Kenya-Tanzania Borderlands Elephant Database Meeting
ORGANISED BY AFRICAN CONSERVATION CENTRE AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY
With Support from:
VENUE: Lale’enok Resource Centre Olkiramatian, Magadi. KENYA 10-12 February 2013 Report Compiled by African Conservation Centre
INTRODUCTION The elephant database meeting, held in the South Rift on February 11th and 12th at the Lale'enok Centre, followed on from a workshop held in Arusha in February 2012. The Arusha workshop, titled Conserving Elephants in the Tanzania-Kenya Borderlands: Forging a Collaborative Approach, agreed that three levels of collaboration were needed to conserve a meta-population of elephants in the Tanzania-Kenya borderlands, stem poaching and ensure local communities benefited from wildlife. The three levels involved government-to-government coordination, mobilizing local communities to engage in conservation, and establishing a common database and monitoring program to track and monitoring elephant movements, poaching, conflict and other activities in the region. The government-to-government coordination has continued to tighten in response to increased elephant poaching over the last year. Two community meetings were held following the Arusha workshop. The first was held in Longido, Tanzania, the second in Namanga, Kenya. Both were convened by ACC and the South Rift Association of Landowners. The communities deliberated the findings of the Arusha meeting and drew up recommendations for mobilizing communities in the key elephant ranges identified by the Arusha workshop. The communities recognized the need to establish scouts and wildlife conservation areas as a way to stem elephant poaching and ensure local benefits. They also pointed to the need to stem human-elephant conflict as a matter of urgency. The NGOs and governments should, however, recognize that communities regard lion and other large carnivore conflict with people as much of a problem as elephant-human conflict. The communities want both sources of conflict to be tackled together, not separately. A proposal was drawn up by ACC and SORALO on the recommendations of the two community meetings and submitted to the Liz Claiborne Art Ortenberg Foundation. The funding is seen as a way to jump-start the community conservation programs, with the expectation that other NGOs working in the borderlands will take over the bulk of funding as soon as possible. The Lale'enok meeting, convened by ACC and WCS with the support of the Liz Claiborne Art Ortenberg Foundation, brought together the conservation organizations working in the trans-border area. The meeting was convened to establish a common database and agree on a collaborative framework for coordination information related to elephant conservation and management in the region.
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POACHING IN THE TANZANIA-KENYA BORDERLANDS The meeting opened with a discussion on poaching. It was noted that the poaching threat to elephants in the Tanzania-Kenya borderlands had risen sharply since the Arusha meeting last February. The rising threat reinforced the need for rapid conservation measures and close collaboration between communities, NGOs, researchers and government agencies working in the region. Michael Lenaimado briefed the meeting on the situation in the Loita region. He reported that poaching syndicates were infiltrating the communities, with young Maasai men joining in and helping poachers. The poaching in Loita threatens to spill over into Mara, Serengeti, Loliondo and the South Rift if not contained. He reported on a Loita elephant stakeholders’ meeting convened by ACC and SORALO and held in Narok on 8th February. The district security forces and NGOs agreed to collaborate on stemming the poaching in Loita. ACC will hire and deploy ten game scouts to the area immediately. KWS will fast-track their training. Michael also reported that five elephant carcasses had been located by local scouts in the upper Pakase area (Ngurumani) and seven in the Loita area. Dr. Joyce Poole of Elephant Voices confirmed there have been numerous reported poaching incidents and elephant carcasses found in the Mara, especially in Siana and the national reserve. The mortality figures show that poaching is having a heavy impact on the Mara elephant populations .In Serengeti, poachers are mostly targeting elephant bulls, followed by mature females. The poaching trend in West Kilimanjaro has decreased since 2009. Nine elephants were killed in 2009, 3 in 2011 and none 2012. The decline shows that collaborative efforts can stem poaching.
DEFINING THE CROSS-BORDER META-ELEPHANT POPULATION Charles Foley reviewed the findings of the Arusha workshop on the distribution and movements of elephants in the borderlands region. He projected maps of elephant movements, population numbers and genetics for a discussion on the areas for inclusion in the cross-border area of common interest. It was agreed that the area should encompass the contiguous populations stretching from the coast through the Tsavo to the west of Mara-Serengeti, north as far as Mount Suswa and south to Tarangire. The area is roughly defined by the following map.
