CITES / MIKE Projet Pilote, Afrique Centrale

ANNEX 5. SELECTION AND TRAINING OF PATROL SECRETARIES

PRINCIPLES:

Monitoring of anti-poaching and law enforcement requires that proper information is collected in the field during guard patrols. The information required by MIKE will be collected by a trained Patrol Secretary who will be associated with each patrol.

Patrol secretaries will be identified by MIKE Site or National Officers in collaboration with protected areas managers. Secretaries will be trained by the MIKE officers.

It is critical to understand at the outset what the objectives of a patrol are, and how these relate to the need for monitoring information for MIKE.

1. The objective of guard missions is to conduct patrols, recover illegal products, make arrests and acquire information necessary for Law Enforcement at the site.
2. The guard patrols should not be considered a purely research endeavor. The priority of the guards should not be to furnish the same information as a research team. In addition, information gathering should not interfere with other patrol activities.
3. Nevertheless, guard patrols should provide information needed for monitoring of their activities, additional information useful for management, and documentation of significant observations that can be followed up by research teams.

SELECTION OF PATROL SECRETARIES

Collaboration with Protected Area managers. Patrol Secretaries are members of the PA protection team (whether park guards, ecoguards, community patrol leaders, etc.) thus it is essential that they be selected in collaboration with the PA manager for the site, and that their training and support be incorporated into the PA management strategy

Qualifications and criteria. Patrol Secretaries should be literate (able to read and write), and have had some experience with field inventories to understand the general process of information collection. They should be able to use basic field instruments (compass, GPS) and to read and work with maps. They should be regarded as responsible individuals by fellow guards, and be capable of ensuring that fellow guards cooperate in providing necessary information. Most importantly, they must be people of high integrity and honesty.

Train more than one. It is important to have more than one PS trained, especially in areas of high patrol activity. A trained Patrol Secretary should accompany every patrol, if possible.

TRAINING NEEDED:

Equipment needed and care of equipment (compass, GPS)

Use of GPS

Map Reading and recording on maps

Patrol Forms and their use

Care of maps and reports in the field

Debriefing

 

ANNEX 6. Village Surveys for local knowledge of elephant presence, illegal elephant killing. and human-elephant conflict

INTRODUCTION

While human presence and elephant numbers are negatively correlated in most areas in Africa, some human-derived habitats, in particular cultivated gardens and fallow (jachères), are nevertheless selected elephant habitats. Indeed, elephant crop raiding is a major problem in almost all areas where elephants and humans coexist. Because of their potentially major impact on agriculture local communities are often sensitive indicators of elephant presence and absence in a given area. Trends in agricultural practices in areas where humans and elephants coexist may be a significant factor in determining elephant distributions. Crop raiding may also be directly and indirectly linked to illegal elephant killing.

The Objectives for MIKE in monitoring human elephant conflict are:

1. To provide systematic information on trends in elephant distributions and elephant use of human habitats, and in particular agricultural lands, in areas where humans and elephants coexist.
2. To provide systematic information on human elephant conflict and its linkage to illegal elephant killing across a gradient of settlement density.

SURVEY DESIGN

We recommend a stratified survey design that will result in an unbiased sample of villages that will be selected for enquêtes. We suggest use of a selection based on a grid division of the site base map, or another selection procedure that results in a representative sample. Details for this are further discussed in the text.

All settlements within the MIKE site area should be mapped on site base map, including, as possible, mining or logging camps. Surveys will be conducted through village-based interviews and visits to elephant-damaged fields. Surveys can be stratified across a gradient of settlement types, size and distance from remote forest and protected area. Surveys of settlements within the areas of MIKE field inventories will be given priority. Data on elephant occurrence, crop raiding, and village response to it will be recorded for survey villages. Damage levels in gardens will be assessed for sites with current crop raiding.

Settlements will be surveyed on an annual or bi-annual basis, as possible.

ANALYSIS

Current and past elephant activity will be mapped entered into site databases and related to settlement size, location and indices of economic and agricultural activity. Patterns in crop raiding and elephant presence will be summarized on an annual basis. Settlement size, access and socio-economic variables will be mapped to establish gradients of human presence impact, and human-elephant conflict. MIKE field surveys will evaluate elephant distributions in relation to socio-economic and demographic parameters of surveyed settlements. Data from village surveys will also permit indices of human-elephant conflict and illegal killing to be established for the site.

