ADMADE ADVANCED MONITORING WORKSHOP
NYAMALUMA INSTITUTE
11-19 MAY, 1999
STUDENT NOTES
Law Enforcement
As wildlife officers, scouts must enforce wildlife laws in the Unit. This includes arresting poachers and ensuring that safari clients only hunt the animals they have paid for. Operations where Law Enforcement is the primary aim include anti-poaching patrols, investigations, and safari monitoring. In Law Enforcement, scouts are working something like police officers.
Monitoring
As monitors, scouts are the eyes of the Unit. In this way, they are acting like doctors, trying to get information about the problems in order to help the community find good solutions. Monitoring simply means "collecting data", and is part and parcel of many of the scout operations in the Unit. Operations where monitoring is one of the key aims include safari monitoring, field patrols, crop damage survey. This workshop introduced three new types of operations where monitoring is one of the key aims: the snare survey, waterhole patrol, and fish camp patrol
Education
In education, scouts are acting like teachers. Education is important if ADMADE is to succeed, because if people don't know how the program works then they can not solve the problems. Village Scouts have a lot knowledge about animals and about ADMADE. If they share this information with people in the community through civic education, then it will make their jobs easier and give the program a chance to succeed.
Village scouts collect a lot of information as part of their job. This includes information about field patrols, safari hunting, crop damage, poacher case records, and so on. Data forms are used to help scouts write down information so that other people can know what they have seen.
Information collected by Village Scouts can be used by many different people and for many activities. Some of these are described below:
Setting quotas. We use hunting statistics (e.g., hunting success, hunting effort, trophy size, number of clients), client questionnaire, observations from hunts, and knowledge from PH, scouts, trackers. These help us to determine if animals are increasing or decreasing so we can decide if the quota should be increased, decreased, or kept the same.
Planing field patrols. To help us plan anti-poaching patrols so that they will be most effective, we need to know where poachers are active, what methods they are using, and when they are poaching. This information is needed by the scouts, Unit leader, and RMC.
Finding and preventing mismanagement and curruption. Data forms help us to know if scouts are using their rations and ammunition properly. We can also know how much money the Unit is earning from safari hunting, so we can see if money is being used wisely. Good monitoring can help prevent mismanagement because people will fear to be caught when they know there is good monitoring of activities in the Unit.
Prosecuting poachers and defending wildlife officers in court. Monitoring data is sometimes used in court as evidence, to prosecute poachers or defend scouts.
Plan community development. People will not support ADMADE and scouts if they do not benefit from community development. The information collected by scouts can help the Community to decide which development is needed most, and to know how much money will be available to do projects.
Help make a land-use plan. A land use plan tries to identify the major problems in the Unit, and how those problems can be solved. Scouts have a very important role to play in making land use plans, because they are the ones who collect data about wildlife, disturbances, crop damage, poaching, and resource use.
Advertise Zambia as a good hunting destination. In order to encourage clients to come to Zambia, PHs and ZWA need to advertise Zambia as a good hunting destination. Monitoring data, such as hunting success, can be used to help clients decide if they want to hunt in Zambia.
Negotiate Concession Leases. Community Resource Boards can help decide which safari operator should be in their area. Monitoring data such as hunting statistics can be used to help determine if the safari operator has been good or bad.
accuracy - data entered onto a form should be reasonably accurate. For example grid numbers indicated on forms must be accurate.
consistency - the data on the form which is to be the same must not conflict. For example the dates on the Safari Hunting Daily Record sheet and that on the Trophy Measurements sheet must match for each animal hunted
delivered - a good data form is that which is finally handed over to the right officers or offices
clear - a data form must be clearly filled-in so that it can be easily read without confusion. Good hand writing is also important
timeliness - a good data form should be handed over to the relevant people without delay
Snaring is done mostly by local people. Local people may snare because their food security needs are not met, or they don't support ADMADE because they don't benefit from ADMADE.
Communities can take certain actions to reduce snaring. Increasing patrols is one action, but there are many others. If the reason for snaring is food security, the CRB can use their money for food security projects, such as supporting farmer groups, helping small business, or bee-keeping. If the reason is ignorance, the Unit can use civic education to reduce snaring.
The purpose of a snare survey is to help us to better understand snaring. Without snare surveys, it is difficult to know for certain if snaring in increasing or decreasing, because the number of snares found can depend on so many things, such as the number of scouts on patrol the number of days of the patrol, and the time of year. A snare survey is supposed to be done in a very consistent manner so that we can be certain that the search is always similar.
A snare survey is a bit similar to a transect. You should be able to complete one or more routes in a day. The steps to doing a snare survey include:
For example, fishing camps can be a problem because fishermen may use snares or poison near the fish camp. Also fishing camps can disturb animals who want to come to the river to drink during the dry season. Fishermen sometimes use nets where the holes are too small, which means they catch too many fish. This depletes the resource. Fishermen may also cause other disturbances, such as tree cutting, bush fires, or farming near the river.
Serious problems can also occur around waterholes, especially in the dry season when animals use the waterholes frequently. Poachers often go to the waterholes to find animals, which hurts the safari hunting and decreases the money from safari hunting. Other people are also attracted to waterholes, such as honey gatherers, tree cutters, and farmers. These people can cause other disturbances near water holes, such as snaring, gardens, or fires. With so many disturbances, animals may just decide to move to a different area. The professional hunter may also decide to stop taking clients to the area near the waterhole because the animals have been depleted.
