SCF Termit Progress Report March 2014 - 1.3 Mb

ConservingthewildlifeandhabitatsoftheTermitandTinToumma
NationalNatureReserve,Niger
ProjectProgressReport
TheSaharaConservationFundwishestoacknowledgeandthankthefollowingorganizationsforthegeneroussupport,donationsandpartnershipwithoutwhichthisprojectanditsachievementswouldnothavebeenpossible:
AgenceFrançaisedeDéveloppement, European Union, FondsFrançaispourl’EnvironnementMondial, Saint Louis Zoo
WildCareInstitute,HoustonZoo,AlAinZoo,BuffaloZoo,MinnesotaZoo,MohammedbinZayedSpeciesConservation
Fund, Zoo Praha, NoéConservation, Convention on Migratory Species, AgirpourleNiger, LNC/Esafro, InstitutRoyal
desSciencesNaturellesdeBelgique, ConseilRégionald’IledeFrance, Zoological Society of London, Marwell Wildlife,
Addax & Oryx Foundation, Abilene Zoo, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Erie Zoo, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Fresno
Chaffee Zoo, Milwaukee County Zoo, Nashville Zoo, New England Zoo, Oregon Zoo, Osnabruck Zoo, Wildlife World
Zoo,andZood’Amné ville.
SomeRecentAchievementsoftheProject
 acquisitionofnewfundingforthereserve’smanagement
 trainingofparkguards
 operationofalowimpact,camera-trapbasedwildlifemonitoringnetworkfordamagazelles
andBarbarysheep
 widespreadcampaigntobetterunderstandandresolvelivestockpredationissuesbywildcarnivores
 healthcaremissionsandvaccinationcampaignstoisolatedareas
 proposaltoinscribeTermitasanImportantBirdAreaofinternationalsigni icance 1
Termit&TinToumma:whyshouldwe
care?
In2012, afteradecade's effort onbehalfofSCFandits
partners, the government of Niger established the Termit&TinToummaNationalNatureReserve,thelargest
ofitskindinAfrica.Coveringsome97,000km²(37,500
sq. miles) or roughly the same size as Indiana, the reserveencompassesawidevarietyofdeserthabitats,includingmountains,sandseas,sub-desertgrasslandsand
seasonal wetlands. It is also home to what is certainly
theworld’slastremainingintactcommunityoflargeSaharan mammals: a veritable desert Noah’s Ark. This
unique assemblage includes the planet’s last remaining
viable wild population of addax antelope Addax nasomaculatus, with some 200-300 animals, and a sizeable
proportionoftheremainingcriticallyendangereddama
gazelleNangerdamaat50-70animals.Thereservealso
holds some 100-150 threatened Barbary sheep Ammotragus lervia and one of the Sahara’s largest remaining
populationsofdorcasgazelleGazelladorcas,numbering
severalthousandanimals.Thearea’suniquenessisalso
partly due to the sympatric community of carnivores
thatlivesthereandwhichincludesthecriticallyendangered Saharan cheetah, the striped hyena and the Africanlynxorcaracal,aswellasahostofsmallerspecies,
likethefennec,Rü ppell’sfoxandsandcat.
SCF’slongtermgoalistoimprovetheconservationstatusofallthesespeciesandto indwaysofsecuringand
sustaining the progress and achievements made with
stakeholdersfromalllevelsofsociety.
BarbarysheeprestingontherocksoftheTermitmassif
Visionandpartnership
Togetherwithitspartners,SCFishelpingNigertomanagethisvastprotectedarea.Aswellasthemoretypical
parkmanagementaspects,suchasbasicresearch,wildlife management and protection, SCF is critically aware
oftheneed toworkcloselywiththe peoplewho livein
thereserveanddependontheitsnaturalresourcesfor
their livelihoods. To build cooperation, a network of
community game guards has been set up and excellent
relations developed with community leaders. In the
coming years,increased effortwillbeputintotransferring the reserve’s management to the locally-elected
democratic structures that are increasingly replacing
centralizedgovernment.Effortswillalsocontinuetoassistthelocalpeopleaddresstheirprimaryconcernsfor
healthcare,education,andfoodandwatersecurity.The
project does what it can to help, often acting as gobetweenandambassadorwithmainstreamdevelopment
andhumanitarianagenciesworkinginNiger.
ThecurrentprojectismanagedbytheNGONoéConservation and funded by Agence Française pour le Développement, and the Nigerien government, with inancialandtechnicalsupportfromSCFanditspartnersfor
ecological monitoring, training, wildlife protection, and
activities to improve living standards of the local community.
VulturesontreeinTermit&TinToummaNatureReserve
DamagazellesontheplateauoftheTermitmassif
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Trainingandcapacity‐building
The successful management and sustainability of the
Termit&TinToummareservedependstoalargeextent
onbuildingthecapacityin-countrytocarryoutthetasks
neededforinformeddecision-makingandeffectivepark
management. SCF contributes actively to this through
skills development and training in biological inventory,
ecologicalmonitoring,datacollectionandanalysis.A10
-day training workshop and associated ield exercise
werecarriedoutbySCFstaffinNiameyandWNational
Park.Fourteenforestersinchargeofecologicalmonitoringandseveralprotectedareamanagersweretrainedin
theuseofCybertrackerdatacollectionsoftware,camera
