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2018 Results

By 2024, the main objective is to install a collective dynamic allowing the preservation of the forest ecosystem in the Northern Zone of Kibale National Park and its endangered fauna, thanks to the reduction of human-wildlife conflicts and the initiation of the development of organic and non-wildlife palatable agricultural sectors. 

COMPONENT 1 : Strengthening of the collective governance of the riparian communities in Sebitoli and of the institutions involved

In order to improve the collective and participatory governance of the communities bordering the National Parc of Kibale in the Sebitoli zone and in the 6 targeted villages as well as their coordination with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), various actions have been put in place.

In September 2018, during 5 days, John-Paul Okimat carried out a mission in France, at the MNHN. He was able to meet the PCGS team and the Museum team and received training for his position as coordinator. John Paul then returned to Uganda and took up his position with the Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project in November 2018. He plays a fundamental role in terms of communication between France and Uganda and in the daily management of the field team. 

In Uganda, at the Sebitoli research station, weekly activities are organized for village children to increase their interest in the park and wildlife.

In order to assess the seriousness of the problems encountered in the face of elephant damage, meetings were organized with the villagers by Julie Bonnald, PhD student CIFRE-MNHN/Kinomé. With the help of SCP's research assistant, meetings and surveys were carried out in five of the six target villages during her field mission in April 2018. 

COMPONENT 2: Writing the negative impacts of wildlife on riparian communities and vice versa 

Training courses were followed with the aim of testing innovative and original methods to improve human-wildlife relations. In France, at the Museum, S. Krief (Mnhn), N. Metro and Y. Fare (Kinome) received a 3-day training by a specialist in human-elephant conflict, Sebastien Lebel from CIRAD (research centre for agronomy and development). Part of this training consisted in adapting one of their tools, a smartphone data collection system on KoboCollect, to the situation in Sebitoli. A Ugandan research assistant was then trained by Sabrina Krief at KoboCollect. The idea is to quickly collect data on an intrusion by one or more elephants during an interview with a farmer and via a smartphone on a form that is then transferred directly to an xls file in France. This allows Julie Bonnald to have the information almost simultaneouslyA Ugandan research assistant was then trained by Sabrina Krief at KoboCollect.

The campaign to collect data on elephant intrusions into the villagers' cultivated plots has therefore begun and has been carried out daily since July 2018. 

Data collection on chimpanzees' consumption of cultivated plants is also being carried out. By SCP assistants.  The aim of these data is to understand the effect of the presence of domestic food near their forest territory on chimpanzee behaviour. This study is part of Chloé Couturier's CIFRE MNHN-FNH thesis.

Various elements related to human-wildlife conflict are recorded throughout the year.
Notable facts for this year 2018, a chimpanzee-village conflict: a villager killed a chimpanzee (Kimchi, juvenile chimpanzee) who was threatening his crops or his hive (no clear explanation). In the same month, a young chimpanzee, Digit, was hit on the road, seriously injured and suffered multiple fractures to her pelvis and legs. She was to be euthanized 15 days later, despite daily surveillance and the efforts of the SCP. 

The number of traps removed by PCGS in the Sebitoli area was 212 in 2017 and 156 in 2018, representing a 27% reduction in the number of traps. The objective of these traps is to capture wildlife for consumption. They caused death or very severe injuries to nearly 30% of Sebitoli chimpanzees.

Despite the removal of most of the traps, many elephants (observed through the camera at. Presence detection: in 19 clips, elephants with severed trunks) and chimpanzees were injured. These cameras are triggered automatically when movement is detected by a motion sensor or an infrared sensor. 

The camera tracking project had to be interrupted due to the theft of trap cameras. In 2018, 6 trap cameras were stolen compared to 3 in 2017. 

COMPONENT 3: Valorization of organic production and fair trade

In order to promote organic production and fair trade on existing crops on the edge of the KNP in the Sebitoli zone and to initiate the development of new sectors, the PCGS teams are raising awareness among local communities about the harmful effects of using phytosanitary products. 

The teams are basing their work on the initial results of the campaign to assess pollution by phytosanitary products and their endocrine disruptive effects, launched in August 2018. The analysis is being carried out in three rivers and a swamp in the area.