Abstract

This research evaluates how three anti-poaching management levers—workforce capacity, patrolling effort, and deterrence policy—shape wild-tiger outcomes in Assam, India, a globally important biodiversity hotspot. Drawing on a decade of archival data from the Assam Forest Department covering four tiger reserves, we estimate reserve-level panel regressions that link (i) the number and remuneration of frontline staff, (ii) average kilometers patrolled, and (iii) recorded poacher arrests to trends in tiger abundance. Greater staffing and more intensive patrolling exhibit robust, positive associations with tiger population growth, whereas deterrence measures alone do not achieve statistical significance. The analysis also accounts for long-term disruptions from civil conflict in the Manas National Park, highlighting site-specific constraints on conservation effectiveness. Despite persistent understaffing and ranger wages that lag regional norms, Assam’s tiger numbers have remained stable or increased—evidence that strategic investments in on-theground operations deliver outsized conservation returns. We conclude that strengthening ranger capacity, sustaining patrol intensity, and simultaneously improving prey availability and habitat quality are critical for durable tiger recovery in South Asia.

Keywords

tiger conservation, anti-poaching strategies, workforce capacity, patrolling, deterrence policy, protected areas