Project Summaries by Program: 2011
See project summaries by country
African Elephant Conservation Fund Summary
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 29 new grants from the African Elephant Conservation Fund totaling $1,774,464.50, which was matched by $3,662,480.31 in leveraged funds. Field projects in fourteen countries (in alphabetical order below) will be supported, in addition to four projects that involve multiple countries.
Central African Republic
AFE-0723 Forest elephant study, Dzanga Clearing, Central African Republic. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will provide ongoing support to the longest running study of African forest elephants. The grantee will provide surveillance and monitoring of the forest elephant population in the region, training of research assistants on elephant identification, and analysis of elephant vocalizations.
FWS: $44,485 Leveraged funds: $45,381
Chad
AFE-0757 Zakouma Elephant Monitoring and Protection Program, Zakoumua National Park and the greater Zakouma landscape, Republic of Chad. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will provide ongoing support for aerial surveillance to conduct anti-poaching activities, perform wildlife surveys during wet and dry seasons, monitor elephant populations and poaching level, and improve the anti-poaching system in Zakouma, Chad.
FWS/USAID: $126,150 Leveraged funds: $168,043
Congo
AFE-0758 Transport for surveillance at Conkouati-Douli National Park, Republic of Congo. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This ongoing project will support the costs of a new vehicle to be used by eco-guards in Conkouati-Douli National Park in the Republic of Congo. The eco-guards will use the vehicle to conduct anti-poaching patrols, resupply remote field teams, and maintain roadblocks to prevent trafficking in illegal wildlife products, especially bushmeat.
FWS: $48,555 Leveraged funds: $22,145
Democratic Republic of Congo
AFE-0713 Elephant conservation in the Ituri Forest: building critical infrastructure for elephant protection in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In partnership with Gilman International Conservation (GIC). This grant will support the construction of housing for wildlife personnel from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s national wildlife authority, the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), at a new outpost on the eastern side of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. The area is under tremendous pressure from settlers clearing land and from poachers seeking ivory and bushmeat so additional anti-poaching presence on the main access route into the reserve is essential.
FWS/USAID: $104,740 Leveraged funds: $8,820
AFE-0768 Securing the Tutu Basin elephant population through monitoring, reporting and associated activities. In partnership with Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation, Inc. This new project will improve knowledge of and security for an elephant population between Salonga and Maiko national parks in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Transects will be conducted, mapped, and repeated every six months in order to estimate baseline population levels and to rapidly detect and respond to threats in the area. The grantee will regularly visit sensitive areas where wildlife gather at mineral licks to provide a security presence.
FWS: $152,410 Leveraged funds: $392,778
Gabon
AFE-0707 Toward optimizing acoustic methods for elephant conservation. In partnership with Cornell University. This project will further a promising new technology for monitoring elephant activity and human activity (including vehicles and gunshots) using unmanned acoustic recording units deployed in the Central African forest. The grantee will further automate the software program that sifts through the recordings to isolate elephant and poaching sounds, and train local Gabonese and Congolese conservationists in using these techniques to monitor remote sites.
FWS: $78,768 Leveraged funds: $50,268
AFE-0721 Conserving the elephants of the Djoua-Zadie-Mwagna area of North-East Gabon. In partnership with Zoological Society of London. This project will provide baseline information on wildlife in the Gabonese portion of the Dja-Minkebe-Odzala trinational landscape. The grantee will conduct rapid reconnaissance surveys to estimate mammal abundance and relative population densities and to record levels of human disturbance and threats to wildlife in the northern Belinga-Djoua area and the eastern Zadie area. These regions are currently undergoing rapid transformation due to mining and extractive industries.
FWS: $50,555 Leveraged funds: $25,567
AFE-0767 Protecting Gabon's elephant populations via aerial surveillance. In partnership with Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux. This grant will support the operating costs of a small aircraft to conduct aerial surveillance of Gabon’s national parks. The grantee will detect and respond to signs of poaching targeting forest elephants, prevent future illegal incursions, and conduct systematic surveys of the savannah and swamp areas of Bateke, Lope, Loango, and Wonga Wongue parks.
FWS/USAID: $100,000 Leveraged funds: $187,300
Ghana
AFE-0752 Elephant conservation through law enforcement and community awareness. Mole National Park, Ghana. In partnership with Born Free USA. This grant will support operating costs for patrols by Ghana’s National Parks authority in Mole National Park. The grantee will also conduct outreach to communities adjacent to the park to create awareness of local impacts that threaten the park’s wildlife and to introduce techniques to mitigate conflict with elephants.
FWS: $22,200 Leveraged funds: $224,600
Guinea
AFE-0753 Improving the protection of forest elephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis) and reducing human-elephant conflicts at Ziama forest and Ziama-Wenegesi corridor in Southeastern Guinea, West Africa. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This grant will support the second year of funding for Ziama Biosphere Reserve to continue wildlife protection and monitoring activities, identify and protect elephant corridors that are still viable, and to develop a strategy to mitigate human elephant conflict around the reserve.
FWS: $74,319 Leveraged funds: $83,765
Kenya
AFE-0706 Training of Northern Rangelands Trust Community Conservancy Scouts at Kenya Wildlife Service Manyani Field Training School, Kenya. In partnership with Northern Rangelands Trust. This project will train 70 community scouts from 15 conservancies at Kenya’s National Wildlife Training School. The scouts will be trained in basic patrol techniques and tactics, first aid, national wildlife policy, map reading and GPS navigation, radio communication procedures and physical fitness.
FWS: $48,380 Leveraged funds: $75,000
AFE-0718 Building community scout capacity to enhance the viability of the Oldonyiro elephant corridor in Isiolo, Kenya. In partnership with African Wildlife Foundation. This project will expand the coverage of community scouts to an additional community owned area, Oldonyiro, in northern Kenya. Locally recruited scouts will be trained, provided with equipment, deployed on patrols, and will liaise with scouts from the adjacent four communities in order to better secure the area for elephants and other wildlife.
FWS: $48,960 Leveraged funds: $29,374
AFE-0750 Optimizing of radio communications in the network of community conservancies to improve security for elephants in northern Kenya. In partnership with Northern Rangelands Trust. This project will install a new security radio network in and around the eighteen community conservancies that comprise the Northern Rangelands Trust in northern Kenya to improve coverage for community scouts securing elephants and other wildlife.
FWS: $49,190 Leveraged funds: $75,084
AFE-0761 Enhancing problem elephant monitoring in and around Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Laikipia District, Kenya. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This project will deploy and monitor several innovative, non-invasive, non-lethal experimental methods to prevent elephants from raiding crops at farms adjacent to an important wildlife area in central Kenya.