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Map Showing the Extent of the area covered under the Kenya-Tanzania cross-border Program
It was agreed that the area encompasses the meta-population of elephants in the Tanzania-Kenya borderlands. Several names were proposed for the project, including The Kenya-Tanzania CrossBorder Elephant Project, The Kenya-Tanzania Trans-Border Elephant Project and The Kenya-Tanzania Meta-Elephant Project. It was left for the project coordinators to make a final decision. ACC later suggested we adopt the title The TanzaniaKenya Borderlands Elephant Initiative to follow the Arusha workshop title as closely as possible.
DEFINING A BASELINE MAP AND COMPILING DATA LAYERS It was agreed that the first step in compiling and integrating data among collaborating institutions is the selection of a common base map defining area boundaries and physical features. The base map will serve as the common platform on which all other data layers are compiled. Festus Ihwagi of STE confirmed he had received shape files of protected area boundaries along the borderland region, but that differences the systems used (some in WGS 84 and other pieces in Arc 1960) called for harmonization using a common reference system. GIS software availability should be considered for producing quality maps. ESRI software like ArcGIS and ArcMap were considered suitable for spatial data analysis, but expensive. Open source software can be used 3
in this event. ACC has been using Quantum GIS (1.6,1.7 and 1.8) and R for data analysis and they have proven to be reliable.
REVIEW OF PROJECTS AND DATA SETS Charles Foley circulated an information form to all participants prior to the meeting, requesting details of information collection and methods. The responses are given in Appendix A. A summary of the institutions collecting data is given in Table 1. Table 1. Institutions collecting elephant information in the borderlands region Name of Project/Institution 1 Friedkin Conservation Fund 2 African Wildlife Foundation 3 Ololosokwan Community Project 4 Honey Guide Foundation 5 Tarangire Elephant Project 6 Elephant Voices 7 Amboseli Elephant Project 8 Amboseli Trust for Elephants 9 Elephant Program, ACC 10 Amboseli Conservation Program
Geographic Area Maswa, Lake Natron, Ugalla, Moyowosi/Uvinza Tarangire-Manyara Ecosystem Ololosokwan, Loliondo District Enduimet Wildlife Management Area Tarangire National Park, Simanjiro Maasai Mara Amboseli Ecosystem Amboseli Ecosystem Kajiado, Magadi, NArok east-15 group ranches Amboseli ecosystem, park and dry season range
Country TZ TZ TZ TZ TZ Kenya Kenya Kenya Kenya Kenya
Additional comments from those present included: Save The Elephants-STE Save The Elephants has collared three elephants in Maasai Mara and is hosting 3 more for KWS. STE is also helping Mark Goss in his rapid response program in the Mara north conservancy. Elephant Voices Joyce Poole and Petter Granli described their cell phone ‘app’ for identifying and logging movements of Mara elephants. They explained that the initiative is a relatively low cost method of collecting elephant information and ensuring instant data logging. Elephant Voices was asked if it could simplify the cell phone system for scout observation of elephant sightings, tracks and signs and it agreed to do so. ACC elephant program Julius Muriuki explained how the use of wide-spread, community-implemented surveys assisted ACC gather large amounts of basic presence/absence data on elephants across the Kenyan South Rift. South Rift general monitoring by SORALO and ACC Samantha Russell explained that, although there was no longer a dedicated elephant monitoring program in the South Rift, she was looking forward to learning what information could be collected through the vast network of community scouts and resource assessors based at Lale’enok.
Lion Guardians 4
Lion Guardians is monitoring and guarding lions in Amboseli. The project involves tracking of collared lions and averting attacks to livestock and human attacks on lions. Lion conflict has declined in recent years. Rebuilding the Pride Guy Western explained how SORALO's Rebuilding the Pride program used a similar approach to do carnivore census in the South Rift of Kenya.
DEFINING THE MINIMUM SET OF DATA A minimum set of data and collection protocols is needed to launch a common database for tracking elephant and carnivore activities in the borderlands. The priority in the first six months should be to determine:
The distribution patterns of elephants and carnivores. Poaching hotspots. Hotspots of human-wildlife conflict.
The following steps to complete the base mapping were agreed on:
Amboseli ecosystem --ACC and AWF to provide missing shape files. Mara region --STE or ACC to provide a base map. Tanzania Natron region -- Alfred Kikoti through WCS to provide shape files. Tsavo --KWS to provide latest elephant data. Kajiado District -- ACC to provide boundary maps. Trans-border land use map -- ACC to provide map based on land use change study.
