Use of CyberTracker and SMART for Effective Law Enforcement Monitoring in the Cross River Gorilla Landscape in Nigeria

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1 Bassey et. al. Use of CyberTracker and SMART for Effective Law Enforcement Monitoring in the Cross River Gorilla Landscape in Nigeria BASSEY, Emmanuel; MENGNJO, Celestine and EBAN, Jonathan Wildlife Conservation Society, Nigeria Program. 302 Bishop Moynagh Avenue, State Housing Estate Calabar, Cross River State Nigeria. Correspondence: Abstract: Improving effectiveness of law enforcement patrols is critical to reducing threats to endangered species from human activities. This project demonstrates the use of improved law enforcement monitoring tools such as CyberTracker and the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) to improve effectiveness of law enforcement action at three sites in the Cross River gorilla landscape the Okwangwo Division of Cross River National Park, Mbe Mountains, and Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary. CyberTracker and SMART allow large amounts of geo-referenced data on human activities and wildlife to be collected and analyzed quickly, provides timely and accurate information to protected area management on where poaching is occurring, and facilitates monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of anti-poaching patrols. Since 2009 the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has supported the use of CyberTracker and SMART for law enforcement monitoring in the Cross River Gorilla landscape, supporting four patrols per month at each site. Data on human activities and wildlife were collected on these patrols using CyberTracker and SMART. Ranger patrol data were downloaded and analyzed at the end of each patrol and monthly, and information from previous patrols was used to plan subsequent patrols. The use of CyberTracker and SMART is helping to reduce hunting pressure (measured as encounter rate of hunting signs such as wire snares, hunting camps and empty shotgun cartridges) on endangered primates in the landscape including the Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli), Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti), drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) and Preuss s monkey (Allochrocebus preussi). Keywords: Cross River Gorilla landscape, Endangered Primates, CyberTracker, Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool INTRODUCTION The forests of Cross River State have high levels of biological richness and endemism across many taxa including primates. They are globally recognized as a hotspot for primate diversity conservation. The primate fauna of Cross River is remarkably diverse, with several endangered taxa including Africa s most endangered ape, the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli - CR), Elliot s chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ssp ellioti- EN), Preuss s monkey (Allochrocebus preussi - EN), Drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus - EN), Red-capped mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus - VU), and Red-eared monkey (Cercopithecus erythrotis VU). However, hunting to supply the illegal bushmeat trade is widespread and largely uncontrolled; as a result wildlife populations including primates have drastically declined. The Cross River gorilla landscape (CRGL) which covers the hilly rainforest region along the Nigeria- Cameroon border is the last stronghold of the Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli). In Nigeria the CRGL covers the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary (Afi), Mbe Mountains (Mbe) and the Okwangwo Division of Cross River National Park (Okwangwo). The main threats to the critically endangered Cross River gorilla (Bergl et al., 2016) and other primates in the landscape is hunting for the bushmeat trade and habitat loss and fragmentation from unsustainable farming, logging and bush burning (Bergl et al., 2012; 322 Dunn et al., 2014; Imong et al., 2014a, 2014b). Bushmeat is a highly valued commodity in Nigeria and the trade in bushmeat has decimated populations of large mammals across the landscape. Although most species sold are rodents and duikers, there is little or no control of the bushmeat trade and even species that are supposed to be fully protected by law, such as elephant, chimpanzee and drill are sold openly (Bassey et al, 2010) fueling the hunting of these species. The most common form of hunting in the landscape is with wire snares. Although snares are usually set to catch smaller game such as rodents and duikers, they are completely indiscriminate and are also known to catch infant gorillas and chimpanzees, causing death or permanent injury. The use of guns for hunting is less common but also widespread. Farming is the main driver of deforestation in the landscape. Farmers traditionally clear small new plots of forest each year to plant cash crops. The deforestation rate within the landscape is 2.2% per annum among the highest anywhere in the world (Burren et al, 2011; Okeke, 2013). Habitat loss and fragmentation pose a serious threat to the forested corridors that currently link isolated CRG groups. If these corridors are destroyed and opportunities for natural dispersal are lost, the long-term survival of CRGs is unlikely. Continued forest loss also threatens local watersheds and livelihoods, further exacerbating levels of rural

