Limitations

Despite the efforts of many organizations which have stepped in to promote conservation in Sumatra, it is evident that the conflict is still in a critical state, with wildlife crimes still occurring frequently. This section will address limitations that have stunted the effectiveness of conservation initiatives thus far, these defining the issues that need to be addressed to ensure greater effectiveness in the long-term.

Internal Motivational Factors

One such motivational factor that continues to drive the illegal acts of wildlife crimes today is the attribution of responsibility. Attribution of responsibility indicates that the amount of responsibility one feels towards the contribution of a problem affects his eventual behavior. In the case of the human-tiger conflict in Sumatra, the issues of tiger poaching and hunting are rampant, and practiced by many. As such, despite the awareness of the current state of Sumatran tigers, many individuals do not feel compelled to stop these acts, as their curtailment would, in their opinion, not do much to help alleviate the problem.

Personal Rewards and Punishments

The WCU has been active and successful in intervening some wildlife crimes since it was first established. The highest charge recorded in 2003 was 4 years and 3 months in prison, and a fine of Rp, 300,000 (equivalent to SGD 7,424.05 today). Despite the high stakes against wildlife crime offenders, it can be said that the odds of being caught are undeniably low, owing to the several instances of wildlife crimes that occur within the year. This makes it difficult for the WCU to identify and stop every offender. In this sense, the punishment, although heavy, is not enough of a threat to discourage locals from curtailing their hunting and poaching practices.

As for rewards, there is practically none offered to those who stop these acts. Letting a tiger live would mean more attacks on human and on livestock in the future, and stopping poaching practices would mean less economic gain for the supplier of tiger parts. The short-term rewards are close to none, and the long-term ones are difficult to envision.

Putting the two together, there simply isn’t enough punishment or rewards in stopping wildlife crimes, from the local’s perspective. And this has proven a limitation for organizations such as the WWF and WCU.