Symposia

Title of symposium:
Conservation-based recovery of large carnivores in Asia: technical and management insights

Organizers:
Ramesh Krishnamurthy
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun-248001, Uttarakhand, India

Thomas Gray
Wildlife Alliance, Phnom Phen, Cambodia

Symposium Summary
Large carnivores such as Tiger (Panthera tigris), Lion (Panthera leo) and Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) are the focus of conservation effort across Asia with both conservation successes and failures. Local extinctions of such iconic carnivores, especially the tiger, have always attracted national attention and innovative conservation responses. It is clear that conservation success including reintroduction is closely linked to scientific inputs, technological integration, multi-institutional framework, capacity building of frontline staff, competent leadership at various levels and intensive post-release monitoring. In addition, the critical role of local communities in supporting carnivore recovery has underpinned many of the recovery efforts across Asia. This symposium brings together contemporary scientists and conservationists from across Asia to share the update on the on-going efforts and to gain specific insights for upscaling this important conservation intervention. There have been few successful species-recovery attempts in India and other Asian countries and the contents to be presented in this symposium is expected to inspire delegates, and conservationists, that large carnivore recovery in Asia may be able to follow the successful trajectory if adequate science-management synergy can be established. The lessons learnt from these cases offer species-specific inputs for responding to future extinction crisis and augment recovery efforts for large carnivores across the Asia Region. The overall goal is also to encourage active recovery efforts for large carnivore in Asia within the socio-political and conservation contexts.

List of speakers and presentation titles: