State of the Forest: Data harmonization and management Helping us to know whether we are getting the job done.

From diversity…

…to harmony

Distance to Nearest Major Road Probability of Elephant Occurrence Within Protected Area Outside Protected Area Elephant occurrence versus distance to road and interpretation through unified analysis…

Distance to Nearest Major Road Probability of Human Presence Within Protected Area Outside Protected Area Human presence versus distance to road

…guides monitoring, and informs adaptive management.

Conservation targets We need to measure our progress towards conservation targets at three nested geographical scales : Congo basin, Landscapes, Sites.

And these scales must be harmonized

NATURAL HABITATS, NATURAL HABITATS, FOCAL SPECIES, FOCAL SPECIES, ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES, ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES, DIRECT THREATS, and DIRECT THREATS, and ENABLING CONDITIONS ENABLING CONDITIONS (Well-Being of People, Govt., Economies) What is the condition of, and the impact of actions on…

Critical/Endangered Threatened Troubled/Vulnerable Stabilized Conserved/Success/ Balance Achieved after 10 years current status We want to improve the condition of biological features, or keep them stable over time Improvement takes time, $$, a good strategy, and patience We want to know where we are on this scale, and our trajectory

Cost, timeframe, and confidence Interventions Threats Conservation Target Wildlife and Habitat Direct Indirect Costs of measuring change Level of confidence Time to see an impact Outputs Outcomes Impacts

What Do We Want to Track? An effective measures program should provide a good estimate of : How much the biological targets have changed from their baseline levels and range of variation; The change in intensity and direction of direct threats; The change in status and direction of enabling conditions;

Whether planned conservation implementation is actually happening on the ground; Whether management interventions are working (causal relationships between actions and achievement of targets) What Do We Want to Track?

Harmonized monitoring frameworks have been proposed:

Congo Basin Measures (logframe version)

Congo Basin Measures (from a conceptual model)

Minimum Measures Requirements at the Congo basin Scale Focal Species Habitats & Processes Enabling Conditions Direct Threats 1. Degree of Protection for Priority Areas a. % total & % top priorities b.representation by landscape, remote habitat & ecoregion 2. Habitat Integrity a. total area b. area within priority land/seascapes c. remote habitats where applicable d. linkages, corridors, connectivity index e. flows & barriers to rivers and intact watersheds Focal Species (taxa) a. pop. size b. range trajectory Major Threats to Habitat & Processes Major Threat to Focal Species 6. Legislative Tools 7. Financing for Conservation 8. Protected Area Management Effectiveness 9. Conservation Strategy

Minimum Measures Requirements for Priority Landscapes Focal Species Habitats & Processes Enabling Conditions Direct Threats 1. Degree of Protection for Priority Areas – a. % total & priority areas, b. representation of remote habitats & habitat types 2. Habitat Integrity – a. total area & trajectory of natural habitat, b. %, area, # remote habitats, d. degree of linkage- corridors, e. flows & barriers to rivers, f. intact watersheds 3. 2 Focal Species (taxa) – a. population size, b. distribution trajectory 4. 2 Major Threats to Habitat & Processes 5. 1 Major Threats to Focal Species 6. Legislative Tools status for conservation 7. Financing for Conservation for protected areas 8. Protected Area Management Effectiveness category 9. Conservation Strategy Follows the same general categories as basin scale, but needs to be tailored to the particular natural history, ecology, and conservation situation

Natural Forest Cover; Remote or Low-Access Forests Hunted Forests; Forested Watersheds and River Connectivity; Focal Species (elephants, apes, forest antelope guild, okapi, manatees, whales, key fish, plants); Proposed Minimum Measures for the Congo Basin: biological targets

Direct Threats: unsustainable hunting, dams, poaching, mining, invasive species…..; Enabling Conditions: sustainable financing for protected areas, effective protected area management (limited security issues, transboundary agreements & monitoring systems functional), human capacity. Proposed Minimum Measures for the Congo Basin: threats and enabling conditions

These monitoring frameworks have not yet been widely discussed, agreed, implemented, or institutionalized. These must be the next steps. How do we get there?

Requirements Quantitative basin-wide assessment of what has been done so far, what exists and what is lacking Budgeted monitoring action plan agreed and coordinated among CARPE partners; Appropriate funding for monitoring; Dedicated, technical coordination team (training and field coordination, GIS, design and statistical analysis)

Lines indicate principal communication routes Coordination of SOF measures?