Getting Climate-Smart with the Royal Bengal Tiger in Bhutan
impacts on conservation efforts may include its reduction of heterogeneity (despite contributing to conservation of endangered species), which negatively affects local biodiversity (Belsky and Siebert 2016).
in temperature, precipitation and glacier melt fluctuations are expected to lead to changes in surface water levels and groundwater recharge, and may also affect hydrological cycles and subsurface reservoirs (Beldring and Voksø 2011; Mahanta et al. 2018). Drought linked to changes in precipitation patterns may induce changes in Bhutan’s forest cover. This, along with biomass production changes, for example, may impact the Royal Bengal tiger’s natural habitat, while also resulting in a two-fold increase in wildlife hazard risks for the blue pine ecosystem in central and western Bhutan (Wangdi et al. 2017; Vilà-Vilardell et al. 2020).
The impacts of climate change and human activities on the Royal Bengal tiger in Bhutan Forest areas are expected to move higher up mountains and expand further north, along with the species that inhabit them, which includes tigers’ prey. As a response to these changes, tigers may move from Bhutan’s southern and central areas to riverine habitats spread across the whole country (National Environment Commission 2011). Changes The impacts of climate change and human activities on the Royal Bengal tiger in Bhutan
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Decreased grazing opportunities Phenological shift Reduced mobility
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Decreased grazing opportunities Phenological shift Reduced mobility Increase in wildfire hazards Increase in wildfire hazards
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I M Impacts on the Royal Bengal tiger Impacts on the Royal Bengal tiger
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Impacts on the Royal Bengal tiger
Direct Indirect
GRID-Arendal/Studio Atlantis,
GRID-Arendal/Studio Atlantis, 2020
Direct Indirect
Figure 2: The impacts of climate change and human activities on the Royal Bengal tiger in Bhutan.
GRID-Arendal/Studio Atlantis, 2020
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