Monitoring Data Reveals Improvement in Patrol Coverage and Threat Detection in Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Area
Blog | 3/05/24
Over 30 rangers from Bwindi Mgahinga conservation area recently vowed to strengthen ranger-based monitoring around the protected area. The rangers and their wardens from the various sectors of Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Area (BMCA) met in Kabale to share experiences about field data collection and the outcomes. The shared information includes data on illegal activities in the park like poaching, patrol trends and ecological data.
Clovis Turyamubona, Ecological Monitoring and Research Ranger in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park says “Ranger based monitoring meetings are so essential because they complete the adaptive management cycle. Sharing ranger patrol information equips the managers with information on the patrol coverage, highlights the hotspot areas and allows for joint planning to improve and address the identified gaps in our patrolling.”
Data sharing meetings are organized by IGCP and held bi-annually within Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Area. They are attended by the Ecological Monitoring/Research teams, Law Enforcement teams plus Sector Wardens and IGCP staff. The meetings provide an opportunity for Uganda Wildlife Authority staff to reflect, evaluate and appreciate the level of effort put into data collection, the analysis made of the data and how it’s being used.
The meetings also help in identifying less-reached areas of the park and laying strategies on how to collect data effectively and efficiently from these areas. Encouraging to note is that there was an improvement in patrol coverage and threat detection in the second half of 2023 compared to the first half of the year. For example, during that period, patrols at Buhoma increased 5 times to 500 in 2023 compared to a mere 100 recorded in 2022. Thanks to the rangers who have made it intentional to collect data from the entire park.