The data will be made available to ACC and STE to set up the base map and common database.
STANDARDIZED DATA COLLECTION Several methods of data collection were discussed. They included: 1. Event-book system. Charles Foley reviewed the Namibian event-book system adopted by Tanzania for collecting data on human-wildlife conflict in the field. The system is based on the principles of adaptive management and routinely reviews monitoring results. TAWIRI in Tanzania has a well developed HWC data collection form used to log conflict data. Dr. Noah Sitati of WWF has also used similar methods of studying human-elephant conflict in the Mara. Data collection and analysis can be adapted to community-based information gathering. The group agreed that there is a need to identify the human wildlife conflict hot spots as a matter of priority. Apart from the human suffering, losses to elephants give communities reason to tolerate poachers as a way to reduce conflict. It was recommended that the trans-border elephant program adopt the event-book system for monitoring elephant and
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carnivore conflicts at a community level. Charles Foley will circulate the eventbook protocols to all participants. 2. SMART. Charles Foley gave a power-point presentation of the SMART system of collecting and monitoring wildlife security data and increasing the effectiveness of law enforcement procedures. The relative merits of the MIST and SMART system were discussed. The trend among users is towards SMART. SMART is simpler and more accessible than MIST because of its open source format and adaptable design. A consortium of NGOs and foundations are to launch the Beta version of SMART at the end of February. Victor Moses gave details of the interoperability between SMART and other database systems and its ease of use with analytical software such as R and GIS. Festus Ihwagi and Victor Mose will provide technical support in using SMART. WCS was requested to hold a field workshop for potential users in the trans-border region with a view to adopting the patrol system for community scouts. 3. Monitoring elephant deaths (MIKE). Festus Ihwagi explained the monitoring of elephants deaths used by STE in Laikipia, as set up by Onesmus Kahindi. Northern Rangelands Trust, Space for Giants, The Nature Conservancy, KWS and Mpala Research Centre share the same methodology based on the CITES protocol, MIKE (Monitoring of Illegally Killed Elephants). The data collection includes GPS coordinates and standard criteria to determine the age and cause of death. Festus Ihwagi will circulate the MIKE protocols to all participants. 4. PIKE (Proportion of Illegally Killed Elephants). Festus Ihwagi explained that STE uses PIKE to complement the MIKE protocol. PIKE tracks the proportion of elephants killed by poachers, as opposed to natural deaths, animals killed on control and in conflict. The ratio of poached to other deaths gives a good measure of unsustainable poaching levels. The PIKE level in Samburu rose from 22% in 2002 to Lai was at 75% currently, far above sustainable levels. 5. Verifying and reconciling elephant mortality data. Several organizations may collect carcass data in the same area, raising the possibility of double counts. It is important to reconcile the number and causes of elephants deaths. In Kenya KWS does so by holding regular workshops among organizations involved in data collection. Each carcass report should be accompanied by a photo facing due north and GPS coordinates. Similar protocols should be adopted across the borderlands, given the trans-border movements of elephants, poachers and consequences of human-elephant conflict. Festus Ihwagi will provide participants a list of protocols. 6. Expanding elephant surveys and monitoring using DNA analysis David Western reported that Dr. Marissa Ahlering had conducted DNA analysis of elephant movements in the trans-border region, based on genetic distinctions among populations. This offered a powerful tool for detecting elephant immigration to new locations and for assessing numbers and herd composition. Marissa has trained community members during her study. She has expressed interest in continuing her work in the region. 6
THE BASE MAP, DATABASES AND SECURITY PROTOCOLS The key points agreed on were as follows: Base map and database 1. Data should be stored in a location where all participants can have easy access. The group agreed to start with simple datasets that members are comfortable sharing and progressively to build up more detailed data layers and mapping and tracking procedures. Data security should have high priority, given the sensitivity of certain information. Passwords will be provided to those operating the database and members needing access. 2. The centralized database should be established at ACC in collaboration with STE. Victor Mose of ACP and Lucy Waruingi of ACC will ensure the interoperability of the various data sources with the common database. Lucy Waruingi will circulate a data form describing the use of metadata and protocols for its access and use. 3. Top priority for the trans-borer elephant project is the compilation the base map to be used by all participants. Once complete and agreed on, additional data layers such topography, climate land use, conservancies and WMAs can be added. 4. David Western noted that ACC had been developing an elephant suitability map for the South Rift, Kenya. Based on field surveys of elephant movements in relation to habitat, water, human activity and other factors, a map of areas elephant prefer and those they avoid or are likely to run into conflict is being built up in collaboration with Kevin Johnston of ESRI. Such suitability mapping would be a useful way of plotting the distribution options for elephants beyond parks in the borderlands region Field surveys 1. Top priority for field surveys should be given to establishing the presence and absence of elephants and carnivores across the borderlands. The surveys will establish the extent of occurrence of elephants and large carnivores and therefore the meta-populations. 2. The surveys should use the extent of occurrence data to conduct more detailed surveys to determine the relative abundance of each species. 3. The relative abundance data will be used to determine priority areas, the nature of conservation coverage and the information gaps. The gap areas will be the target of rapid surveys of elephant and carnivore activity. 4. The survey methods recommended are those used by ACC and SORALO in the course of their surveys in the South Rift. ACC and Rebuilding the Pride will make the field survey forms available to organizations agreeing to undertake the surveys. Once the rapid surveys are complete, stratified 7
sampling designs will be established to increase the resolution of surveys and provide relative abundance estimates. 5. High priority should be placed on elephant and carnivore surveys in the Lake Natron region.
