WCS wants tourism to save tigers

Usually it works the other way round – you use tigers to bait tourists – but the Wildlife Conservation Society wants to use tourists to save tigers.

Put it another way, it is working on a tourism project in north-east Laos, which it hopes can generate enough dollars to help it achieve its goal of increasing the tiger population in Nam Et-Phou Louey, the second largest protected area in Laos, by at least 50% by 2010.

Paul Eshoo, ecotourism advisor who’s leading the project, said there are about 3,000 tigers left in the wild. "In Laos, there may be 100 and in this area, maybe 15-20. For sure, we know there are a minimum of seven and we know that from tiger hair and tiger poop."

WCS estimates that the potential number in the Nam Et-Phou Louey area, which covers about 5,959 sqkm of mixed deciduous, dry evergreen, and upper montane forests, can potentially support about 75.

According to the WCS website, Nam Et-Phou Louey, the heart of which is a national protected area, is an important site for the conservation of tigers, leopards, and their prey in South-east Asia.

A WCS camera trap survey done in collaboration with the Department of Forestry of the Government of Laos has uncovered a surprising variety of mammals. In addition to tigers and leopards, the survey recorded images of clouded leopards, marbled cats, Asiatic golden cats and hog badgers.

To generate revenues for conservation work, the WCS is running the Nam Nern River Trip based around a substation that’s been in the area for two years. 

"In Laos you can go trekking but you don’t see much wildlife. For the first nine years while living and working in Laos, I saw only nine different animals, about one per year. However, since starting the Nam Nern River Trip, I have seen more than 20 rare animals in only five trips on the river.

"However, the experience is not just about spotting wildlife but about the whole river and jungle experience and protecting wildlife and the forests," said Eshoo.

According to WCS, the major threats are clearance of forests and hunting. "Forests are logged for shifting cultivation or burned to promote new growth for grazing livestock.

"Hunting for subsistence, to supply the wildlife trade, and to protect crops (in particular, farmers target wild pigs) also poses a threat. Illegal trade of tiger prey – wild deer, pigs, and cattle – and of tigers for their skin or bones for medicine is a danger to the big cats’ survival in Laos."

WCS says it is working with the national and regional governments to curtail the illegal flow of wildlife, particularly tigers and their prey, to neighboring Vietnam.

Eshoo said the WCS has more than 50 staff patrolling the core zone where locals are not allowed to enter. It works in partnership with nine villages in the area and has enlisted the help of the villagers to spot tigers and other wildlife.

"If tourists see a tiger, for example, each village gets US$25. No one has seen a tiger yet but that’s not the selling point. If they see rare species such as otters and deers, they are also paid and that money goes into the village fund."

Currently, about 100 tourists a year take part in the Nam Nern River Trip, each paying about US$100. "We manage their expectations so they don’t end up disappointed when they don’t see any wildlife," said Eshoo.

While it has invited selected tour operators to visit the project site, it has trouble convincing most to make the trip. "They say we are too far and too new," said Eshoo.

Getting to Nam Et-Phou Louey

From Luang Prabang go north on Road #13 100 km and turn right at the Pak Mong junction towards Nong Kiau. Travel 200 km on Road #1 northeast to Viengthong where you will find the park headquarters. For public transportation take the bus to Sam Neua leaving daily between 7-8am from the northern bus station in Luang Prabang.

To book the Nam Nern River Experience: Contact by email at [email protected]
 Tel: +856-(0)64-810008. 
The website, www.namet.org, is being worked on and will be up shortly.