2 poverty. In the north of the CRG landscape much of the original montane forest that probably once harbored Cross River gorillas has now been lost to agriculture or converted to grassland for grazing livestock. To reduce these threats the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) helped establish a law enforcement monitoring system based on the CyberTracker software in the Mbe Mountains in in 2009 in collaboration with North Carolina Zoo. Based on the success recorded with CyberTracker ( in Mbe, the system was extended to Afi in 2011 and to Okwangwo in Designed to allow people with little computer experience to be able to collect data with data recording devices (Liebenberg et al. 2017), Cybertracker allows large amounts of geo-referenced data to be collected quickly and with fewer errors compared to the traditional method of using pen and notebook. The automated tracking function of CyberTracker allowed better tracking of the performance of rangers in the field, and improved transparency and accountability. In 2016, the law enforcement monitoring system was upgraded from CyberTracker to Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) software ( which allowed for improved management and analyses of the Cybertracker data. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of CyberTracker and SMART-based ranger patrols in reducing threats to endangered primates in the Cross River Gorilla landscape in Nigeria. METHODOLOGY Study Area and Data collection The study area (Figure i) covers four protected areas in Nigeria Afi), Mbe and the Okwangwo ( E, N) with a combined area of 825 km 2 (Afi: 100 km 2, Mbe: 85 km 2, and Okwangwo: 640 km 2 ). At each site, four antipoaching patrols were completed each month, each patrol lasting 6 to 8 patrol days. Patrol teams comprised 6-7 rangers or eco-guards. All patrols were facilitated and supervised by WCS staff at each site. Data on illegal activities such as hunting, farming and logging were collected using the Cybertracker software. Data collected included the start and end times of patrols, sightings of hunters together with sign of hunting (cartridges from gun hunting, snares, and hunting camps). Data were also collected for sightings of key animal species and their sign (nests, dung, feeding sign, trails). GPS coordinates were automatically recorded for all observations. GPS tracklog was also recorded for patrols and used to calculate the total distance covered by the patrols. Patrol data were analyzed monthly and quarterly and Bassey et. al. 323 used to adaptively manage the patrol program. Information from previous patrols was used to plan subsequent patrols. The data were cleaned to remove erroneous points and questionable observations (especially those due to recording mistakes). The resulting cleaned data were analysed in SMART software. In this paper we demonstrate the use of improved law enforcement monitoring tools such as CyberTracker and SMART to monitor threats, adaptively manage ranger programs, and improve effectiveness of antipoaching patrols. Using CyberTracker and SMART helped to: 1) Improve the quality of our ranger-based patrol data by avoiding errors previously encountered when using GPS units and notebooks, and also by collecting standardized and comparable data across all our sites; 2) Reduce the amount of time spent entering data by directly downloading patrol data from input devices to a database for analysis and reporting; 3) Improve communication between field personnel and managers through faster data analysis and reporting; 4) Improve monitoring of ranger performance through the automated tracking function of CyberTracker and increase transparency and accountability. RESULTS The use of CyberTracker and SMART allowed us to better monitor patrol effort (measured as number of patrol days completed and distance covered) monthly, quarterly and annually. At the end of each patrol data were downloaded and patrol attributes such as distance covered, patrol days completed, time taken are inspected. Any issues observed were communicated to the patrol team and addressed in the subsequent patrols. This helped to improve patrol supervision and monitoring of ranger performance resulting in increased patrol effort over the years (Tables 1-iii). The use of CyberTracker and SMART also enhanced our ability to monitor hunting pressure on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis and to determine the effectiveness of law enforcement action. Improved patrol planning and supervision, as well as regular monitoring of hunting activity resulted in gradual reduction in hunting pressure (measured as encounter rate per kilometer of hunting sign such as wire snares, hunting camps and expended shotguns cartridges left behind by hunters). Wire snares were encountered more frequently than other signs of hunting (Figures ii-iv). Total encounter rate of hunting sign per kilometer walked decreased from 2.57 in 2012 to 1.11 in 2017 in Afi, and from (Figures ii-iv). Similar decrease in total encounter rate of hunting sign was also recorded for Okwangwo between 2011 and 2017 (Table 2). In Mbe total encounter rate of hunting sign decreased between 2009 and 2016, but increased during 2017 (Tables 3).

3 Bassey et. al. Figure I: Map of the study area Table I: Encounter rate of hunting sign in AMWS from 2012 to 2017 Year Patrol effort Number of patrol days Total distance covered 1,717 1,871 1,460 1,899 1,623 1,621 Encounter rate per km Wire snares Gunshots heard Expended shotgun cartridges Hunting camps Total

4 Encounter rate per km walked Encounter rate per km walked Bassey et. al Wire snares Gunshots heard Expended shotgun cartridges Hunting camps Figure ii: Trend of hunting indices in AMWS, Table ii: Encounter rate of hunting sign in CRNP-Okwangwo Division from 2011 to 2017 Year Patrol effort Number of patrol days Total distance covered 527 1,603 2,187 2,165 2,503 2, Encounter rate per km Wire snares Gunshots heard Expended shotguns cartridges Hunting camps Total Hunting trend in Okwangwo Wire snares Gunshots heard Expended shotgun cartridges Hunting camps Figure iii: Trend of hunting indices in CRNP-Okwangwo