EXPLANATORY NOTES FOR FILLING OUT FORMS

Data will be collected by National Officers, and/or by Field Team Leaders under direction of National Officers. Forms will be filled in directly during interviews, or from notes taken at the time. The form should be completed as soon as possible after a village interview since some information will have not been noted down directly at the time it was reported.

Attempt to interview a representative sample of village inhabitants (including non-nationals resident). Individuals likely to have knowledge of elephant presence, and illegal killing should be interviewed, if they can be identified. Interviews of some ethnic groups (pygmies) may require particular approaches. Interview individuals capable of providing quality reports. Except for very small settlements, at least five individuals providing quality interviews should be contacted.

Introductory Material

Fill in as indicated. Each form should have a unique identification number. Note number of individuals who provided information during interviews.

Location

Provide required information. Where the MIKE site consists of a protected area, note settlement location in relation to park or reserve boundaries.

Demographics

Identify settlement type, and all pertinent access routes. Provide an estimate of settlement population, and source for this figure. This may be approximate. Indicate presence of non-nationals including expatriate Africans, resident in the settlement and major ethnic groups represented, if this is the case. Provide a count, or estimate of active households, if this is possible.

Socio-economics

Provide requested information to characterize the economic base of the settlement and socio-economic indicators. Notes can be used to specify further information as needed. Refer to importance scoring codes in the table.

Elephant Conflict

Provide details on the latest reported elephant occurrence in the village vicinity. Write additional location notes only where observers can provide specific details. Provide map locations if these are forthcoming. Provide an estimate of the number of elephant occurrences known to villagers over the preceding 12-month period. Characterize the overall pattern of elephant visitation over the last twelve months by circling the most appropriate category. Provide additional notes to describe seasonal elephant occurrence.

Provide approximate or exact date of latest occurrence of elephant crop raiding, and number of households and gardens affected. Indicate frequency of other elephant crop raiding events over the previous 12 months, and characterize overall patterns, including group sizes, and selected crops, as indicated. Note what other fauna are known crop raiders in the area. Indicate defense systems employed by the settlement to protect against crop raiding, and level of success. Other kills include poaching linked to crop raiding, if this information is forthcoming.

Elephant Killing

Information availability. Interviews concerning illegal elephant killing should be treated very sensitively from the outset. Any discussion of illegal activities related to elephants should be should be conducted with care, using indirect evidence, and indirect questioning. For example, information on elephant meat consumption may be had in discussions of diet in general. Information can not always be obtained due to suspicion, fear, lack of time, or other factors. If this appears to be the case, interviews and questioning should not be pursued. Indicate whether further information could be obtained if interviews could be conducted a second time over a longer period. Provide additional notes to help clarify source of information (pygmies interviewed, one former hunter interviewed, etc.)

Evidence. Provide information shown on table. Use additional notes to amplify this and provide specific details, such as locations of elephant poachers or villages where elephant products transit.

 

VILLAGE SURVEYS

I . LOCATION AND SURVEY IDENTIFICATION

(Please fill in the appropriate answer)

No	CODE	QUESTION	ANSWER
1	IDNU	FORM ID No.
2	MIKE	MIKE Site Name
3	NAME	Settlement name
4	DATE	Survey date
5	PIDN	Previous survey Form ID No.
6	PDAT	Previous survey date
7	INDS	Number of Individuals interviewed in survey
8	GPS	Geographic Position System (GPS) location
9	MAPG	Map(Grid ID)
10	DIPA	Location relative to Protected Area (PA)	0 = Outside PA 1 = Along PA border 2 = Inside PA borders

II. DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE SETTLEMENT

No	CODE	QUESTION	ANSWER
11	SETY	Settlement type	1= Permanent village 2=Semi-permanent village or camp (mining, fishing, forestry) 3=Itinerant camp 4 = Other (describe in notes)
12	ACCE	What is the access to the settlement ?	1= Road 2 = Road and Water 3= Water only 4=Footpath only
13	POPU	Estimated total population of the settlement	Indicate "Unknown" if no estimate available
14	SOUR	Source of estimate	Indicate "Unknown" if no source of estimate available
15	HHOC	Number of occupied (active )households	Indicate "Unknown" if no count available
16	ETHN	Major Ethnic groups ( rank by order of importance)	1---------------------------------- 2---------------------------------- 3----------------------------------
17	EXPA	Are expatriates (non-nationals) present?	0= No 1= yes 9 = Unknown

 

