Copyright

Mathilde Brassine

Published On

2024-08-02

Page Range

pp. 471–482

Language

  • English

Print Length

12 pages

18. Lion Rangers’ use of SMART for lion conservation in Kunene

  • Mathilde Brassine (author)
Chapter of: Etosha Pan to the Skeleton Coast: Conservation Histories, Policies and Practices in North-west Namibia(pp. 471–482)
SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) is a set of software and analysis tools used to enable rapid collection and transfer of patrol data, in order to assess Ranger activities in the field and monitor wildlife movements on an ongoing basis. In north-west Namibia, a small population of desert-adapted
lions continues to survive alongside livestock farmers and communities living in conservancies, often resulting in human- lion conflict in a context where livelihoods are already strained due to prolonged drought in the region, as well as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognising the urgent need to mitigate this conflict, in 2017 the MEFT drew up a strategy on a way forward in the form of the Human Lion Conflict Management Plan for North West Namibia. The formation of the Lion Rangers Programme is part of this strategy. The SMART system was first implemented into the programme in September 2021. This chapter discusses how the SMART system supports decision-making regarding lion conservation and management at a community-level.

Contributors

Mathilde Brassine

(author)

Mathilde Brassine grew up in Namibia and obtained her MSc in Zoology from Rhodes University in South Africa, in 2012. Through her study subject, the black-backed jackal, she discovered an interest for the challenging issue of human-wildlife conflict. She returned to Namibia to join the tourism industry as a freelance tour guide, specialising in trips to the remote Kunene region, where she became more familiar with the CBNRM (Community Based Natural Resource Management) conservation approach. In 2020, she joined TOSCO (Tourism Supporting Conservation Trust) which became the implementing support organisation for the newly reactivated Lion Rangers program. The Lion Rangers partner with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism and associated NGOs to mitigate human-lion conflict in northwest Namibia. Mathilde oversees program administration including ensuring all Ranger field activities, training, funding, and use of the SMART system by the Lion Rangers.