FWS: $54,614 Leveraged funds: $41,513
AFE-0766 Community based conservation of wild African elephants in the Mathews and Ndoto mountain ecosystems, northern Kenya. In partnership with The Milgis Trust. This grant will support community scouts, enabling them to conduct anti-poaching patrols and to secure access to water for elephants and other wildlife, thereby alleviating conflict with livestock. The scouts will monitor ecosystem health (vegetation quality, wildlife densities, and water availability) in Kenya’s arid northern rangelands, including the Mathews and Ndotos mountain ranges.
FWS: $24,999 Leveraged funds: $222,070
Mali
AFE-0760 The Mali Elephant Project, Phase III: managing human-elephant contact. In partnership with WILD Foundation. This project will improve human coexistence with the Gourma elephants in Mali. The grant will support a collaborative effort by international and local organizations in their campaign to improve natural resource management decisions locally and nationally, and to alleviate human-elephant conflict.
FWS: $47,994 Leveraged funds: $588,865
Mozambique
AFE-0736 Upgrade of VHF security radio network in Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique. In partnership with Sociedade para a Gestao e Desenvolvimento da Reserva do Niassa (SRN). This project will install a new security radio network in and around the Niassa Reserve to improve coverage for wildlife personnel protecting Mozambique’s largest elephant population.
FWS: $49,913 Leveraged funds: $71,365.31
Nigeria
AFE-0759 Strengthening the protection of elephants at Yankari Game Reserve through enhanced law enforcement action and monitoring 2011-2012. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will provide continued support to provincial government wildlife personnel, enabling them to conduct more efficient and effective anti-poaching patrols in and around the Yankari Game Reserve in Nigeria.
FWS: $79,430 Leveraged funds: $47,612
South Africa
AFE-0705 Fertility and aggression control in wild African elephant bulls through GnRH vaccination. In partnership with University of the Western Cape (UWC). This project will monitor the effects of a reversible male immunocontraception method already being tested on elephants in South Africa. The technique has potential for controlling elephant population size in closed protected areas or areas with local overpopulation, without dangerous adverse effects on elephant behavior.
FWS: $44,680 Leveraged funds: $186,000
AFE-0747 The transboundary elephant research programme within Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, South Africa. In partnership with Save the Elephants. This ongoing project will monitor focal elephants throughout the Kruger National Park and adjacent areas to better understand elephant population dynamics, social behavior, dispersal, and ecological impact.
FWS: $64,343 Leveraged funds: $66,112
Tanzania
AFE-0737 Protecting connectivity, reducing conflict: conserving the elephant metapopulation of south-central Tanzania. In partnership with Udzungwa Elephant Project. This project will improve protection of elephants and key habitat in and around the Udzungwa Mountains of southern Tanzania. The grantee will identify and monitor corridors between protected areas used by elephants. They will also initiate programs to protect connectivity and dispersal areas for these increasingly isolated elephant populations.
FWS: $37,035 Leveraged funds: $64,866
Zambia
AFE-0703 Elephant conservation through community based law enforcement; supporting village scout anti-poaching work in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. In partnership with South Luangwa Conservation Society. This grant will provide ongoing support for anti-poaching patrols and the establishment and maintenance of temporary outposts during the wet season. It will also cover operating expenses for aerial support to prevent poaching and enable quick response to provide veterinary care for animals caught in snares in and around South Luangwa, Zambia.
FWS: $52,822.50 Leveraged funds: $187,610
AFE-0708 Support for law enforcement officer housing improvements to enhance the protection of elephant, Loxodonta africana, in North Luangwa National Park. In partnership with Frankfurt Zoological Society. This grant will support the construction of 24 houses for wildlife police officers and their families at North Luangwa National Park’s headquarters at Mano. In order to increase anti-poaching patrols and security for the region’s elephants and other wildlife, the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) is transferring more staff to the area and additional housing is required.
FWS: $86,393 Leveraged funds: $94,208
AFE-0729 Conserving vital habitat for the elephant population of Kasanka National Park and the Greater Bangweulu Area, Zambia. In partnership with Kasanka Trust. This grant will support operational costs for patrol teams in Kasanka National Park to intensify patrol coverage in the park. It will also support a community outreach officer to expand the elephant conflict mitigation program outside the park.
FWS: $24,999 Leveraged funds: $99,386
AFE-0733 Support for aerial operations and law enforcement activities for North Luangwa National Park. In partnership with North Luangwa Conservation Programme. This grant will support ground and aerial patrols to secure the North Luangwa ecosystem in eastern Zambia. The grantee will provide rations for field patrols conducted by Zambia Wildlife Authority rangers (ZAWA) and support operating costs for vehicles and aerial surveillance.
FWS: $64,930 Leveraged funds: $202,137
Multiple Countries
AFE-0710 Supporting the core activities of the Secretariat of the IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group. In partnership with IUCN (International Union for Conservation of the Nature and Natural Resources). This grant will support the African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) Secretariat to compile and synthesize information on the conservation and status of the African elephant, and to provide technical information and impartial advice to governments, non-governmental organizations and inter-governmental organizations. The result will be improved conservation effectiveness in range and non-range states.
FWS: $40,700 Leveraged funds: $112,233
AFE-0744 Operation Lucky Dice Part II: Activating cooperation between African and Asian law enforcement. In partnership with FREELAND Foundation. This grant will support the second year of a campaign to promote cooperation between African wildlife and law enforcement agencies with their counterparts in Southeast Asia, aiming to detect and intercept illegally trafficked wildlife and to improve prosecution rates. The grantee will arrange an exchange visit to Kenya by all participants and joint investigations into ivory smuggling.
FWS: $49,208 Leveraged funds: $15,045
AFE-0749 Supporting the management and operation of the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS): assessing illegal trade in ivory for CITES COP16. In partnership with TRAFFIC International. The Elephant Trade Information System monitors and analyzes trends in illegal hunting and trade in ivory in elephant range states and illegal consumer markets. This grant will help finance the analysis of information from June 2008 through July 2011 in preparation for the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species.
FWS: $63,832 Leveraged funds: $235,387
AFE-0730 Assigning origins to major versus minor ivory markets. In partnership with University of Washington. This grant will support the genetic analysis of illegal ivory shipments intercepted in two seizures in Thailand and one seizure in Kenya in 2010. Genetic analysis will help confirm the ivory's country of origin and assist law enforcement and prosecution efforts.
FWS: $39,860 Leveraged funds: $39,946
Asian Elephant Conservation Fund
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 29 new grants from the Asian Elephant Conservation Fund totaling $1,530,367.00, which was matched by $2,456,665.00 in leveraged funds. Field projects in six countries (in alphabetical order below) will be supported.
Cambodia
ASE-0570 Strengthening government capacity on elephant monitoring and management. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This grantee will collect important data on Asian elephants population in the northern half of the Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary using camera traps. The project will train rangers in camera trap deployment and maintenance and support government-led human-elephant conflict response teams to educate and train local people in conflict mitigation.
FWS: $48,106 Leveraged funds: $102,060
ASE-0511 Kouprey Express: broadening outreach on Asian elephant conservation in Cambodia. In partnership with Wildlife Alliance. Support from this grant will allow the Kouprey Express to maintain and expand its sustained environmental education program with a strong elephant conservation theme. The grantee will present this program to thousands of disadvantaged schoolchildren and their families living in or around the Cardamom Mountains protected areas, resulting in an increased understanding of and support for the region’s biodiversity.
FWS: $54,454 Leveraged funds: $151,829
ASE-0541 Developing a conservation strategy and action plan for the Asian elephant in Cambodia. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This grant will support a national workshop to formulate and produce the Cambodian Elephant Strategy & Action Plan for the conservation of the Asian elephant in Cambodia. The grantee will also complete a Human-Elephant Conflict Substation in the Cardamom Mountains.
FWS: $53,975 Leveraged funds: $103,681
ASE-0517 Elephant conservation and capacity-building in Seima Protection Forest, Cambodia: Year 5. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will increase the levels of law enforcement in those areas that have previously been identified as elephant ‘hot spots’, ensuring protection in focal areas. The project will also improve capacity of national staff in the use of Management Information Systems (MIST).
FWS: $55,152 Leveraged funds: $54,130
India
ASE-0553 Strengthen protection measures by involving fringe villagers in Manas National Park for the conservation of Asian elephants, Phase - V. In partnership with Wildlife Areas Development and Welfare Trust. This grant will support 40 volunteers for 12 months in Manas National Park, Assam. Volunteers will support the Forest Department staff in their daily law enforcement activities, and assist adjoining villages with human-elephant conflict incidents.
FWS: $46,860 Leveraged funds: $47,200
ASE-0522 Functional connectivity for large mammals in the southern Western Ghats, India: linking movement and distribution. In partnership with Foundation for Ecological Research, Advocacy and Learning. This project will identify small-scale movement corridors via camera trapping. The grantee will quantify the permeability of different land use types and their seasonal dynamics to rank potential corridors for elephant movement, identify bottlenecks, and develop a model that predicts conflict 'hot spots' under different scenarios of corridor restoration. The project will eventually restore degraded corridors without further exacerbating conflict with people.
FWS: $49,809 Leveraged funds: $55,766
ASE-0527 Human Elephant Coexistence HECx: Educator training workshops in Tamil Nadu, India. In partnership with Zoo Outreach Organization. This project plans to bring about attitudinal and behavioral changes in people living in or near elephant habitat to avoid confrontation and conflict and to promote peaceful coexistence between humans and elephants. The grantee will utilize continuously improving new educational tools to train about 120 key educators, managers, volunteers, community heads, and others to use these tools to reach various audiences.
FWS: $84,660 Leveraged funds: $16,050
ASE-0548 Formalizing Manas Biosphere community forest protection forces and expanding the large mammal corridor. In partnership with Community Conservation, Inc. This grant will support 100 men from five groups to continue to put pressure on illegal logging and illegal hunting. The project will strengthen protection around Manas Biosphere Reserve, enhance community co-management, and help strengthen the Assam Forest Department.
FWS: $49,500 Leveraged funds: $114,500
ASE-0504 Human-elephant conflict mitigation in selected areas of Sonitpur and Udalguri districts of Assam State, Northeast India. In partnership with World Wildlife Fund - India. This project will reduce human-elephant conflict and motivate local communities to change their behaviors to reduce interactions between people and elephants. The grant will support anti-depredation teams and "Kunki" (trained) elephants to prevent elephants from raiding crop fields, and awareness raising events to help villagers better understand elephants and their conservation needs.
FWS: $49,996 Leveraged funds: $76,133
ASE-0485 Elephant corridors of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve: location, threats, and management. In partnership with Pondicherry University. This project will produce a baseline record of elephant habitat in the region and location of elephant corridors based on past records. The grantee will assess the present condition of corridors to develop a regional management plan for elephant conservation.
FWS: $38,101 Leveraged funds: $10,333
Indonesia
ASE-0534 Towards a peaceful coexistence between men and elephants in Bukit Tigapuluh, Indonesia (Phase II). In partnership with Frankfurt Zoological Society. This project will promote a conflict hotline and provide continuously updated information to law enforcement for investigation of illegal activities. The results will help law enforcement personnel to investigate human-elephant conflict incidents and refine site-specific mitigation and management strategies and plans.
FWS: $29,920 Leveraged funds: $42,120
ASE-0546 Support of ongoing veterinary training in elephant health care and conservation. In partnership with Asian Elephant Support. This project will help build the capacity of range country veterinarians by allowing them opportunities for practical training and experience exchanges. Additionally, a regional veterinary workshop will be hosted in Sumatra in collaboration with Veterinary Society for Sumatran Wildlife Conservation and the veterinary college in Banda Aceh.
FWS: $41,745 Leveraged funds: $6,130
ASE-0498 Developing the capacity within Indonesia to conduct DNA analyses of elephants and other endangered wildlife species based on non-invasive sampling. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will help develop a laboratory facility in Indonesia that employs DNA based technologies to estimate populations, sex ratios and genetic diversity information for the key elephant populations in Sumatra.
FWS: $62,268 Leveraged funds: $65,407
ASE-0535 Providing field veterinary expertise and services for Sumatran elephants and other endangered Sumatran wildlife conservation programs and activities. In partnership with Veterinary Society for Sumatran Wildlife Conservation. This grant will support veterinary care for injured and sick elephants, help with wild elephant rescue and translocation efforts, and assist with elephant capture and collaring efforts. The grantee will conduct field necropsies and assist with diagnoses, providing data for legal procedures, and helping to build local and international veterinary capacity.
FWS: $54,500 Leveraged funds: $51,047
ASE-0521 Saving the elephants of Bukit Tigapuluh, Sumatra: a genetic population survey as a first step. In partnership with Frankfurt Zoological Society. This grantee will use non-invasive genetic techniques to estimate size, sex ratio, and age structure of Asian elephant populations. The project will explore long term population monitoring possibilities, update distribution data of elephants and other megafauna in the region, and update information on illegal activities. The grantee will build capacity of Indonesian rangers and conservationists to develop a management plan for elephant conservation.
FWS: $56,100 Leveraged funds: $69,800
ASE-0545 Community-based protection of Sumatran elephant populations and habitat in northern Sumatra through Conservation Response Units. In partnership with Veterinary Society for Sumatran Wildlife Conservation. The project will continue to maintain and use captive elephants and to train personnel in Conservation Response Units to carry out elephant-back patrols. The units will monitor wildlife and illegal activities, respond to human-elephant conflict and assess approaches to conflict mitigation in different sites.
