THE 2016 ROAD AHEAD ANALYSIS PROTECTING TIGERS FROM ASIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT BOOM

The report highlights that while global wild tiger populations increased to approximately 3,890 by 2016, this progress is threatened by an estimated 11,000 kilometres of planned roads and railways across tiger landscapes. Linear infrastructure causes habitat fragmentation, increases human-tiger conflict, and facilitates poaching. Through case studies in the Dawna Tenasserim Landscape, the Terai Arc Landscape, and Sumatra, the document demonstrates how infrastructure projects can isolate populations and degrade ecosystems. WWF calls on governments and investors to adopt long-term spatial plans, protect critical habitats as inviolate areas, and implement wildlife crossings to maintain connectivity.

• Wild tiger populations have shown a fragile recovery, increasing from 3,200 in 2010 to approximately 3,890 in 2016, but they now face a significant threat from linear infrastructure, which includes roads, railways, gas pipelines, power and transmission lines, and canals.
• The scale of planned infrastructure in Asia is immense, with the Asian Development Bank estimating a need for US$8 trillion in infrastructure spending between 2012 and 2020, including at least 11,000 kilometres of roads and railways planned through tiger landscapes.
• Linear infrastructure is considered a primary threat to wide-ranging species like tigers because it fragments habitats, increases vehicle collisions, and provides poachers with access to previously undisturbed areas.
• In the Dawna Tenasserim Landscape along the Thailand-Myanmar border, a planned highway from Bangkok to Dawei is expected to cause over 18 square kilometres of deforestation and may lead to a 13 per cent loss of forest cover in the Myanmar section by 2035.
• The Terai Arc Landscape across India and Nepal has seen tiger population increases, but occupancy rates fell between 2003 and 2013 due to habitat fragmentation and unplanned development, such as the encroachment into nearly 400 square kilometres of forested land in Nepal between 1999 and 2010.
• Sumatran tigers are at risk of extinction due to the construction of 50,000 kilometres of roads since 1990 and the expansion of oil palm plantations, which caused a 15 per cent loss of tiger habitats between 2009 and 2011.
• Tiger landscapes provide significant economic and environmental value, such as carbon sequestration in India's tiger reserves estimated at US$130 million per year, and water catchment services in Sumatra's Leuser Ecosystem benefiting at least four million people.

APA

WWF International (2016). THE 2016 ROAD AHEAD ANALYSIS PROTECTING TIGERS FROM ASIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT BOOM. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/889/7xnvotgzc9_the_road_ahead__final_for_web_.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. THE 2016 ROAD AHEAD ANALYSIS PROTECTING TIGERS FROM ASIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT BOOM. 2016. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/889/7xnvotgzc9_the_road_ahead__final_for_web_.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=THE 2016 ROAD AHEAD ANALYSIS PROTECTING TIGERS FROM ASIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT BOOM |date=November 2016 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/889/7xnvotgzc9_the_road_ahead__final_for_web_.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational20162016, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{THE 2016 ROAD AHEAD ANALYSIS PROTECTING TIGERS FROM ASIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT BOOM}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/889/7xnvotgzc9_the_road_ahead__final_for_web_.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }