Schedule a to the Report
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ZB18.3 Schedule "A" Project #E-1 PROJECT SUMMARY PROJECT TITLE: Amur Tiger Conservation and Anti-poaching Efforts GOALS OF THE PROJECT: To protect the small remaining population of Amur tigers in the wild. PROJECT OUTLINE: In the Russian Far East, the campaign supports the Wildlife Conservation Society’s efforts to curb poaching. At the heart of these efforts is a strategy that holds anti-poaching teams accountable for their work, provides incentives to those that do a good job, and empowers wildlife managers with information to improve patrolling. Research also indicates that the development of extensive road networks (that often goes hand in hand with commercial logging) is providing access for poachers. The increasing density of forest roads is posing a major threat to tigers and the prey upon which they depend. By working with local timber companies and local government, we hope to close unneeded forest roads and thus reduce the rates of poaching and illegal logging. BACKGROUND Amur tigers are the largest cats in the world. Sadly, they are also one of the most endangered. Amur tigers are native to the forests of the Russian Far East and northeast China. Approximately 350-400 wild Amur tigers remain, almost all in the Russian Far East. The number one threat to their survival is poaching of tigers and their prey. Habitat loss, tiger-human conflicts, and infectious diseases also threaten the Amur tiger. METHODOLOGY WCS has achieved considerable success in improving anti-poaching efforts across tiger range countries through a comprehensive program to improve ranger patrol skills, equipment, and strategic approaches. The biggest advantage of this anti-poaching strategy is the opportunity to measure and compare both efforts (e.g. kilometers patrolled) and results (e.g. number of arrests) both spatially and temporally. Together these data provide a more realistic picture of true poaching pressures, and an accurate portrayal of anti-poaching efforts and successes (or failures, as the case may be). This data-driven approach allows park managers to see strategically assess how their effort has been allocated across management units, where violations are most prevalent, and what can be done to rapidly reallocate law enforcement efforts. To date, employment of -2- WCS’s anti-poaching strategy has resulted in consistent improvements at six tiger source sites in Russia. Each law enforcement program has five key components: i) A training workshop to introduce staff of each protected area to the program, including training sessions and provision of necessary materials for collecting, storing, and managing patrol data (i.e. GPS units, mapping software, laptops). ii) Provision of operational support for anti-poaching patrols (i.e. fuel, vehicle maintenance, equipment). iii) A performance-based incentive scheme that rewards improvements in anti- poaching results. iv) Regular bi-monthly strategic planning meetings where inspectors can review results from the previous patrol cycle, identify new priorities, and discuss tactics for the next cycle of patrol activities. v) A biological monitoring program to track changes in tiger/prey densities and to provide insight into trends in tiger population dynamics. We now have several years of data from our first four sites where the anti-poaching strategy has been implemented, and we have documented significant improvements in anti- poaching effort (Figure 6). The new anti-poaching strategy has also resulted in greater patrol efforts and a reduction in threats. Data show that Amur tiger populations have been stable or increasing (Hotte et al. 2016). After hearing these results with clear measurements of effects, directors from Russian protected areas are strongly advocating adopting this anti-poaching strategy in protected areas across Russia. However, there is still much work to be done before the strategy is fully sustainable. Indeed, the introduction of this kind of information-led approach to law enforcement represents a major cultural shift in operating procedures of Russian protected areas and we therefore institutionalization of the process at protected areas is expected to take 3 – 7 years. During the consolidation phase of this project, WCS efforts will focus on continued capacity building of Protected Area staff, and enhanced collaboration and cooperation between enforcement agencies. Anticipated date of completion: January 1, 2019 (however, the program is ongoing). BUDGET: The total budget from the Endangered Species Reserve Fund for this larger project is $2,000 USD. FUNDING: Endangered Species Reserve Fund $2,000 USD -3- PROJECT CONTACT: Tara Harris Tiger TAG SSP Coordinator Minnesota Zoo 13000 Zoo Boulevard Apple Valley, MN 55124-8199 USA [email protected] Schedule “A” Project #E-2 PROJECT SUMMARY PROJECT TITLE: Beaded Lizard Community Based Conservation GOALS OF THE PROJECT: 1) To implement a community based project that engages school aged children and their families in beaded lizard conservation. 