FWS: $50,160 Leveraged funds: $114,920
ASE-0516 Protection of threatened megavertebrates in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia by anti-poaching units. In partnership with International Rhino Foundation. This grant will continue operations support for the seven Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park Rhino Protection Units through 2012 in Sumatra, Indonesia. These units are highly trained anti-poaching teams that intensively patrol key areas within the national park. They take appropriate action against attempts to shoot or poison elephants, remove traps, apprehend or identify to the local authorities all suspected poachers so they can be prosecuted, and monitor populations of elephants, rhinos, tapirs and other threatened species.
FWS: $100,000 Leveraged funds: $386,512
ASE-0550 Saving the elephants of Bukit Tigapuluh (Sumatra) with GPS and GIS. In partnership with Frankfurt Zoological Society. This grantee will collar and track elephants with GPS collars to collect information on home range size and habitat usage, and to generate data related to elephant hot spots and active routes. This project will provide information that will help save elephant habitat in the region and explore the use of the GPS/GIS elephant monitoring system as an early-warning system to mitigate human-elephant conflict.
FWS: $49,852 Leveraged funds: $28,500
ASE-0566 Protecting Sumatran elephant populations and resolving human-elephant conflict in Padang Surinam, South Sumatra. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will address two main barriers to effective and sustainable human-elephant conflict mitigation: (1) inadequate support from and coordination among communities, park management, and local government, and (2) insufficient current mitigation efforts, limited to only a few of the many conflict areas in Sumatra. This project will also establish village committees and support systems and set up Active Guarding Units to organize and motivate village protections.
FWS: $49,899 Leveraged funds: $54,403
Malaysia
ASE-0525 Monitoring the effectiveness of translocation as a management and conservation tool for Asian elephants in Peninsular Malaysia. In partnership with Zoologist Have Kobenhavn (Copenhagen Zoo). This project will review translocation programs in peninsular Malaysia since 1974 and analyze spatial and temporal trends in human-elephant conflict, elephant distribution, and population size. The grantee will deploy GPS-satellite transmitters on translocated and non-translocated elephants to compare post-release ranging behavior of translocated elephants with that of elephants that remain in Taman Negara National Park and use study results to develop and disseminate management recommendations regarding translocations.
FWS: $44,606 Leveraged funds: $87,760
ASE-0524 Development and application of molecular genetic tools for management and conservation of elephants in Peninsular Malaysia. In partnership with Zoologist Have Kobenhavn (Copenhagen Zoo). This project will train a Malaysian Department of Wildlife and National Parks research officer on non-invasive, genetic sampling techniques for population estimates. Training will build the officer's capacity to use these techniques for future population estimates, to describe and quantify genetic structure and diversity in the elephant population, to use genetics to study social organization of elephants in Taman Negara National Park and to identify individual crop raiding elephants.
FWS: $40,609 Leveraged funds: $43,494
ASE-0564 WCS/Go Peninsular Malaysia Elephant Project: Year 6, assessment and reduction of human–elephant conflict and capacity building in Endau-Romping. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will continue human-elephant conflict monitoring around Endau Rompin (Johor) National Park. The grantee will analyze the geographical distribution of elephants with respect to forest areas, plantations, and human-elephant conflict incidence in Johor and southern Pahang Provinces. The project will also test electric fences as a human-elephant conflict mitigation method for use in villages and will continue to support community-based mitigation schemes established in four Orang Asli villages.
FWS: $54,452 Leveraged funds: $54,854
Sri Lanka
ASE-0529 Demographic influences of social organization in elephants and devising strategies for alternative human livelihoods. In partnership with Elephant Forest and Environment Conservation Trust. This grantee will conduct vehicle-based photographic identification surveys of elephants within the Ude Walawe National Park as well as surveying households to obtain socioeconomic and livelihood information for people living in and around the park. The project will provide necessary data to the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka, to protect the park and sanctuaries and conduct education and sustainable livelihood programs.
FWS: $49,883 Leveraged funds: $88,995
ASE-0563 The role of fire in maintaining critical Asian elephant habitat in Sri Lanka. In partnership with Smithsonian Institution. This project will determine whether fires can be used to reduce Lantana camara and other shrub invasions into grasslands. It will also determine whether elephants prefer these areas as habitat at Udawalawe National Park and Hurulu Reserve.
FWS: $25,148 Leveraged funds: $13,730
ASE-0484 Radiotelemetric study of elephants for conservation in Sri Lanka and mitigation of human-elephant conflict (Year 2). In partnership with Centre for Conservation and Research. This project will monitor management and development activities and assess their impact on elephants and suggest alternatives to minimize human-elephant conflict. The grantee will develop successful management and conservation strategies by tracking radio-collared elephants, studying their behavior, assessing their body condition, and engaging in discussions with the wildlife authorities and other stakeholders.
FWS: $47,487 Leveraged funds: $35,970
Thailand
ASE-0530 Strengthening protection of elephants in Protected Areas around Srisawat Corridor, West Thailand, by establishing smart patrol systems using MIST. In partnership with Zoological Society of London. The project will improve the capacity of protected area personnel through training and helping them implement a Smart Patrol System.
FWS: $65,543 Leveraged funds: $411,037
ASE-0569 Law enforcement, law enforcement monitoring, and human-elephant conflict mitigation in Kiang Krishna National Park, Thailand, Year 7. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will support law enforcement and monitoring of the effectiveness of the patrolling systems using Management Information System (MIST). The project will increase the capacity of park staff, promote human-elephant conflict mitigation, educate local communities about elephants and conservation, and build a new Elephant Conservation Center.
FWS: $63,432 Leveraged funds: $64,694
ASE-0573 Sustaining wildlife guardians in Thailand’s forgotten park. In partnership with FREELAND Foundation. This project will provide sustainable professional skills development for rangers to safely carry out their jobs in Thap Lan and Pang Sida National Parks. The grantee will study elephant (and other wildlife) population abundance and distribution in Thap Lan and Pang Sida National Parks, and reduce human-elephant conflict around Thap Lan National Park.
FWS: $49,988 Leveraged funds: $35,751
ASE-0554 Elephant protection, distribution monitoring, and education campaigns in the Western Forest Complex, Thailand. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will complete the occupancy work in lower WEFCOM started in 2010 and initiate nature education campaigns with the elephant as a flagship species in 6 key schools and communities. The grantee will conduct follow-up monitoring with 8 patrol teams in Thung Yai West Wildlife Sanctuary and train 25-30 students on elephant and wildlife occupancy and population monitoring techniques.
FWS: $64,162 Leveraged funds: $69,859
Great Ape Conservation Fund
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 51 new grants from the Great Ape Conservation Fund totaling $3,869,265.00, which was matched by $4,538,640.00 in leveraged funds. Field projects in eighteen countries (in alphabetical order by region below) will be supported, in addition to one project that involves multiple countries.
Africa
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 31 new grants in twelve African countries totaling $2,856,203.00 in USFWS funding which was matched by $3,415,953.00 in leveraged funds.