III SUBSISTENCE AND SOURCES OF INCOME IN SETTLEMENT

No	CODE		ANSWER
18	FCRO	Importance of subsistence food crop cultivation	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
19	CCRO	Importance of cash crop cultivation ( cocoa, cotton, coffee, etc	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
20	MIPI	Importance of Industrial Mining/petroleum activities	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
21	MIPA	Importance of Artisanal Mining activities	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
22	INLG	Importance of Industrial logging	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
23	SSLG	Importance of Artisanal logging	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
24	NTFP	Importance of Non-timber forest products	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
25	HUCO	Importance of Commercial hunting	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
26	HUSU	Importance of Subsistence hunting	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
27	ADMI	Importance of government employment (except PA and police/military)	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
28	MILT	Importance of military, gendarme or police employment	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
29	PROA	Importance Protected Area employment	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
30	NGOS	Presence of NGO/project employment	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown
31	COMM	Importance of retail / commercial trade (markets, shops)	0= not important 1=minor importance 2=major importance 9 = unknown

IV. SOCIOECONOMIC INDICATORS IN SETTLEMENT

No	CODE		ANSWER
33	POLI	presence of police station	0= not present 1= present
34	BARR	Presence of military post or barracks	0= not present 1= present
35	CHEF	presence of Chef de Localité (village mayor)	0= not present 1= present
36	ADMI	presence of Other administrative officials	0= not present 1= present
37	EDPR	presence of primary school(s)	0= not present 1= present
38	EDSC	Presence of Secondary school (s)	0= not present 1= present
39	EDTR	Presence of training or koranic school	0= not present 1= present
40	CESA	Presence of primary heath care dispensary ( centre de santé)	0= not present 1= present
41	HOSP	Presence of hospital	0= not present 1= present
42	MAKT	Presence of market	0= not present 1= present
43	SHOP	Presence of shops	0= not present 1= present

V. ELEPHANT PRESENCE

44. Date most recent report of Elephants( ELDATE):-Day-------------Month------------Year-----------------

Circle the appropriate answer.

No		Near Village/ home gardens	Nearby Forest ( < 5 km from settlement)	Distant Forest (> 5km from settlement)
45	Is information on elephant available?	AWAR 1 1=yes 0=No	AWAR_2 1=yes 0=No	AWAR_3 1=yes 0=No
46	Year (4 digits) of last occurrence?	ELDT 1 0000 = no occurrence 9999 = unknown	ELDT 2 0000 = no occurrence 9999 = unknown	ELDT 2 0000 = no occurrence 9999 = unknown
47	How many elephants occurred?	ELNUM 1 0= No elephant 1=Individual 2=Small group (<5) 3=Large group 4= Unknown	ELNUM 2 0= No elephant 1=Individual 2=Small group (<5) 3=Large group 4= Unknown	ELNUM 3 0= No elephant 1=Individual 2=Small group (<5) 3=Large group 4= Unknown

 

 

Occurrences in the last 12 months:

Circle the appropriate answer.

No		Near Village/ home gardens	Nearby Forest ( < 5 km from settlement)	Distant Forest (> 5km from settlement)
48	Elephant occurrences in last 12 months	OCYR 1 0= None 1=1-5 times 2 = > 5 times 3 = unknown	OCYR 2 0= None 1=1-5 times 2 = > 5 times 3 = unknown	OCYR 3 0= None 1=1-5 times 2 = > 5 times 3 = unknown
49	Occurrence patterns	OCPT 1 0=irregular and rare 1=regular 2=frequent 3=continuous 4=seasonal 5=unknown	OCPT 2 0=irregular and rare 1=regular 2=frequent 3=continuous 4=seasonal 5=unknown	OCPT 3 0=irregular and rare 1=regular 2=frequent 3=continuous 4=seasonal 5=unknown

VI ELEPHANT CROP RAIDING

Circle the appropriate answer.

No	CODE		ANSWER
50	CRLA	Crop raiding in last 12 months	0= None 1=1-2 times 2= > 2 times 3= unknown
51	CRRA1	Date of latest elephant crop raiding	Month__________ Year____________ Enter "NONE" for no occurrence Enter "UNKNOWN" if date not known
52	CRRA2	Number of gardens affected	0= None 1 = 1 garden 2 = 2 – 5 gardens 3 = > 5 gardens 4 = unknown
53	CRRA2	Number of Households affected	0= None 1 = 1 household 2 = 2 – 5 households 3 = > 5 households 4 = unknown
54	CRPA	Crop raiding pattern	0=irregular and rare 1=regular 2=frequent 3=continuous 4=seasonal 5=unkown
55	ELCR	Elephant crop raiders	0= none 1 = single animal always 2 = single and/or group 3 = unknown
56	FIEL	Types of damage	1= food crop field only 2= food and cash crops 3 = food stores (granary) 4 = houses or shelters 5=Others (describe):
57	RAFA	All Crop raiding Animals ( please rank by order of importance to villagers)	1_______________ 2_______________ 3_______________

