2.2 Results
The five project results designed to achieve the project purpose, are as follows:
- Result 1: MIKE sites are generating regular and reliable information on the status and threats to elephants and other flagship species and on key benchmarks of law enforcement and management effort, in order to support decision making on appropriate management, protection and enforcement needs
- Result 2: Law enforcement, adaptive management and monitoring systems, protocols and capacity are strengthened in high priority protected areas selected on the basis of their critical importance for protection of elephant or other flagship species and the severity of threats
- Result 3: National and subregional-level information, decision-making and inter-agency collaboration systems aimed at protecting elephants and other flagship species and combating the illegal trade in their products are developed and strengthened
- Result 4: International awareness, cooperation, and action in the conservation and protection of elephants and other flagship species are strengthened, including the establishment of an emergency response mechanism to assist sites experiencing sudden law enforcement crises
- Result 5: Law enforcement, adaptive management and monitoring systems, protocols and capacity building approaches supported by MIKES are piloted in selected protected area sites in the Caribbean and Pacific regions, to determine their usefulness and replicability in these regions
2.3 Activities
Result 1: Information on status and threats to elephants and other flagship species and benchmarks on law enforcement and management effort
Result 1 builds upon the successful foundation for strengthening ranger-based monitoring of biodiversity and threats in participating elephant range States established during MIKE Phases I, II and 3.0, involving developing monitoring capacity and systems at both the protected area site and national levels for the implementation of the MIST monitoring system, as well as its successor currently under development, SMART[1]. The MIKES project will continue to support the implementation of these monitoring systems in sites and elephant range States currently participating in MIKE, as well as potentially in additional sites that are of high priority for elephants and/or other flagship species. Another important dimension of the Result will be the establishment of law enforcement benchmarks that can be used by participating MIKE sites to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of their law enforcement systems, as well as to fulfil the broader monitoring requirements of the MIKES project and achievement of the law enforcement targets established by the broader CITES MIKE mandate.
The key activities identified to deliver this result are as follows:
- Activity 1.1 - Develop improved ranger-based monitoring tools and systems based on protected area management needs and constraints, lessons learnt and best practice, including the introduction of the SMART system where appropriate
- Activity 1.2 - Provide technical, capacity building and essential material support as appropriate to existing participating MIKE sites and countries to strengthen and consolidate established ranger-based monitoring (RBM) systems and capacity
- Activity 1.3 - Develop benchmarks of law enforcement and management effort for participating MIKE sites and provide training to participating sites in their application
- Activity 1.4 - Carry out regular assessments of benchmarks and indicators as part of the MIKES Implementation Monitoring System (MIMS)
Result 2: Development of protected area law enforcement, management and monitoring systems, protocols and capacity of selected sites
Result 2 will allow the MIKES project to respond to major current and emerging hotspots for illegal killing of elephants and other target species. In selected priority sites, MIKES will provide technical and operational support for the strengthening of law enforcement capacity and systems of the concerned protected area agencies, through the provision of law enforcement-oriented training, technical support for the design of appropriate law enforcement patrol systems, and key operational support where required. The Result will also support efforts to strengthen the involvement of local communities in the law enforcement effort, alongside other local law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. Priority sites will be selected in accordance with their importance for the protection of key populations of elephants and other CITES-listed flagship species, the scale and nature of the threats to these species, and the likelihood of mitigating these threats through targeted support for the protected area’s law enforcement and management systems.
The key activities identified to deliver this result are as follows:
- Activity 2.1 - Develop and support the establishment of systems for improving the relevance of RBM to adaptive protected area management, including planning RBM operations and responding to information generated
- Activity 2.2 - Develop or revise protected area management plans for selected target sites as a basis for planning and implementing effective law enforcement and adaptive management systems and improving accountability
- Activity 2.3 - Provide technical, operational and material support for the strengthening of existing law enforcement and adaptive management systems and capacity at target sites, incorporating lessons learnt and best practice solutions
- Activity 2.4 - Develop protected area law enforcement capacity to respond to major current and emerging target species poaching crises at hotspots for illegal killing within priority protected areas
- Activity 2.5 - Develop and support initiatives designed to strengthen collaboration between neighbouring local communities, local authorities and protected area management in law enforcement initiatives in target protected areas
- Activity 2.6 - Develop mechanisms for sharing of intelligence information between target sites concerning illegal killing of elephants and other flagship species
Result 3: National and sub-regional information, decision making and intelligence systems
Result 3 addresses the lesson learnt from MIKE Phase II concerning the need to further strengthen national-level information, decision-making and enforcement systems designed to reduce illegal killing of elephants and other flagship species. The Result builds on the positive engagement of national wildlife authorities that has been spearheaded by the MIKE Sub-Regional Support Units, and represents a crucial aspect of MIKES’ efforts to achieve sustainability by enabling national wildlife management agencies to mainstream biodiversity monitoring in their protected area systems and management policies. Another important component of the Result will be the development of national-level activities designed to strengthen the capacity of selected participating countries to combat wildlife crime, including potential policy and legislation initiatives, enhanced availability of critical information, and improved collaboration between national law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. Result 3 will also facilitate and support sub-regional cooperation, information sharing and action to protect elephants and other flagship species, utilising the platform provided by the existing MIKE sub-regional meetings.