Cameroon
GA-0701 Long-term research and conservation of gorillas and chimpanzees in the Ebo Forest, Cameroon. In partnership with Zoological Society of San Diego. This two-year project will assist the government of Cameroon in the gazettement and demarcation of the proposed Ebo National Park. The grantee will monitor wildlife, support law enforcement activities undertaken by the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife to conserve key populations of gorillas and chimpanzees, and continue to deploy camera traps throughout the forest to document chimpanzee behavior and record hunter presence in the reserve.
FWS/USAID: $138,162 Leveraged funds: $248,882
GA-0807 Use of trained detection dogs to non-invasively collect fecal samples from the Critically Endangered Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) in Cameroon. In partnership with North Carolina Zoological Society. This project will improve the evaluation capacity of Cross River gorilla conservation efforts by exploring the feasibility of using detection dogs both for fecal collection and to identify illegal bushmeat at Douala international airport.
FWS: $46,870 Leveraged funds: $46,900
GA-0852 Wildlife Wood Project: ensuring responsible wildlife management in timber production forests in Cameroon. In partnership with Zoological Society of London. This project will ensure responsible wildlife management in the timber production forests of Central Africa for the benefit of local populations, national governments, and the logging sector.
FWS: $51,968 Leveraged funds: $71,060
Central African Republic
GA-0776 Securing the long-term sustainability of gorilla tourism as a conservation tool at Dzanga-Sangha, Central African Republic: a World Wildlife Fund-U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Great Ape Conservation Fund partnership. In partnership with World Wildlife Fund, Inc. This project will secure the long-term protection of Dzanga-Sangha National Park through surveillance of illegal activity and a gorilla tourism program.
FWS/USAID: $159,457 Leveraged funds: $198,263
GA-0839 Improving protection of great apes in the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic. In partnership with World Wildlife Fund, Inc. This project will secure the long-term protection of great apes and other wildlife in the Sangha Tri-National Landscape through increased transboundary surveillance and law-enforcement.
FWS/USAID: $106,043 Leveraged funds: $171,100
Congo
GA-0770 Developing a strategic plan to conserve the great apes of the Ndoki Landscape, Republic of Congo. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will develop a unified conservation strategy to implement a landscape approach to conserving great apes, elephants, and other wildlife in the Ndoki Landscape of the Republic of Congo.
FWS/USAID: $63,560 Leveraged funds: $29,355
GA-0810 Great ape public awareness project using video-centered education outreach. In partnership with International Conservation and Education Fund. This project will raise awareness of rural communities to conserve great ape populations in the Northern Republic of Congo. The grantee will use a participatory approach involving screenings and dissemination of video to reduce illegal bushmeat hunting, ritual wildlife killings, habitat destruction, and disease transmission.
FWS/USAID: $84,304 Leveraged funds: $116,314
GA-0833 Goualougo Triangle Ape Project: developing conservation policies and local leadership to ensure the long-term survival of chimpanzees and gorillas. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will support the development of professional capacity to implement conservation programs, enhanced surveillance and protection to ape populations in an active logging concession, and an expanded conservation outreach program.
FWS/USAID: $194,689 Leveraged funds: $169,572
GA-0861 Digital media as a mobile education tool to decrease hunting and consumption of bushmeat and bonobos in the Salonga-Lukenie-Sankuru Landscape. In partnership with International Conservation and Education Fund. This project will conserve bonobo populations in Salonga National Park using a participatory approach that involves film screenings and distribution in local languages to reduce bushmeat hunting among rural communities in the Equateur province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
FWS/USAID: $116,391 Leveraged funds: $151,929
GA-0832 Great ape conservation and monitoring in the Lac Tele Landscape, Republic of Congo. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will support the conservation of populations of great apes and elephants in the Lac Tele Community Reserve through a program of law enforcement, evaluation of conservation impact, and training.
FWS/USAID: $183,876 Leveraged funds: $100,775
Cote d'Ivoire
GA-0766 Tai-Sapo Complex: (Cote d'Ivoire - Liberia) improving the conservation of the last remaining West African Chimpanzees. In partnership with Wild Chimpanzee Foundation-Africa. This project will implement a transboundary conservation program to improve management of protected areas throughout the complex with an emphasis on training, monitoring, law enforcement, and community outreach and education.
FWS: $295,478 Leveraged funds: $277,080
Democratic Republic of Congo
GA-0772 Conservation of Grauer's gorillas in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will increase the law enforcement and community outreach capacity of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation in the lowland sector of Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
FWS/USAID: $84,832 Leveraged funds: $81,606
GA-0802 Community drafting and acceptance of conservation zoning across the Tshuapa-Lualaba (TL2) landscape. In partnership with Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation, Inc. This project will create new protected areas in the Tshuapa-Lualaba landscape through a participatory process of local zoning and the creation of a national park.
FWS/USAID: $150,000 Leveraged funds: $485,858
GA-0814 Zamba ya bonobo - expanding the educational and conservation impact of the reintroduction program at Ekolo Ya Bonobo. In partnership with Les Amis des Bonobos du Congo. This project will determine the feasibility of a community based eco-tourism scheme for bonobos in Democratic Republic of Congo.
FWS/USAID: $19,988 Leveraged funds: $12,358
GA-0806 Improving in-situ conservation of bonobos (Pan paniscus) by envrionmental education and capacity building in schools and villages West of Salonga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. In partnership with Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. This project will reduce illegal hunting and habitat degradation in Salonga National Park through an environmental education program among rural communities in the Bandundu province, Democratic Republic of Congo.
FWS/USAID: $55,585 Leveraged funds: $44,382
GA-0830 Protecting the eastern chimpanzee in northern Katanga forests (Kabogo Forest and Luama Hunting Reserve) through community engagement. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will support the conservation of the chimpanzee population in the Ngamikka-Luama Landscape by engaging and building the capacity of local communities.
FWS/USAID: $98,090 Leveraged funds: $47,916
GA-0813 Virunga National Park Rangers' and Widows' Fund. In partnership with Africa Conservation Fund. This cooperative agreement will improve ranger morale through the creation of a fund to provide support to the widows of park rangers killed in the line of duty.
FWS: $132,764 Leveraged funds: $130,040
Gabon
GA-0778 Conservation and research of western gorillas in Loango National Park, Gabon. In partnership with Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. This project will provide an effective deterrent to poaching in Loango National Park through regular surveillance for illegal activities, strategic monitoring of gorillas and other large mammals. It will also strengthen national capacity for science-based conservation and adaptive management, and conservation education.
FWS/USAID: $78,755 Leveraged funds: $58,800
GA-0849 Building capacity for the conservation of great apes in the Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon. In partnership with Protector of Great Apes of Moukalaba. This project will secure the eastern border of Moukalaba-Doudou through community-based ecotourism activities and a targeted environmental education campaign.