These problems can often be solved by the community through various actions such as civic education. Communities can also decide to move fishing camps closer together or require that fishermen have licenses. Scouts can also increase anti-poaching operations in these areas. However the community needs good monitoring information about the problems around fish camps and waterholes before they can decide which actions to take. Monitoring is also needed to see if the actions are working to solve the problem.
To get information about fish camps and waterholes, scouts can make special patrols, called Fish Camp Patrols and Waterhole Patrols. The primary aim of these special monitoring patrols is just to gather information that can be used by the community to solve the problems. From time to time, scouts should visit the fish camps and water holes in their area, just to collect information which can be used in land-use planning. Information you should record about fishing camps and waterholes includes:
Fish Camps
| Waterholes
|
To record these special monitoring patrols, use the Field Patrol Data Form. On the front side, cross out FIELD PATROL and write FISH CAMP PATROL or WATER HOLE PATROL. Fill out the data form the same way you would for an anti-poaching patrol, but on the back side record your observations at the fish camp or waterholes. You can use the columns where you would normally indicate species sighted to record your observations.
| Old License System | New License System |
| client pays all fees before the hunt | client pays GMA and concession fees before the hunt, but pays license fees after the hunt |
| separate safari hunting license for each animal | no individual licenses - replaced with the combined license form |
| scout monitor records the license numbers on SAFLICE | Monitors do not put license numbers on SAFLICE. However all other sections of SAFLICE are filled in as normal |
| all money gets deposited into the WCRF | the money for the community (35% & 40%) is deposited directly into the community's bank account |
| quota is kept track of in Chilanga | Quota is kept track of at the Unit. A ledger book is kept at the safari camps and the Unit Headquarters. Each time an animal is shot, the ledger is updated. |
The first step to doing civic education is to select the group you want to work with. Groups in the community include schools, church groups, clubs, peer groups, women groups, and VAGs.
The second step is to consider is the topics you want to cover with your group. You should cover topics that you have knowledge about and an interest. Some suggested topics include:
children - wildlife identification, animal behavior, habitat, disturbances to animals, how people benefit from animals, how people can harm animals, and how animals can harm people, how ADMADE works
adults - different sources of money (fees) and how they are divided, the negative effects of snaring and poaching, new ADMADE structures, benefits of safari hunting, land-use problems and solutions, monitoring results, importance of family planning
Teaching Children Versus Teaching Adults
After you have selected the group you want to work with and thought about the topics, the third step is to think about the approach you want to take. Children and adults have different learning styles. These are summarized below:
| Children | Adults |
| need to be entertained | are interested in serious matters |
| accept information easily | don't believe at first. Need to learn for themselves |
| short attention span | can sit for a while |
| like activities, role playing, games | prefer discussions |
| learn things quickly | have to go through a learning process:
|
Activities that are good for children include indoor games (e.g., What Animal Am I?), outside games (e.g., Predators and Prey), quizzes, songs, and drama. These activities are not difficult to lead if you come prepared.
Activities that are good for adults include facilitated discussions, reviews of monitoring data, and drama. Adults can also learn from their children. It can take longer to get adults to learn something new, so you have to go slowly and be patient.
Qualities of a good facilitator
A good facilitator guides but does not control the discussion. A good facilitator gets everyone involved and goes slow enough so that everyone understands. A good facilitator isn't afraid of admitting a mistake. A good facilitator has good presentation skills, for example he speaks clearly and looks at people when he's talking. Finally a good facilitator is always prepared and knows what he wants to teach.
Qualities of a Good Presentation
A good presentation has an introduction that describes the topic. A good presentation also involves audience participation. A good lesson also includes an introduction and at the end which summarizes the topic. Good presentations don't try to present too much at once.
Special monitoring patrols
For special monitoring patrols, such as snare survey patrols, waterhole patrols, and fish camp patrols, you should attach a copy of the base map to your dataform. You should put dots on the base map to indicate where you saw a fish camp, water hole, or snares
Safari monitoring
For each client, there should be one base map filled out and attached to the safari hunting dataforms (e.g., SAFLICE, SAFHUNT, and TROPHY). On this base map, you should put a dot to mark the location of each animal shot. These dots should be labeled to show which species was hunted there
Species monitoring field patrols
Each camp should keep one base map for each species which is being monitored. At the top of the base map, you should write the name of the camp and the name of the species. So if for example, the scouts in a camp are monitoring five species, they will keep five base maps at the camp, once for each species. Each time a field patrol returns, the recorder should indicate on the appropriate base map where animals were seen.
Field patrol effort monitoring
Each camp should keep a separate base map at the camp to keep track of where scouts from the camp have gone for patrol. Each time a patrol returns, the recorder should make a tick on the base map in those grids that were visited by the patrol. When the base map becomes too cluttered, begin a new base map.
Targets should be realistic. In other words you should pick targets which you think you can achieve. At the same time try to set high expectations for your camp.
A workplan describes how you plan to achieve your targets. For example, if your target for anti-poaching patrols is 20 long patrols, then your work plan could say you will do 4 long patrols per month for May-September. For each month in your work plan, try
Setting targets is helpful because it makes scouts think about what they want to achieve. It also helps them to set high expectations and allows them to explain to the Unit Leader and RMC members what they are doing.
If you fail to reach the target, then you can discuss what may have caused the failure. For example, maybe the target was too high. Or maybe there were problems that prevented the scouts from doing all the operations they sought to achieve. This can then help improve setting targets for the next season.