Controlling Wildlife Crime: The Positive Role of Workforce Capacity in Protected Areas

Wildlife crime has been problematic in Assam, India, and Asian tigers, rhinos, and elephants are trafficked through illegal international networks mainly due to market demand. Against illicit poaching of wildlife, the Indian government has established protected areas that are managed by state forest departments in India. Despite this practice, little is known if workforce capacity can lead to effective wildlife management by controlling poaching threats. Using frontline staff numbers and salary as proxy variables, we conducted a novel empirical analysis for the relationship between workforce capacity and population size of endangered tigers, rhinos, and elephants in the Dibru Saikhowa, Kaziranga, Nemeri, and Orang national parks in Assam, India. The findings illustrate the need to enhance work capacity for tiger and rhino conservation and potential poaching control in protected areas of the Global South where conservation relies on human workforce capacity rather than sophisticated monitoring technologies.