FWS: $58,605 Leveraged funds: $110,030
GA-0760 Conserving the great apes of the Djoua-Zadie-Mwagna area of northeast Gabon. In partnership with Zoological Society of London. This project will facilitate the development and implementation of an action plan to conserve great apes and forest elephants in the Djoua-Zadie-Mwanga area of Gabon.
FWS/USAID: $49,865 Leveraged funds: $25,567
GA-0858 Protecting Gabon's great ape populations via improved law enforcement. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will improve the effectiveness of national parks and help to conserve their great ape populations by supporting and independently monitoring the efforts of the Gabonese National Parks Agency (ANPN).
FWS/USAID: $119,711 Leveraged funds: $75,024
Liberia
GA-0821 Strengthening West African chimpanzee conservation through rebuilding capacity in post-conflict Liberia. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This project will develop an applied research program at Sapo National Park and increase conservation capacity in Liberia through a revision of core conservation curriculum at the country’s two universities.
FWS: $49,565 Leveraged funds: $83,320
Nigeria
GA-0801 Improved protection for the Cross River gorilla at Nigeria's Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary enhanced law enforcement action and monitoring. In partnership with North Carolina Zoological Society. This project will conserve the Cross River gorilla and other wildlife at Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary through reduction of hunting and other illegal activities. The grantee will increase the frequency, duration, coverage, and efficacy of anti-poaching patrols.
FWS: $48,470 Leveraged funds: $57,800
Rwanda
GA-0779 Transboundary mountain gorilla habitat protection and surveillance: support to a Regional Information System in the Virunga-Bwindi Forest Ecosystem. In partnership with International Gorilla Conservation Programme. This project will improve park management by supporting ranger based monitoring teams to collect data on the location, intensity, and type of threats impacting mountain gorillas.
FWS/USAID: $59,915 Leveraged funds: $157,024
GA-0769 Conserving Nyungwe's chimpanzees through education and outreach. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will create a long-term constituency in support of chimpanzee conservation around Nyungwe National Park through teacher training, primary school education, community outreach, and the production of outreach materials.
FWS/USAID: $58,103 Leveraged funds: $61,936
GA-0790 My Chimpanzee-My Community. In partnership with PCI Media Impact. This project will complement outreach activities conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Rwandan park authorities to positively change community knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to chimpanzees. The grantee will conduct a radio theatre campaign designed to strengthen engagement in protecting Nyungwe National Park.
FWS/USAID: $63,208 Leveraged funds: $42,788
Sierra Leone
GA-0850 Conservation of chimpanzee habitats: an entertainment-education strategy for protecting Western chimpanzees in post-war Sierra Leone and Liberia. In partnership with PCI Media Impact. This project will reduce threats to chimpanzees by building the capacity of local organizations to implement an awareness campaign, including a regional radio serial drama.
FWS: $99,000 Leveraged funds: $51,944
Tanzania
GA-0818 Using new technologies in chimpanzee censusing to inform landscape-scale habitat management in western Tanzania. In partnership with Jane Goodall Institute. This project will identify and conserve critical chimpanzee habitats in the Masito-Ugalla ecosystem in Western Tanzania using a unique combination of remote acoustic monitoring technologies, non-invasive genetic analysis, field surveys, and GIS methods.
FWS: $68,188 Leveraged funds: $39,995
Uganda
GA-0763 Establishing a national chimpanzee disease and health monitoring programme in Uganda. In partnership with Budongo Conservation Field Station. This project will minimize the threat of disease transmission between humans and chimpanzees in Uganda through a standardized national chimpanzee health monitoring protocol, establishment of a veterinary center, and training for wildlife veterinarians.
FWS: $29,469 Leveraged funds: $94,415
GA-0808 Integrated conservation and microenterprise development model: the Budongo Program, Uganda. In partnership with Village Enterprise Fund, Inc. This project will support alternative livelihood programs to conserve the chimpanzee population in the Budongo forest reserve. The programs will shift human activities away from existing practices toward sustainable methods of food protection, livestock rearing, retail operations, and eco-tourism support.
FWS: $50,000 Leveraged funds: $139,000
GA-0826 Close-contact pathogens, sexually transmitted diseases, and African ape conservation. In partnership with University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. This project will reduce the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases from sanctuary chimpanzees to wild chimpanzees. The grantee will analyse how chimpanzee mating patterns affect pathogen transmission to develop targeted vaccination and/or treatment strategies.
FWS: $31,292 Leveraged funds: $34,920
NOTE: $10,000 funding from the Great Ape Conservation Fund for Wildlife Without Borders-Africa grant AFR-0139, a total grant of $120,000. See the Wildlife Without Borders-Africa project summaries for details.
Asia
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 19 new grants in six Asian countries and one grant in all range states, totaling $1,013,062.00 in USFWS funding which was matched by $1,122,687.00 in leveraged funds.
Cambodia
GA-0784 Continued conservation and monitoring of the yellow-cheeked crested gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) in Southern Mondulkiri, Cambodia. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will support continuing efforts to maintain gibbon populations at their 2008 levels in the core area of Seima Protection Forest. The project will protect gibbons and their habitat, assessing the effectiveness of conservation management through the monitoring of gibbons and other target species, and improve the capacity of Cambodian scientists to analyze the results of 7 years of gibbon conservation.
FWS: $59,386 Leveraged funds: $59,303
GA-0847 Northern Plains of Cambodia Pileated Gibbon Conservation Project: Phase 3. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will support basic equipment, monitoring and targeted patrols to ensure that the pileated gibbon is protected in its most important habitats of this landscape. The grantee will retrain staff in law enforcement techniques and MIST data collection, ensuring effective protection through targeted patrol planning and improved government relations.
FWS: $57,244 Leveraged funds: $61,351
India
GA-0767 Conservation of western Hoolock gibbon in Langlakso-Mikir Hills-Koliyoni and Marat Longri-Patradisa-Longnit Priority Landscapes, Assam, India. In partnership with Primate Research Centre. This project will gather information needed to improve management of gibbons and their habitats and develop public support for gibbon conservation. The grantee will conduct a population estimation and demographic status survey of significant habitats in these landscapes, assessing vegetation and mapping gibbon habitat and the extent of fragmentation. Awareness camps for schools and outdoor nature orientation camps on gibbon conservation will be organized for fringe villages.
FWS: $51,948 Leveraged funds: $22,260
GA-0812 Training of frontline staff for Hoolock gibbon conservation in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India. In partnership with AARANYAK. This project will train foresters to manage the gibbon habitat within their work area. They will learn about the importance of the species and its habitat, the legal protection afforded gibbons and other wildlife by Indian law, how to conduct gibbon population estimates, how to protect gibbons through patrolling and outreach education, and how to identify, age and sex gibbons and other primates.