WEBSITE It was agreed that ACC and Elephant Voices should set up a common website for the Tanzania-Kenya Borderlands Project. The website should highlight the importance of the region for elephants, large carnivores, wildlife and biodiversity in general, the conservation challenges, the goals and activities of the project, and issue regular updates. The background rationale to the Arusha workshop provides an excellent template for the website. The website would draw attention to the importance of the collaborative effects of the project and increase the prospects for funding.
TIME LINES
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Activity Cross border area general base map Land cover maps, report, data
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Rapid surveys
End of February 2013 End of march 2013
4 5 6 7 8
SMART Program MIKE protocol SMART PAMS Foundation HWC protocol Web site and online system
End of march 2013 End of week 6 months End of week End of March
1
Time lines End of March 2013
Responsible Festus Ihwagi-STE Lucy Waruingi, ACC Guy Western, ACC, SORALO Charles Foley-WCS Festus Ihwagi-STE Charles Foley Charles Foley ACC, Elephant Voices
CONCLUDING REMARKS The participants agreed that WCS under Charles Foley would coordinate the Tanzania-Kenya Borderlands Project in Tanzania and David Western and Lucy Waruingi of ACC in Kenya. Charles Foley will hold a meeting in Tanzania within the next month to coordinate activities among the NGOs. ACC will prepare and circulate a report on the meeting to all participants and other relevant parties. The next full meeting of the borderlands elephant database coalition will be held in Tanzania early in2014. Participants of the Arusha workshop should reconvene in 2014 to take stock of conservation progress and further action needed to ensure the success of the Tanzania-Kenya Borderlands Elephant Project.
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POSTSCRIPT Discussions were held between the Tanzania delegates, ACC and SORALO prior to the full meeting. The meeting looked at the community-based conservation programs underway along the Tanzanian side of the border, the gaps in coverage and which organizations could best mobilize community action immediately effect. It was agreed that, in the event that LCAOF provides start-up funds to fast-track conservation in the gap areas, Honeyguide, assisted by the Friedkin Conservation Foundation, will address the gap in the Natron region and PAMS in the Loliondo region. A day after the meeting, LCAOF made funds available for start-up community conservation initiatives through ACC and SORALO. The funding will ensure that community programs in the gap areas can be filled immediately.
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APPENDICES Appendix A Name of Project/Organization:Friedkin Conservation Fund Geographic region studying/involved in:Maswa; Lake Natron, Ugalla and Moyowosi/Uvinza. *Please fill out one row for each type of data you are collecting
What types of data are you collecting? (Animal behaviour, vegetation quality, wildlife presence or density, incidences of poaching, demography, rainfall, etc)
What methods are you using to collect the data? (individual recognition, scan samples, ground counts, distance sampling, aerial counts, etc)
Who is responsible for collecting the data? (researchers, village game scouts, anti-poaching units, etc)
Observations by ground teams on patrol, random and fixed transect sightings from a microlight and helicopter.
Anti Poaching teams, Concession Managers and Pilots. PHs also record and report poaching incidents in their feedback form.
Continuous
Elephant poaching related arrests and/or confiscations
Recorded from patrol reports and confirmed through official police records
Anti Poaching teams and Concession Managers.
Continuous
2006 onwards extensively across all areas.
Illegal cattle Concentrations.
Aerial transect by microlight/helicopter
Pilots/Wildlife Managers
Continuous
2008 onwrads
Ugalla Hippo census
Aerial transect by Microlight( Total count)
Pilots/Wildlife Managers
Once a year
2009 onwards
Incidences of poaching
Frequency of data collection? (continuous, monthly, annually)
How long has your project been collecting these data?
2004/2005 but not extensive 2006 onwards extensively across all areas.
Name of Project/Organization: African Wildlife Foundation Geographic region studying/involved in: TarangireManyara Kilimanjaro Ecosystem *Please fill out one row for each type of data you are collecting
What types of data are you collecting? (Animal behaviour, vegetation quality, wildlife presence or density, incidences of poaching, demography, rainfall, etc)
What methods are you using to collect the data? (individual recognition, scan samples, ground counts, distance sampling, aerial counts, etc)
Who is responsible for collecting the data? (researchers, village game scouts, anti-poaching units, etc)
Example: wildlife presence and density
Ground counts by bicycle on fixed transects: calculating an index of abundance - number of each species seen per total transect length.
Village Game Scouts
Weekly, collated monthly
Since 2010
Animal numbers; vegetation quality;
Transect Ground counts on foot
Researchers/Village game scouts
Periodically
2011
Transect Ground counts on foot
Researchers/Village game scouts
Periodically
2009
Transect Ground counts on foot;
Researchers/Village game scouts
Periodically
2011
Poaching – in Burunge WMA Animal numbers; vegetation quality; Poaching – in Manyara ranch Animal numbers; vegetation quality; wildlife observations, Human wildlife conflicts;
Frequency of data collection? (continuous, monthly, annually)
How long has your project been collecting these data?
Event monitoring
Systematic surveys – cross boarder Arial surveys ( invoving many parteners) Poaching – in Enduimet WMA
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Name of Project/Organization:Ololosokwan Community Project Geographic region studying/involved in:Ololosokwan Village land, Loliondo District *Please fill out one row for each type of data you are collecting
What types of data are you collecting? (Animal behaviour, vegetation quality, wildlife presence or density, incidences of poaching, demography, rainfall, etc) Incidences of poaching
What methods are you using to collect the data? (individual recognition, scan samples, ground counts, distance sampling, aerial counts, etc)
Who is responsible for collecting the data? (researchers, village game scouts, anti-poaching units, etc)
Ground counts while on foot patrol
Community Scouts
Frequency of data collection? (continuous, monthly, annually)
Continuous, collated monthly
How long has your project been collecting these data?
Since November 2012
Name of Project/Organization: Honey Guide Foundation Geographic region studying/involved in:Enduimet Wildlife Management Area *Please fill out one row for each type of data you are collecting
What types of data are you collecting? (Animal behaviour, vegetation quality, wildlife presence or density, incidences of poaching, demography, rainfall, etc) Incidences of poaching
What methods are you using to collect the data? (individual recognition, scan samples, ground counts, distance sampling, aerial counts, etc)
Who is responsible for collecting the data? (researchers, village game scouts, anti-poaching units, etc)
Vehicle and foot patrols by ground teams, random sightings from a microlight, and informer networks
WMA game scouts
Frequency of data collection? (continuous, monthly, annually)
Continuous
How long has your project been collecting these data?
Since 2010
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Name of Project/Organization:Tarangire Elephant Project Geographic region studying/involved in:Tarangire National Park, Simanjiro *Please fill out one row for each type of data you are collecting
What types of data are you collecting? (Animal behaviour, vegetation quality, wildlife presence or density, incidences of poaching, demography, rainfall, etc)
What methods are you using to collect the data? (individual recognition, scan samples, ground counts, distance sampling, aerial counts, etc)
Who is responsible for collecting the data? (researchers, village game scouts, anti-poaching units, etc)
Frequency of data collection? (continuous, monthly, annually)
How long has your project been collecting these data?
Elephant demography, group characteristics, GPS location
Individual recognition
Research assistants
Continuous
Since 1993
Elephant behaviour
Varies according to study type. Usually scan or focal samples
Research assistants
Varies by project
On and off since 1993
Elephant genetics
Dung samples from known individuals
Research assistants
Varies by project
On and off since 2001
Large mammal densities in Park
Driven transects. Data analysed as index of abundance (animals seen/km driven)
Research assistants
Monthly
Since 1994
Large mammal densities in wider ecosystem
5 fixed transects per village. Animals counted from bicycle.
Village game scouts
Monthly
Since 2007
Incidences of poaching
Chance encounters and information from other
Village game scouts
Continuously updated monthly
Since 2007
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villagers Human Wildlife Conflict
Species involved and losses recorded
Village game scouts
Continuously updated monthly
Since 2007
Numbers of juvenile animals
Counts along transects via bicycle
Village game scouts
Once annually during breeding season
Since 2007
Rainfall
Rain guages
Village game scouts
Continously
Since 2007
Name of Project/Organization: Elephant Voices Geographic region studying/involved in:Masai Mara? *Please fill out one row for each type of data you are collecting
What types of data are you collecting? (Animal behaviour, vegetation quality, wildlife presence or density, incidences of poaching, demography, rainfall, etc)
Elephant monitoring: date, time, location, georeferencing, group size, group type, ID when known. Contained and searchable within:
What methods are you using to collect the data? (individual recognition, scan samples, ground counts, distance sampling, aerial counts, etc) Opportunistic group sightings primarily via vehicle; collected via cellphone app and uploaded to database
Who is responsible for collecting the data? (researchers, village game scouts, antipoaching units, etc)
ElephantVoices (Petter and myself), volunteers, rangers, scouts, guides, tourists, conservancy representatives.
Frequency of data collection? (continuous, monthly, annually)
Continuous
How long has your project been collecting these data?
Since 2010 but more consistently since October 2011
http://www.elephantvoices.org/maraelephantswhos-who.html http://www.elephantvoices.org/maraelephants-
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whereabouts.html http://www.elephantvoices.org/maraelephantsmapping.html Note: some data is password protected due to concerned about poaching. Registered users may see. Sick wounded elephants: within context of the above data – age, sex, identify if known, sick or wounded, wound type, wound status
Opportunistic group sightings primarily via vehicle; collected via cellphone app and uploaded to database
ElephantVoices (Petter and myself), volunteers, rangers, scouts, guides, tourists, conservancy representatives.
Continuous
Since 2010 but more consistently since October 2011
Opportunistic sightings via foot patrol and vehicle. Following MIKE criteria collected via cell-phone app and uploaded to database
ElephantVoices (Petter and myself), volunteers, rangers, scouts, guides, tourists, conservancy representatives.
Continuous
Since 2010 but more consistently since October 2011
Contained and searchable within: http://www.elephantvoices.org/maraelephantswhereabouts.html http://www.elephantvoices.org/maraelephantsmapping.html
Elephant mortality according to MIKE criteria Contained and searchable within: http://www.elephantvoices.org/maraelephantswhereabouts.html http://www.elephantvoices.org/maraelephantsmapping.html
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Name of Project/Organization:Amboseli Elephant Project Geographic region studying/involved in:Amboseli ecosystem *Please fill out one row for each type of data you are collecting
What types of data are you collecting? (Animal behaviour, vegetation quality, wildlife presence or density, incidences of poaching, demography, rainfall, etc)
What methods are you using to collect the data? (individual recognition, scan samples, ground counts, distance sampling, aerial counts, etc)
Who is responsible for collecting the data? (researchers, village game scouts, anti-poaching units, etc)
Frequency of data collection? (continuous, monthly, annually)
How long has your project been collecting these data?
Animal behaviour
Individual recognition
Researchers
Daily
40 years
Wildlife presence or density
Sightings
Resesarchers& Game Scouts
Daily
40 years
Demography
Censuses
Researchers
Daily
40 years
Monitoring
GSM collars on 5 females
Researchers
hourly
19 months
Vegetation
Transects
Researchers
Twice yearly
19 years
Water table & rainfall
Direct measurement
Researchers
Daily & Monthly
40 years
Poaching
Direct observation
Researchers & Game Scouts
When reported
40 years
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Name of Project/Organization:Amboseli Trust for Elephants Geographic region studying/involved in:Amboseli ecosystem What types of data are you collecting? (Animal behaviour, vegetation quality, wildlife presence or density, incidences of poaching, demography, rainfall, etc)
What methods are you using to collect the data? (individual recognition, scan samples, ground counts, distance sampling, aerial counts, etc)
Who is responsible for collecting the data? (researchers, village game scouts, anti-poaching units, etc)
Frequency of data collection? (continuous, monthly, annually)
How long has your project been collecting these data?