traps,compass,GPSandMapsourcesoftware,range inders, sampling methods and mapping. A data collection
sequence to collect information in the ield was set up
andsuccessfullytestedonCybetrackersoftwarerunning
onatablet-basedAndroidsystemandiscurrentlyinuse.
Afurthertrainingsessionwithsevenforesters,including
the site manager of the Termit & Tin Toumma reserve,
wascarriedoutinthereserveover10daysinNovember
bySCF’son-sitestaff.Thistrainingfocusedontheapplicationof ecologicalmonitoringtools inthe ieldandon
how to improve knowledge of the reserve’s vegetation
andwildlife. Carnivore/herdercon lictmitigation
Local nomadic and semi-nomadic livestock herders in
Termit are confronted with livestock losses from carnivores. The main issue is attacks by golden jackals on
sheep and goats but some instances of depredation of
young camels by cheetahs and hyenas have also been
reported. As a result and although strictly prohibited,
the local nomadic population was using strychninebasedpoisonsinbaitsagainstjackals,withseriousconsequences for other carnivores and non-target species,
suchasvultures,ravensandbirdsofprey.
As part of SCF’s Saharan Carnivores initiative, herders
fromvariouspartsofthereservehavebeeninterviewed
to better understand local perceptions of the livestock/
carnivorecon lictandtoidentifypossiblysolutions.The
questionnaire-basedanalysiswascombinedwithresults
fromecologicalsurveysinordertoprioritizetheimplementation of actions to mitigate the con lict and conservetheendangeredcarnivorespecies.Theintensityof
thecon lictdependsonmanyfactors,includingthelocation concerned (mountains, dunes, wadis, etc.), the carnivore species, livestock composition, and lastly on the
periodoftheyear.Sevencampshavebeenidenti iedas
prioritiesforcon lictmitigationbecausetherateofdepredationishighandbecausethesecampsarelocatedin
key areas for endangered species, such as the cheetah,
caracal, sand cat and striped hyena. A workshop was
organizedwiththelocalcommunitiestodiscussandintroduce appropriate activities to mitigate the con lict
andtoraiseawarenessforcarnivoreconservation.
CameratrappingandCybertrackertrainingsessioninWPark
SCFstaffandtraineesaroundatussockofCornulacamona-
Goldenjackalsareveryopportunisticintermsofhunting
TherareAfricanlynxcanbeacollateralvictimofpoisoning
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During the 3-day workshop organized at the well of
MalounganeartotheTermitmassif,34peoplewereencouraged to implement measures to minimize livestock
predation, including the securing of goats and sheep at
nightinenclosuresguardedbylocalsheepdogs,andthe
provisionofbettersupervisionduringtheday,especiallyduringthewetseason,topreventlivestockfromwandering.
Women were very active in the debate since they own
most of the smaller livestock in the area and this is the
mainsourceoftheirincome.Thesigni icanceofthisonlycametolightasaresultoftheworkshopdiscussions.
After the workshop, the community game guards, park
rangers and SCF staff carried out an awareness campaigninthereservebasedonsimilarthemes.Some23
nomadcampswerevisitedaspartofthiswork.
In 2014, the next step will be to implement the techniques proposed to resolve the con lict in the camps
identi ied as being of highest risk with volunteers from
the local community. SCF will build the recommended
enclosuresandtheherderswillfollowtheadvicetominimisedepredationbygoldenjackals.Anotherworkshop
will be held at the end of the year with the volunteers
and the local leaders to assess the effectiveness of the
measures proposed. Meanwhile, the community game
guards and the reserve’s rangers will continue to promote the need to ind win-win solutions to resolve the
con lict.
Otherwise, further information was collected on carnivoredistributionthankstothecameratrapsdeployedin
the Termit massif. The ongoing analysis will give us
moredetailsabouttherelativeabundanceanddistributionofspeciesandthiswillbecorrelatedwithpotential
prey densities, small livestock densities and predation
records to identify with more accuracy the "hot" spots
forthecon lictresolutionstrategy.
StripedhyenainthedunenearbyMaloungacamp
YoungwomanherdinggoatsintheTermitmassif
Ecologicalmonitoring
Intensive ieldwork during 2013 was particularly dif icultduetoprevailingsecurityissuesinNigerandmore
widelyintheSahel.However,inspiteoftheseunfavourable conditions, SCF’s local staff was able to conduct
three major wildlife monitoring surveys in the reserve.
The missions were focused on monitoring the reserve’s
critically endangered addax and dama gazelle populations. In addition, information was collected on other
threatened species, like the dorcas gazelle, Nubian and
Arabianbustards.
Aspartofthedamagazellemonitoringprogram,anongoing camera trapping exercise was continued with the
relocationofcamerasforonemajorblockinthesouthof
the Termit massif to another key area in the north. Of
the24cameraswereinitiallydeployedinthesouth,one
was stolen and two were tampered with to remove the