FWS: $49,995 Leveraged funds: $38,749
GA-0825 Training on habitat management and wildlife conservation for the front line forest personnel of the Protected Areas of Northeast India, Phase III. In partnership with Wildlife Areas Development and Welfare Trust. This grant will support training for ground level forest staff of the protected areas of Assam in modern techniques of wildlife conservation and habitat management, including anti-poaching techniques. Emphasis will be given to the conservation of gibbons, other primates, tigers, elephants and rhinos. Courses will vary in length from three days to two weeks and will reach a total of 250 trainees.
FWS: $45,516 Leveraged funds: $86,880
Indonesia
GA-0774 Support for wildlife protection units in the Bukit Tigapuluh ecosystem, Jambi, Sumatra to protect the Critically Endangered Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii). In partnership with Australian Orangutan Project. This project will provide basic ranger training to recruits to establish two additional wildlife protection units. A vehicle for transportation of the units to their patrol areas will also be provided. This is needed to strengthen the patrol network of the Bukit Tigapuloh Ecosystem.
FWS: $44,999 Leveraged funds: $3,190
GA-0785 Orangutan protection patrols and orangutan population monitoring in the Bukit Tigapuluh Landscape. In partnership with Frankfurt Zoological Society. This grantee will establish two new four person patrol teams to monitor recently released orangutans and conduct a landscape-wide orangutan distribution survey. The project will protect the orangutans and their habitat in the buffer zone of the park where forest encroachment and illegal logging are still common.
FWS: $39,684 Leveraged funds: $223,054
GA-0747 Orangutan conservation through effective law enforcement and media support. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will increase the orangutan population of northern Sumatra by decreasing orangutan poaching, human-orangutan conflict, and habitat fragmentation and loss. The grantee will conduct wildlife crimes investigations, provide legal case advice to government authorities, conduct human-wildlife conflict patrols, and raise awareness of orangutan conservation using the mass media.
FWS: $61,176 Leveraged funds: $63,328
GA-0788 New Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) nest surveys to determine its current distribution, density and abundance. In partnership with PanEco Foundation. This project will provide an update on the distribution, density and abundance of the Sumatran orangutan in the Leuser Ecosystem. The Leuser Ecosystem is by far the most important area for the conservation of the Sumatran orangutan and is estimated to contain 88% of the species’ population. This estimate is, however, based on data from 1990-2001 and is therefore in urgent need of an update because deforestation, degradation and fragmentation have all continued to impact orangutans during the past decade.
FWS: $81,615 Leveraged funds: $161,870
GA-0775 The integration of environmental education and long-term research to increase conservation awareness in communities surrounding the Tuanan Orangutan Research Station, Mawas Area, Central Kalimatan. In partnership with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. This project will support orangutan conservation surrounding the Tuanan Orangutan Research Station by implementing an environmental education program in local communities. The grantee will develop a curriculum for the local school system, provide the communities with up-to-date information on relevant environmental issues and the research findings of the station, and continue to integrate local community members into the research efforts of the Tuanan Research Area.
FWS: $48,219 Leveraged funds: $63,448
GA-0811 Long-term home range size, habitat use, and the effect of habitat disturbance on Sumatran orangutans. In partnership with Yayasan Cipta Citra Lestari Indonesia. This project will provide an improved understanding of the ranging patterns and long-term spatial needs of the Sumatran orangutan. The grantee will analyze 35 years of data from Ketambe Research Station using modern GIS tools to determine the orangutan’s long-term home range size, habitat use patterns, the effects of habitat disturbance on ranging, and behavioral response to habitat change.
FWS: $17,264 Leveraged funds: $21,319
GA-0842 Ecological monitoring as a tool for ape conservation: assessing the effectiveness of conservation initiatives in Sabangua, Central Kalimantan. In partnership with Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project (OUTROP). This grant will initiate long-term monitoring of factors relevant to orangutan and gibbon conservation in the Peat Swamp Forest Natural Laboratory located in the Sebangau Swamp and immediately adjacent to Sebangau National Park. This research will provide feedback on the effectiveness of conservation initiatives to management agencies. The project will also assess the utility of LiDar as a tool for monitoring changes in forest biomass.
FWS: $56,395 Leveraged funds: $82,714
Laos
GA-0751 Enhancing conservation of the western black-crested gibbon at Nam Kan National Protected Area, Lao PDR. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This project will improve understanding of the status of the black-crested gibbon in the Bokeo Province portion of Nam Kan National Protected Area to support management planning. The grantee will determine the distribution and status of this species as well as the threats to its survival in the area, and by raising awareness and pride among local communities about the global significance of this gibbon.
FWS: $56,295 Leveraged funds: $7,381
GA-0848 Northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) conservation through concentrated protection in the Nam Et Phou Louey National Protected Area Core Zone, Huaphan Lao PDR. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will concentrate enforcement interventions in areas of the National Protected Area core zone to conserve globally significant populations of the northern white-cheeked gibbon. The grantee will strengthen and equip five substations nearest to the high-risk areas for gibbons in the National Protected Area, and increasing the patrolling effort in and near the gibbon territories.
FWS: $54,223 Leveraged funds: $53,417
Thailand
GA-0749 Saving endangered pileated gibbons through conservation education/awareness in southeast Thailand. In partnership with World Wildlife Fund-Thailand. This project will increase the globally significant population of endangered pileated gibbons in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary by assessing threats to the gibbon population, building capacity for sanctuary management, and through conservation education and outreach. Outreach will include a gibbon painting contest, gibbon exhibits at schools, a brochure on gibbon ecology/conservation, and a permanent exhibit on gibbons at the sanctuary head office and ranger station.
FWS: $49,800 Leveraged funds: $19,615
Vietnam
GA-0746 Analyzing trade dynamics and raising political awareness and commitment to eliminate the illegal trade in yellow-cheeked crested Gibbons (Nomascus concolor) and other endangered species in Southern Vietnam. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will provide accurate and detailed analysis of illegal trade dynamics in yellow-cheeked crested gibbons and other endangered species in the Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan area. This information will be used to raise political awareness and commitment to eliminate the illegal trade in gibbons and to plan strategies to prevent these crimes.
FWS: $58,937 Leveraged funds: $55,392
GA-0737 Conservation training and survey for the critically endangered white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) in Vietnam's northwest provinces. In partnership with Centre for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (CRES). This project will enhance capacity to conserve the white-cheeked gibbon among local conservation practitioners at key sites. The grantee will train forest rangers, protected area staff and local conservation activists from the vicinity of four priority sites in gibbon survey and monitoring methods. The grantee will also carry out a field survey and raise local awareness of the need to protect gibbons.
FWS: $49,940 Leveraged funds: $8,750
GA-0851 Census of the transboundary Cao Vit gibbon population and review of protected area management planning. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This project will improve scientific knowledge of the population dynamics of the gibbon. This is needed to steer conservation interventions and build capacity for management of the Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area in Vietnam. With a global population of about 110 individuals remaining in only one forest area on the border of northeast Vietnam and southern China, the Cao Vit gibbon is one of the world’s rarest primates.