2) To provide funding from the Toronto Zoo in order to meet USFWS enhancement requirements to facilitate SSP management recommendations. We are required to demonstrate enhancement for wild populations as part of permit approvals. PROJECT OUTLINE: Toronto Zoo now houses captive bred Guatemalan beaded lizards, the rarest and most endangered of these venomous lizards. In order to bring these rare lizard to toronto oo we were required to fund in situ field conservation aspects of Project Heloderma which is a comprehensive conservation program. This funding will continue these valuable community based conservation activities. BACKGROUND The Project Heloderma program incorporates- Land preservation (500 acre footprint and close to 1,500 total acres in the preserve, educational conservation awareness programs (over 75,000 school children have been exposed to the presentations), natural history studies and social programs (building homes for homeless at our sites; youth training programs), reforestation (a goal of over 20,000 plantings), local engagement, local economic help. With our over 10 years of study (radio telemetry) and mark recapture we know the critical landscape needs and the population size that is between 300-500 individuals left. The project also provides English lessons to school age children between 15- 18 years of age- 500 have attended so far. They have distributed conservation branded, much needed clothing and school materials including t-shirts, notebooks and computers. METHODOLOGY The money would go towards a new initiative; Designing and printing conservation materials and holding workshops for a new demographic - the police, fire and emergency departments as well as service (water, power) departments as many of these government officials are then ones that lizards are given to and they are often mishandled or killed- so we need to engage this group to further the program. Courses with printed material will be delivered for the above mentioned groups. - 2 - Anticipated date of completion: 2018-12-31 BUDGET The total budget from the Endangered Species Reserve Fund for this larger project is $2,000 USD. FUNDING Endangered Species Reserve Fund $2,000 USD PROJECT CONTACT: Andrew Lentini Toronto Zoo 361A Old Finch Ave Toronto, ON M1B 5K7 Cheque payable to: Zoo Atlanta Project Heloderma - project 0341 Zoo Atlanta 800 Cherokee Ave. S.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30315 USA Schedule "A" Project #E-3 PROJECT SUMMARY PROJECT TITLE: Livestock Guarding Dog Program in Namibia GOALS OF THE PROJECT: To establish a fund that will provide all necessary care, training and support for guarding dog puppies until given to a Namibian farmer, and allow follow up visits during the initial year. • Farmers1 education - five one-day courses (care and training of the dogs, predator friendly livestock management) • Breed, train and put into use approximately 20 livestock guarding dog puppies • Vaccinations, neutering, and some medical care and advice on dog health and behavior issues • Close monitoring for the first 6 months of placement, followed by combination of annual visits (incl. vaccination) and phone surveys. • Scoring for effectiveness using methodologies developed for guarding dog behavior • Investigation of livestock losses to predators on farms with and without guarding dogs. • Expansion of program to other African countries e.g. Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa PROJECT OUTLINE: The Livestock Guarding Dogs (LGD) ─ Based on research conducted by CCF, one of the areas that needed to be addressed to protect the cheetahs is to equip farmers with the knowledge and tools to protect their livestock from predators. Because cheetahs are more visible than other predators, farmers often blame them for predation of their livestock, and kill them either in retaliation or as a method of predation prevention. Since 90% of the cheetahs in Namibia live on and around farmland, CCF developed a set of practical, pragmatic solutions to solving the problems facing the cheetah, one of them is the use of guarding dogs. The use of an effective guarding dog in non-lethal predator management may be one of the most important components in cheetah and other large carnivore survival for the future. The Livestock Guarding Dogs (LGD) program introduced by CCF in 1994 has been successful where farmers have reported up to an 80% decrease in livestock losses post-placement. To date, nearly 400 Anatolian Shepherds and Kangal dogs have been bred and trained by CCF then placed on livestock farms. 1 Communal, commercial, emerging commercial