The Batanghari Landscape spans 3,000 km² in the province of West Sumatra. It is comprised of protection forest and timber concessions. It lies adjacent to the northeastern corner of Kerinci Seblat National Park which, at 13,750 km², is Sumatra’s largest protected area. Batanghari is part of the Kerinci Seblat – Batanghari tiger conservation landscape; these landscapes were identified by researchers in the mid-2000s and prioritized based on their ability to offer the best prospects for saving Sumatran tigers and their habitats on the island.
Batanghari landscape is critical to tiger conservation because it: (1) provides intact habitats for tigers and their prey; (2) serves as an important buffer zone for Kerinci Seblat National Park; and (3) constitutes an important corridor connecting important tiger populations found in two key areas of central Sumatra – Kerinci Seblat National Park and Rimbang Baling Nature Reserve.
Despite its importance for tiger conservation, Batanghari has received scant attention from tiger conservationists. The area now faces severe threats in the form of rapid expansion of human populations and development pressures. Without additional, tiger-targeted conservation, forests in Batanghari will continue to shrink.