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Building the capacity for comprehensive survey and monitoring of key wildlife species and habitat features in the Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal

Terrestrial protected area Key biodiversity area

Governance Management Effectiveness

National or local PA agency

Threatened Species Survey/Data knowledge management Capacity building

495,240.94 EUR ; Western Africa September 01, 2020 - August 31, 2022

Protected and conserved area(s) concerned

Niokolo-Koba National Park, World Heritage Site, 2580

Diagnostic tools used

Strategic documents at the protected area, national and regional levels (e.g. management plans, KBAs and key landscapes for conservation analysis).

The BIOPAMA AC Objective addressed

Enhance the management and governance of priority protected areas by addressing existing limitations (strengthening on-site infrastructure/equipment for patrolling, poaching control, developing capacity of staff).

Priority need addressed

Provide survey (baseline and/or monitoring) of a minimum number of key elements before any management decision on key species and ecosystem services;
Minimise the threats to the protected area, including poaching, nomadic grazing, and invasive species.

Project activities

All the actions developed through this project are ultimately aimed to strengthen on-site capacity of the Direction of National Parks (DPN), to conduct wildlife surveys in a scientifically sound manner and to establish an ecological monitoring system for better management of Niokolo Koba´s key wildlife and habitats. To achieve this, the project will develop the following activities:

Providing to the park an ultra-light plane and experienced pilot to carry out park-wide wildlife monitoring and threat assessments;
Providing to the park an appropriate flat-bottom boat to conduct crocodile inventories
Providing to the park a Technical Assistant for ecological monitoring ensuring appropriate training of DPN´s staff in the use of monitoring methods and tools and that results are used for adaptive management;
Setting up targeted population monitoring for a sub-set of extremely rare species, such as lion, African wild dog, Western giant eland and elephant;
Mapping and assessing the status of all water points and other key wildlife habitats within the park;
Contributing to the formulation of management solutions and providing relevant information at a national and international level for awareness raising and conservation planning.

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

Protected Areas of regional/global importance such Niokolo-Koba National Park generally have comprehensive monitoring programs which keep track of the health status and trends of key natural assets, permitting an early warning and the formulation of corrective measures should a specific species, biome or important habitat feature come under threat. All such mechanisms are currently lacking in Niokolo-Koba, and the park authorities depend on outside assistance to produce relevant updates on the status of key wildlife and habitat features. In the context of the BIOPAMA AC objective “to enhance the management and governance of priority areas by addressing existing limitations” the proposed project will strengthen the ability of the DPN to effectively (and eventually autonomously) manage the park ´s irreplaceable biodiversity assets by generating relevant and updated ecological information and by providing the DPN with the tools and the capacity for an appropriate, comprehensive, standardized and easily replicable park monitoring system, targeting all key wildlife species and habitat features .

Download the project infofiche.