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Enhancing effective management and protection of a threatened tropical biodiversity hotspot in Tanzania

Key Biodiversity Area Key Landscape for Conservation

Management Effectiveness

Local communities Women Local/National Protected Areas Agency

Enforcement Capacity Building Monitoring/Patrol equipment

Not Provided Tanzania; Eastern Africa 01.04.2021 – 31.03.2022

Protected and conserved area(s) concerned

Uzungwa Scarp Nature Forest Reserve (USNFR)

The BIOPAMA AC Objectives addressed

Enhanced management and governance of protected or conserved areas

Priority need addressed

This project will address three priority needs of the protected area:

Strengthening the capacity of the patrol team in USNFR.
Reducing the illegal activities in USFNR.
The long-term goal of increasing the relative abundance of target species at USNFR.

Project activities

1. Strengthening the capacity of the patrol team in USNFR.

Capacity building of staff by training 45 Village Game Scouts (VGS) on the use of GPS, participatory patrols, patrol procedures, and Human rights.
Training 5 USNFR staff in Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) or Protected Area Management System (PAMS) as the international standard system for Law Enforcement Management, on using camera traps for surveillance and Human rights.
Equipping patrol teams.

2. Reducing the illegal activities in USFNR.

Conduct monthly two 5-day participatory foot patrols comprising 3 USNFR staff, 4 Anti-poaching Unit (APU) rangers, and 4 VGS.
Trialling and adopting conservation technologies, including camera trapping for poachers’ detection and use of SMART or PAMS patrol management tool.
Assess community satisfaction through Focus Group Discussions, meetings, and measuring community usage of benefits provided within the Joint Management Agreement.

3. Integrate results of ecological monitoring in protection planning.

Continue collaborating with Udzungwa Ecological Monitoring Centre (UEMC), which monitors threatened species in USFNR and uses existing data and new results to identify priority areas for protection.

The change the project implementation will bring for the protected area(s)

As a direct result of this project, STEP expects to continue collaborating with TFS during this difficult period in management and protection efforts with the goal of significantly reducing illegal activities threatening the tropical biodiversity hotspot and aiming to attain the following changes:

To strengthen the capacity of the joint patrol teams (adjacent local community – VGS, TFS staff, and APU rangers) in USNFR. This will be achieved by completing important training of project staff on patrol conduct, GPS uses, SMART or PAMS, camera trapping, and Human Rights, and equipping patrol teams.
To be able to reduce the illegal activities in USFNR. This will be achieved by scaling up patrol coverage and frequency and integrating protection with robust and long-term ecological monitoring to direct targeted patrols in areas of the highest need to measure protection impact on population trends.
In the long term, to increase the relative abundance of target species at USNFR.
To strengthen the participatory protected area management effectiveness, gender equity, and sense of ownership.
To facilitate patrol teams to be responsible for protecting individuals from human rights abuses and not engaging in illegal violations of human rights.

Download the project infofiche.