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| Caucasus Leopard Working Group, | |
| Monitoring for the conservation of the leopard in the Caucasus Ecoregion - Findings and recommendations from the workshop on conservation monitoring of leopards, co-predators and prey in the Caucasus Ecoregion | |
| 2011 Full Book | |
The Persian leopard _Panthera pardus saxicolor _is the most prominent flagship species of the Caucasus Ecoregion. A Strategy for the Conservation of the Leopard in the Caucasus Ecoregion was developed in 2007 and is now being implemented through National Action Plans. Monitoring is an important requirement of the Strategy and the NAPs. A group of 31 leopard experts and wildlife researchers and conservationists met from 16-19 May 2011 in Tbilisi, Georgia, to discuss the monitoring at national and ecoregional scale. The Goal of the workshop was to agree on a simple and feasible plan for a monitoring scheme for leopards, co-predators and prey for the entire Caucasus Ecoregion. Specific Objectives were (1) review and discuss monitoring methods. (2) Review monitoring concepts and methods applied for cross-border baseline surveys and monitoring of cats. (3) Outline a practical, standardised and consistent monitoring for the conservation of the leopard in the Caucasus. (4) Define the needs for the implementation of the survey and monitoring plan. Sound and reliable monitoring requires co-operation between state agencies (which have typically a legal obligation to survey wildlife populations), conservation NGOs and scientists. Crude data and rough estimations on wildlife populations are available from state institutions in all Caucasian countries, mainly from protected areas. These data are however rarely compiled in a consistent way and not compatible among the countries. NGOs and scientific institutions have tested and applied more sophisticated monitoring methods e.g. in Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran, but nowhere, these efforts have so far led to the establishment of a permanent and consistent monitoring scheme. The start-up for a lasting and large-scale monitoring system is a Baseline Survey to gather initial information. Simple and cheap survey methods are used to screen the entire potential range and hence to compile a set of standardised and comparable information. The general approach is to collect information mainly through interrogation of the local people, especially of groups interacting with wildlife, such as hunters, livestock breeders, etc. A common protocol must be developed and adapted to local/national needs. The general resolution is 10 x 10 km, but a finer grid can be applied wherever needed. A first test run will be started in autumn 2011 in NE Turkey. Table 1 (page 12) summarises the needs for baseline information for leopard, co-predators, prey, and conflicts and attitudes in each country and suggests a time frame. The priority areas for the Baseline Survey are presented in chapter 3.3. Conservation monitoring comprises the continuous surveillance of the status of target wildlife populations and the effect and efficiency of conservation or management measures. A number of methods for wildlife monitoring are available and have been applied in the Caucasus. As the best methods are also the most expensive, data from different sources and generated by various approaches need to be used. Combining data requires categorisation of information, e.g. in three steps: C1 = unchallenged data ("hard facts"), C2 = confirmed data, and C3 = unconfirmed data. Compiling and confirming data needs a network of trained people. Active monitoring methods used so far for leopard include camera-trapping (both opportunistic and systematic for capture-mark-recapture estimations), track and sign transects, and collection of excrements. Passive (opportunistic) monitoring bases on the systematic and standardised collection of information provided by local people and any informants through the monitoring network. Standardised protocols and forms are required. Only Iran has presently a system to collect and manage chance observations. Monitoring of main prey species is an important part of leopard conservation. Potential prey of leopard in the Caucasus are Bezoar goat, wild sheep, wild boar, locally red deer and roe deer, and possibly hare and ground birds, and as alternative food livestock. Most Caucasian countries provide rather exact numbers of game species, the methodological base for these estimations is however not always clear. More scientific approaches (mainly Relative Abundance Indices) have been tested in Armenia. Monitoring ungulates in mountainous terrain is difficult. Cheap methods are not reliable, and reliable methods are very costly. The general opinion of the participants was however that prey availability is not a limiting factor for the presence of leopard and that consequently monitoring of prey is not a main priority. The long-term monitoring for the conservation of leopard requires a cooperation of many institutions and a sensible combination of various approaches. The principle of "stratified monitoring" (Fig. 7, page 26) should be applied, including a spatial concept (e.g. 3 levels in the Caucasus), categorisation of reports, splitting tasks and sharing data. Over a large area (the potential leopard range), only cheap and readily available data can be collected. Sophisticated methods for active monitoring should be used in well-designed reference areas. Field protocols and observation forms must be standardised across the Caucasus and then adapted to local needs and languages. In each country, a monitoring network needs to be established and trained. Table 7 (page 29) provides an overview of target groups and monitoring skills to be trained. A Field Guide or Monitoring Handbook needs to be developed as training tool and reference for the monitoring work. The organisational structure for the monitoring includes (1) national networks, (2) national monitoring centres as focal points, and (3) an international Persian Leopard Network for the Caucasus. National monitoring centres should be affiliated with a well-known institution, either a GO or NGO. The centres host a database compiling all information from the monitoring, including collections of samples. The national monitoring networks consist of trained people (e.g. park staff or volunteers) equally distributed over the potential leopard range. Network members are responsible for (1) awareness raising among local people, (2) collecting and reporting chance observations, and (3) confirming reported observations as far as possible. The international network consists of a number of leopard conservation experts from all countries who need to develop a standardised monitoring approach for the whole range. The international network is also responsible for a regular compilation, assessment and publication of reports on the conservation status of the leopard in the entire ecoregion. The Network should become the ultimate authority for leopard conservation also for national governments and international institutions. Concrete assignments from the workshop (to be done by the end of the year): (1) Baseline surveys in designated regions, starting with a test run in NE Turkey. (2) CMR camera trap survey of the Iranian source populations. (3) Establishment of the "Persian Leopard Network for the Caucasus". (4) Seek endorsement from the Caucasus Biodiversity Council and strengthen the awareness for the importance of the Iranian source populations. (5) Establish national monitoring centres as focal point for the national monitoring networks. (6) Develop a monitoring field handbook. |
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