batteries.
GoldenjackalorAfricanwolf?Maybeanewspeciesfor
NigerphotographedintheTermitmassif
Dorcasgazellecoexistingperfectlywithcamels
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After downloading the data and cleaning the cameras
they were moved to the north for a further six months.
Thiswascarriedoutwiththeassistanceofspeciallyrecruitedcommunitygameguardsinordertoshowthem
thesitessotheycanreturnperiodicallytocheckthatthe
cameraswerestillwellpositionedandhadnotbeenstolenortamperedwith.Aspreviously,thecameraswere
left in place for six months and SCF staff came back in
November2013tocollectthedata.Unfortunately,they
only found three cameras, the rest having been stolen.
Thisworryingissueisbeingaddressedwiththesupport
of local community leaders and efforts have been partiallyrewardedbytherecoveryofthreecamerasandthe
arrestofthepersonresponsible.
The data already obtained from the camera traps is extremelyvaluableprovidinginterestinginformationona
seriesofspecies,includingdamagazellesbutalsodorcas
gazelles,Barbarysheep,andseveralspeciesofcarnivore,
includingwhatmightturnouttothe irstrecordfor an
AfricanwolfinthispartofNiger.
A survey of addax distribution was carried out in November. The route followed the ixed transects (4 x 50
km long) designed in 2007 for regular monitoring. A
groupof3addaxwasobservedand35tracksdiscovered
intheTinToummadesert.Asinprevioussurveys,good
pasturewasfoundinsomeareas(seemap),whichcorrespondtothehighestobservedaddaxdensities.
Inordertounderstandtheimpactofpasturequalityand
humandisturbanceonaddaxdistribution,wecompared
the data collected on speci ic transects over the past 6
yearsinthedry-coolseasonfromNovembertoJanuary.
The results are striking (see igure), addax distribution
isnegativelycorrelatedtohumanpresence(correlation
coef icient = -0.51), showing addax are affected by humanactivities.
YoungDamagazellewalkingdownthewadiinTermitmassif
Withtheassistanceofaninternationalconsultant,SCF’s
teaminNigerhaspreparedandsubmittedaproposalto
Birdlife International to list the Termit Massif as an internationally signi icant Important Bird Area (IBA) for
bird conservation. With 140 bird species inventoried,
including threaten migratory birds, such as the pallid
harrier and lesser kestrel, the Termit massif is highly
importantfortheirsurvival.Themassif’stemporary,wet
season waterholes also attract many birds, which use
themasstop-overpointsontheirmigrationtorestand
feed.
As part of SCF’s ongoing work in in protected areas in
Niger and Chad, data on vultures is systematically collected and analyzed, including that from a long-term
study of the nesting habits of the lappet-faced vulture
Torgos tracheliotos in the Termit Massif. Rü ppell’s vultureGypsrueppelliisthemostfrequentlyobservedspecies and examples of tree-nesting by this species in different parts of the Sahel have been reported. The importance of protected areas for vulture conservation is
documentedinarecentarticlepublishedbySCFandits
partners in African Bird Club Bulletin Vol. 20, N° 2
(Wacheretal.,2013). 5
Addaxphotographedindry-coolseasonwithgoodpasture
Healthcareactivities
Thanks to the support of our donors, two further missionswerecarriedoutin2013toprovidehealthcareto
the remote local communities inhabiting the reserve.
Some 500 nomads have been treated for various ailments and more than 160 women and children have
been vaccinated against yellow fever, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis,measles,tetanus,etc.Sincethebeginningof
thesehealthcaremissionsin2009,morethan2,800illnesseshavebeentreatedandalmost4,500vaccinations
(including booster shots) dispensed, mainly to women
andchildren.
Childtreatedbyadoctorduringthehealthcaremission
Someimportantchallengesfortheyearahead
InspiteoftheprogressachievedandthededicationandcommitmentoftheNigergovernmentanditsWildlifeDepartment,theTermit& Tin ToummaNationalNatureReserveneedsstrongandcontinuedsupporttobeeffective
andmeetitsvitallyimportantconservationgoalsandmissiontoprotectitsthreatenedbiodiversity.Poachingofaddax,gazellesandBarbarysheepbymilitaryforcesandotherscontinuetobeamajorthreatandruntheriskofunderminingthesigni icanteffortandresourcesinvested.Poorcoordinationbetweenthestakeholdersconcernedimpedesthereserve’smanagersfromsolvingthisissue.Solutionsinclude:

improvedsupporttothereserve’smanagementtoensuretheapplicationofrelevantlegislationandthe
controlofillegalactivities;

improvedcoordinationbetweenthestakeholders(army,localherders,oilsector,foresters,localauthorities,
etc.)toensureintegratedsolutionsbene icialtoall;

continuedpublicawarenessatlocal,regionalandnationallevel;

strengtheningoflocalcapacityforimprovedmonitoringofwildlifeandhumanactivities;

increasedsupportforinnovativemethodsinhealthcare,educationandwatersecurityforthelocal
community.
Thankyouforyoursupport!
FOLLOWUSON
www.saharaconservation.orgorwww.facebook.com/SaharaCFContactinformation:[email protected] 6