Harvest of natural resources is possible without destruction of tiger habitat, if it is done carefully, and with safeguards.
To achieve this goal of no future habitat loss, we propose that an effective habitat protection plan for Amur tigers consists of three key components. First, there must be a core area that consists of a network of protected areas. This core network acts to insure that the metapopulation of tigers will not be fragmented, provides for a minimum population of tigers, and provides a protected "reservoir" out of which tigers can emigrate to areas where tigers have been eliminated.
Secondly, all lands important to tiger conservation must be identified and included in a zoning process that assesses the importance of the area to tiger conservation, and delineates minimum standards that must be maintained to retain the quality of existing habitat. The core network by itself provides for only a minimum number of tigers. To insure survival of the entire population, management must be extended to non-protected areas outside the core area. Therefore, management zones must be delineated for all potential tiger habitat. This zoning process sets priorities as to which areas are most important, and acknowledges that there are some areas not suitable for occupation by tigers. Since different sections of the core area will have various levels of protection (some will be zapovedniks, some national parks, some ecological corridors) zoning must be conducted for lands both inside and outside the core area. Thirdly, all important tiger habitat must be interconnected. A system of ecological corridors and protected areas is essential to avoid fragmentation of the Russian Far East Amur tiger population.
Connectivity of the entire population will avoid the impact of genetic impoverishment and reduce the chances of localized extirpation of small, isolated subpopulations resulting, eventually, in loss of the entire metapopulation.