5 Bassey et. al. Table iii: Encounter rate of hunting sign in Mbe from 2009 to 2017 Year Patrol effort Number of patrol days Total distance covered 1,451 2,205 2,196 2,494 4,768 3,818 2,538 3,025 2,554 Encounter rate per km Wire snares Gunshot heard Expended shotgun cartridges Hunting camps Total Wire snares Gunshots heard Expended shotgun cartridges Hunting camps Figure iv. Trend of hunting indices in Mbe Mountains DISCUSSION As threats to wildlife and habitats increase, it is important to deploy limited conservation resources in the most effective way. In this study we show that using law enforcement monitoring tools such as CyberTracker and SMART can help improve the effectiveness of law enforcement patrols and safeguard endangered primates. Prior to the introduction of CyberTracker and SMART rangers and ecoguards collected law enforcement and wildlife monitoring data using notebook and GPS. With low literacy level the former system was prone to data recording errors. Data entry was manual and slow, often resulting in delayed reporting and lack of timely information on the nature and distribution of threats to inform decision making and planning of interventions. In contrast, using CyberTracker and SMART rangers and ecoguards were able to collect large amounts of geo-referenced data that is downloaded directly from an input device to a desktop computer for analysis and reporting. The use of CyberTracker and SMART significantly improved ranger motivation and performance and increased accountability and credibility. Improved patrol planning, using information from previous patrols to target hunting hotspots improved patrol effectiveness and protection of endangered primates in the CRGL. We recorded overall decline in hunting pressure in the landscape even though the decline was not steady over the whole study period (Figures ii-iv). Increase in encounter rate of hunting sign in some years was due to changes in patrol strategy and better patrol coverage of areas hitherto not covered. In the case of the Mbe Mountains which are community managed forest, occasional community disagreement led to the suspension of patrols in some parts of the mountains for some periods resulting in increased hunting activity in some years (Figure iv). 326

6 CONCLUSION Although hunting is reducing, current levels are clearly unsustainable. Populations of medium and large-sized mammals are low and declining at all sites across the landscape due hunted to hunting to supply the bushmeat trade. Hunting and other forms of human disturbance is also causing the populations of some species to become fragmented, threatening their long term viability due to reduced gene flow (Bergl, 2006). For populations to recover, increased patrol effort is needed and patrols need to be more effective. WCS will aim to achieve this through the continued implementation of SMART in the landscape, working in collaboration with other partners. REFERENCES Bassey, E. Nkonyu, L. & Dunn, A. (2010): A Reconnaissance Survey of the Bushmeat Trade in Eight Border Communities in South- East Nigeria. Unpublished report to the Arcus Foundation and the WCS Nigeria Program. Bergl, R.A., Dunn, A., Fowler, A., Imong, I., Ndeloh, D., Nicholas, A. & Oates, J.F. (2016). Gorilla gorilla ssp. diehli (errata version published in 2016). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.t39998a CN.UK RLTS.T39998A en. Downloaded on 05 March Bergl, R., et al. (2012). Remote sensing analysis reveals habitat, dispersal corridors and expanded distribution Bassey et. al. for the Critically Endangered Cross River gorilla, Gorilla gorilla diehli. Oryx. Burren, C., Sene, O., Rose, R., Okeke, F. & Arpels, M. (2011). REDD Feasibility Study in the Takamanda- Mone Landscape, Cameroon. Unpublished report to MINFOF, LifeWeb, United Nations Environment Programme and GRASP. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), New York. Dunn, A., et al. (2014). Revised Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group and Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, NY, USA. Imong, I., et al. (2014). Distinguishing ecological constraints from human activity in species range fragmentation: the case of Cross River gorillas. Animal Conservation, 17, Imong, I., et al Informing Conservation Management About Structural Versus Functional Connectivity: A Case-Study of Cross River Gorillas. American Journal of Primatology, 76: Liebenberg, L., Steventon, J., Brahman, N., Benadie, K., Minye, J., Langwane, H., Xhukwe, Q Smartphone Icon User Interface design for nonliterate trackers and its implications for an inclusive citizen science. Biological Conservation, 208, Okeke, F Land Cover Change Analysis in the Afi- Mbe-Okwangwo Landscape, Cross River State, Nigeria. Unpubl. Report to CRSFC, UN-REDD, WCS. 327