Ecological: vegetation abundance in plots, rainfall, watertable level
Plot surveys
Field Assistants
Daily rain, quarterly vegetation monitoring
Since 1982
Elephant: individually-based behavioural monitoring (oestrus, musth, health / illness, jaws for age determination)
Individual recognition
Field Assistants and Affiliated researchers
Contact with elephants on daily basis
Since 1972
Elephant: family association data and demographic monitoring
Individual recognition: Monthly records of individual associations in groups; presence / absence for births and deaths in families
Field Assistants and Affiliated researchers
Contact with elephants on daily basis
Since 1972
Elephant: Sighting data (individually / family based)
Individual or family recognition: Location, habitat and group data plus sightings of individual males
Field Assistants and Affiliated researchers
Contact with elephants on daily basis
Since 1972
Elephants: Scans / focal samples for specific cohorts and behaviours of interest
Individual recognition
Field Assistants and Affiliated researchers
Contact with elephants on daily basis
Since 1979
Elephant / human: Sightings and sign around ecosystem;
GPS records of events; mobile phone contact for reporting
Maasai elephant scouts
Continuous
Since 1990
17
monitoring problems with livestock and human habitations etc
problems
Elephant: tracking via remote sensing
GPS records at one hour intervals for 4 females with satellite collars (current)
Data assistant
Continuous
Off and on with all kinds of techniques since 1972
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Name of Project/Organization: Elephant Program, ACC Geographic region studying/involved in:Kajiado Central, Magadi and Narok East (15 group ranches) *Please fill out one row for each type of data you are collecting
What types of data are you collecting? (Animal behaviour, vegetation quality, wildlife presence or density, incidences of poaching, demography, rainfall, etc)
What methods are you using to collect the data? (individual recognition, scan samples, ground counts, distance sampling, aerial counts, etc)
Who is responsible for collecting the data? (researchers, village game scouts, anti-poaching units, etc)
Elephant presence/absence
Questionnaires, Interviews in Amboseli, Magadi and Kajiado
ACC, community scouts/informants
Elephant population estimates
Line transects in Magadi
Elephant sightings
Frequency of data collection? (continuous, monthly, annually)
How long has your project been collecting these data?
One-off survey
2004
ACC, community game scouts
One-off survey
2006
Ground observation
Community scouts, ACC
Weekly, collated monthly
2004-2008
Human elephant conflict
Questionnaires , interviews done in Amboseli, Magadi and Narok east
ACC and community game scouts
Weekly, collated monthly
2004-2008
Elephant movement patterns
Satellite collars on elephants in Magadi
ACC
Continuous for stated period
2004-2008
Elephant DNA studies
Elephant faecal samples collection in Magadi, Amboseli and Maasai Mara
Researcher (University of Missouri ), ACC
One-off survey
2008
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Name of Project/Organization: Amboseli Conservation Program Geographic region studying/involved in:Amboseli Ecosystem 8,500km2 and Amboseli National Park and dry season range 700km2. *Please fill out one row for each type of data you are collecting
What types of data are you collecting? (Animal behaviour, vegetation quality, wildlife presence or density, incidences of poaching, demography, rainfall, etc)
What methods are you using to collect the data? (individual recognition, scan samples, ground counts, distance sampling, aerial counts, etc)
Who is responsible for collecting the data? (researchers, village game scouts, anti-poaching units, etc)
Frequency of data collection? (continuous, monthly, annually)
How long has your project been collecting these data?
All large mammals, livestock, settlement, shambas, water, vegetation condition. Elephant carcasses.
SRF of 8,500km2 ecosystem. 8% sample counts
ACP under DW.
One to several times yearly
Since 1973
Numbers and location of major wildlife and livestock species and settlement in relation to habitat and other variables
Sample ground counts and total aerial counts of 700km2 dry season area and Amboseli National Park
ACP
Monthly
Sample ground counts starting in 1967 and total aerial counts in 1975
Total plant biomass, green mass, dry mass and all large mammals in vicinity
20 permanent plots across park and 700km2 dry season area. Vegetation sampling and animal ground counts
ACP
Monthly
Since 1975
GIS-based habitat mapping and change
Aerial and ground surveys
ACP
5-yearly
Since 1967
Species composition of vegetation
Ground sampling
ACP
Yearly
Since 1977
Appendix B
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