The key activities identified to deliver this result are as follows:
- Activity 3.1 - Work with national wildlife agencies to gain buy-in for the development and implementation of law enforcement and management effort benchmarks
- Activity 3.2 - Provide support to focal country protected area institutions in the implementation of biodiversity monitoring systems and their integration in national conservation and environmental planning
- Activity 3.3 - Support the implementation of national wildlife crime and illegal trade intelligence initiatives according to the ICCWC Toolkit framework
- Activity 3.4 - Support national and sub-regional wildlife crime and illegal trade initiatives, including the potential establishment of interagency collaboration initiatives
- Activity 3.5 - Facilitate sub-regional collaboration in conservation of flagship species and law enforcement through the MIKES sub-regional steering committee meetings
Result 4: International awareness, cooperation, and action in the conservation and protection of elephants and other flagship species
Result 4 will continue the process launched in MIKE Phases I and II to catalyse and inform international conservation awareness, collaboration and action through the regular dissemination of reliable, relevant and user-friendly information of the status and trends in elephants and other target species, as well as the international trade in their products. This will include support for other key international initiatives, such as support for the work of TRAFFIC on trade in the target species, including the Elephant Trade Information System, ETIS, and the work of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) on monitoring the population status of elephants and other relevant target species, including the African Elephant Database (AED) maintained by the SSC African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG). The result will also work with these key partner agencies to continue the development of an analytical framework designed to strengthen the integration of analysis and reporting of information across the entire illegal ivory supply chain, from the site level through to the ultimate markets for these products.
Another key component of Result 4 will be the establishment of a MIKES Emergency Response Mechanism (aligned with the CITES/ICCWC Wildlife Incident Support Team – WIST - process) designed to enable MIKES to respond to sudden increases in the illegal killing and/or international trade in elephants and other targeted flagship species at specific sites. Mitigation activities implemented through this mechanism could include strengthening of law enforcement through the provision of equipment, technical expertise or by catalysing law enforcement support on the ground in partnership with other participating governments, and emergency support to wildlife agencies at the national level in combatting sudden escalations in wildlife crime.
A final component of Result 4 is the provision of support for strengthening the capacity of wildlife agencies to collect forensic materials and carry out forensic investigations designed to inform wildlife trade investigations and to pinpoint the origins of illegal products of target species. The major focus of these forensic activities will be at the site level, where the project will build capacity of relevant protected area personnel to conduct forensic activities, linked to the ranger-based monitoring and law enforcement initiatives being supported under Results 1 and 2. Support will also be provided to other levels of the forensic chain, linked to Result 3 (national level) and this result (international level).
The key activities identified to deliver this result are as follows:
- Activity 4.1 - Further develop methodologies for analysing ranger-based monitoring data, designed to ensure the production of reliable, cost effective and user-friendly synthesis information that fulfils CITES decision making
- Activity 4.2 - Compile, analyse and disseminate species status and threats information to CITES and other appropriate international biodiversity conservation mechanisms and forums
- Activity 4.3 - Provide support to ETIS for building and consolidating systems and capacity for monitoring trade in elephant products, and explore collaborations for similar databases for other illegally-traded target species
- Activity 4.4 - Provide support to IUCN SSC in monitoring the population status, trends and threats to elephants and other target species, including support for the African Elephant Database maintained by AfESG
- Activity 4.5 - Design a framework for the implementation of the MIKES Emergency Response Mechanism, and carry out MERM initiatives according to the identified response criteria
- Activity 4.6 - Provide support for strengthening capacity for carrying out forensic investigations at the site level, as well as for strengthening the forensic chain from national to international levels
- Activity 4.7 - Develop and implement partnership mechanisms for coordinating law enforcement, adaptive management and monitoring activities supported by MIKES, exchange of lessons learnt and best practice, and promotion of additional conservation action
Result 5: Piloting of law enforcement, management and monitoring systems, protocolsand capacity building approaches in Caribbean and Pacific protected area sites
Result 5 aims to pilot the key protected area and flagship species monitoring and protection methodologies that have been developed through a decade of the implementation of the MIKE Programme, and that will be further expanded and strengthened through MIKES, in selected protected area sites in the Caribbean and Pacific regions. The main aim will be to test the applicability and relevance of these management approaches outside the African continent, in potentially very different law enforcement and management situations, with different flagship species and different law enforcement challenges.
The key activities identified to deliver this result are as follows:
- Activity 5.1 - Identify appropriate protected area sites for implementing pilot MIKES activities and establish collaboration agreements with the relevant protected area authorities and partner organisations
- Activity 5.2 - Develop and implement practical and effective protected area law enforcement and management systems at pilot protected areas and provide technical and operational support for the strengthening of existing systems, incorporating lessons learnt and best practice solutions
- Activity 5.3 - Establish communication mechanisms between participating sites in the ACP region for exchange of lessons learnt and best practices.