 

58 Did Survey team inspect elephant damage? YES / NO

59. Did Survey team produce additional notes on damage? YES / NO

60. Are notes attached to this report?: YES / NO

VII DEFENCE STRATEGIES: OCCURRENCE AND EFFECTIVENESS IN DETERRING ELEPHANT DAMAGE

No	CODE		ANSWER
61	DEFE_0	No strategy	0= Not used 1= Used, no success 2 = Used, limited success 3 = Used, high success 4 = Used, success not known
62	DEFE1	Early warning	0= Not used 1= Used, no success 2 = Used, limited success 3 = Used, high success 4 = Used, success not known
63	DEFE2	Barrier	0= Not used 1= Used, no success 2 = Used, limited success 3 = Used, high success 4 = Used, success not known
64	DEFE3	Repulsion	0= Not used 1= Used, no success 2 = Used, limited success 3 = Used, high success 4 = Used, success not known
65	DEFE4	Legal kill	0= Not used 1= Used, no success 2 = Used, limited success 3 = Used, high success 4 = Used, success not known
66	DEFE5	Illegal kill	0= Not used 1= Used, no success 2 = Used, limited success 3 = Used, high success 4 = Used, success not known
67	DEFE6	Others ( specify )	0= Not used 1= Used, no success 2 = Used, limited success 3 = Used, high success 4 = Used, success not known

 

VIII ILLEGAL ELEPHANT KILLING

Information availability:

(Please consider one category only )

No	CODE	OBSERVATIONS	ANSWER
68	INFO	Interviews / observations not possible and Information not available	0=no 1= Yes
69	INQU	Indirect questioning possible on some questions	0=no 1= Yes
70	DIQU	Direct questioning possible for most questions	0=no 1= Yes
71	OTQU	Other (specify)	0=no 1= Yes

 

Summary of Evidence

Circle the appropriate answer.

#	CODE	EVIDENCE	ANSWER	QUANTITY / FREQUENCY
1		ELME 1 Elephant meat eaten	ELME 1 0=No 1=Yes 9 = No information available	ELME 2 0= None 1=Few / Little 2=Many / Much 9 = No information available
2	OBUM	Other bush meat eaten	OBUM 1 0=No 1=Yes 9 = No information available	OBUM 2 0= None 1=Few / Little 2=Many / Much 9 = No information available
3	ELGU	Elephant guns in village	ELGU 1 0=No 1=Yes 9 = No information available	ELGU 2 0= None 1=Few / Little 2=Many / Much 9 = No information available
4	OTGU	Other guns in village	OTGU 1 0=No 1=Yes 9 = No information available	OTGU 2 0= None 1=Few / Little 2=Many / Much 9 = No information available
5	ELPO	Elephant poachers based in village	ELPO 1 0=No 1=Yes 9 = No information available	ELPO 2 0= None 1=Few / Little 2=Many / Much 9 = No information available
6	ELPT	Elephant poachers transitory in village	ELPT 1 0=No 1=Yes 9 = No information available	ELPT 2 0= None 1=Few / Little 2=Many / Much 9 = No information available
7	ELPE	Elephant poachers not in village, but known elsewhere	ELPE 1 0=No 1=Yes 9 = No information available	ELPE 2 0= None 1=Few / Little 2=Many / Much 9 = No information available
8	ELPR	Elephant products (meat/ivory) consumed in village	ELPR 1 0=No 1=Yes 9 = No information available	ELPR 2 0= None 1=Few / Little 2=Many / Much 9 = No information available
9	ELPP	Elephant products (meat/ivory) transitory in village	ELPP 1 0=No 1=Yes 9 = No information available	ELPP 2 0= None 1=Few / Little 2=Many / Much 9 = No information available
10	ELEE	Elephant products (meat/ivory) not in village, but known elsewhere	ELEE 1 0=No 1=Yes 9 = No information available	ELEE 2 0= None 1=Few / Little 2=Many / Much 9 = No information available
11	OTSS	Other (describe)	OTSS 1 0=No 1=Yes 9 = No information available	OTSS 2 0= None 1=Few / Little 2=Many / Much 9 = No information available

IX Additional Notes