area: The Role of Natural Protected Areas

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