FWS: $53,404 Leveraged funds: $19,381
GA-0860 Safeguarding viable populations of Critically Endangered gibbons at Chu Mom Ray National Park, Vietnam. In partnership with Douc Langur Foundation. This project will reduce the killing, trapping and illegal trade of yellow-cheeked crested gibbons in the vicinity of the park and initiate protection of the gibbons and their habitat. The grantee will carry out a gibbon survey, form rangers into Gibbon Protection Teams, train and deploy the teams to patrol, and monitor the patrol effort.
FWS: $28,147 Leveraged funds: $31,285
Range states
GA-0835 Linking great ape conservation and poverty alleviation: sharing experience from Africa and Asia. In partnership with International Institute for Environment and Development. This project will build the capacity of organizations concerned with the conservation of great apes to address and better integrate poverty alleviation into their implementation strategies. The grantee will organize a workshop in Indonesia that brings together conservation practitioners from Asia and Africa to exchange experience on linking ape conservation with poverty alleviation. The project will also explore collating a set of “Best Practice Guidelines” for publication by the Primate Specialist Group of IUCN.
FWS: $48,875 Leveraged funds: $40,000
Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 53 new grants from the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund totaling $2,638,351.00, which was matched by $4,103,892.00 in leveraged funds. Field projects in fifteen countries (in alphabetical order by region below) will be supported, in addition to two projects that involve multiple countries.
Africa
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 15 new grants in five African countries and one grant in all range states, totaling $750,229.00 in USFWS funding which was matched by $1,462,398.00 in leveraged funds.
Kenya
RT-1091 Providing a new lease on life for the Laikipia Wildlife Forum’s Environmental Education and Literacy Program, in one of the prime black rhino areas of Kenya. In partnership with Save the Rhino International. This grant will support the purchase of a new bus to be used for environmental education throughout Laikipia District, one of Kenya's most important rhino and elephant areas. The bus will be staffed full-time by an education team and equipped with mobile education materials. It will be deployed to reach 80 school groups and 15 community groups per year.
FWS: $34,660 Leveraged funds: $28,140
RT-1163 Monitoring and evaluating environmental education programs in important rhino areas of Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. In partnership with Save the Rhino International. This grant will provide ongoing support to environmental education programs for communities living in or near black rhino habitat in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. The project will improve existing programs, develop new educational materials, and evaluate and monitor the effects of outreach programs.
FWS: $62,588 Leveraged funds: $109,891
RT-1168 Increasing capacity for anti-poaching activities and deterrents in and around the Chyulu Hills. In partnership with Save the Rhino International. This grant will support rhino protection and monitoring in the Chyulu Hills National Park and in neighboring Mbirikani Group Ranch in southern Kenya. The grantee will support patrols by local community game scouts, following up on any illegal wildlife activities, and monitor individual rhinos and habitat use.
FWS: $75,897 Leveraged funds: $338,131
RT-1171 Ensuring protection of the black rhino population at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This grant will support the upgrading of the regional radio security network to a modern, digital standard. The grantee will improve on-site housing for rangers and support staff training at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, home to one of Kenya's largest black rhino populations.
FWS: $83,267 Leveraged funds: $104,406
RT-1172 (also in Namibia) Improving rhino crime investigation and prosecution in state, community and private land areas of Kenya and Namibia. In partnership with Save the Rhino International. This grant will support training courses designed to improve conviction rates for rhino poaching in Kenya and Namibia. Courses will include training for wildlife officers in investigating and securing evidence from wildlife crime scenes, properly handling evidence for prosecution, and better conveying the severity of poaching and its impact to other influential partners (including police, military, and the judiciary).
FWS: $24,585 Leveraged funds: $54,005
Namibia
RT-1172 (See summary in Kenya section)
RT-1089 Enhancing rhino security and monitoring capabilities in the Kunene region of Namibia, via a co-operative approach between Save the Rhino Trust and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. In partnership with Save the Rhino International. This project will assess the abilities and needs of government field staff and community scouts working together, addressing deficiencies in capabilities through targeted training. The project will improve data collection, analysis and feedback between the government and community rhino custodians to enhance security for desert black rhinos in Namibia.
FWS: $91,014 Leveraged funds: $65,153
South Africa
RT-1088 Improving law enforcement and security for black rhinos and white rhinos in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa. In partnership with Save the Rhino International. This grant will support the operating costs of an aircraft to provide security surveillance and rapid response capabilities in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, which has more than 2,000 white rhinos and 200 southern black rhinos.
FWS: $28,445 Leveraged funds: $309,422
RT-1166 Implementing monitoring and extracting demographic profiles of black rhino in Kruger National Park. In partnership with South African National Parks. This project will intensify rhino monitoring activities in Kruger National Park, home to Africa's largest rhino population. This grant builds upon past U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service support to verify the total number of rhinos in the park, to determine how many animals have been lost to poaching, to identify areas of vulnerability, and to be able to detect the earliest signs of population decline and respond proactively.
FWS: $24,999 Leveraged funds: $60,445
RT-1086 Emergency support to the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency for white rhino conservation. In partnership with The Wildlife & Environment Society of Southern Africa (Lowveld region). This project will support rhino monitoring, tracking, and immobilization of as many as 110 rhinos (to insert transmitters, where necessary, and to collect DNA samples) in Manyeleti, Andover and Loskop nature reserves in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.
FWS: $24,999 Leveraged funds: $66,860
RT-1173 (see project summary in Zimbabwe section)
Zambia
RT-1096 Support for black rhino conservation through law enforcement training in North Luangwa National Park. In partnership with North Luangwa Conservation Programme. Support for this ongoing program will provide training and equipment to 180 Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) wildlife police officers, and advanced training for 30 specialized rhino protection rangers working in and around the black rhino protection zone in eastern Zambia.
FWS: $88,650 Leveraged funds: $53,838
Zimbabwe
RT-1090 Implementing a strategic planning process for rhino conservation in Zimbabwe. In partnership with Save the Rhino International. This grant will support the development of a new national rhino conservation strategy for Zimbabwe to replace the outdated plan that is currently in effect. Through facilitated meetings between government, rhino experts, and local stakeholders, a new national plan will be written to address emerging issues like community custodianship, active meta-population management, and combating the escalated poaching threat.
FWS: $20,460 Leveraged funds: $12,840
RT-1109 Continued support for rhinoceros management operations, Zimbabwe. In partnership with International Rhino Foundation. This grantee will continue to work with an experienced team to locate and tranquilize black rhinos in the southeastern Lowveld of Zimbabwe in order to: a) treat the animals for snare injuries and other injuries, b) conduct ear-notching for monitoring, c) fit transmitters for monitoring, and/or d) translocate rhinos in vulnerable areas to places of greater safety.
FWS: $50,000 Leveraged funds: $93,275
RT-1161 Equipping the Lowveld Rhino Trust in Zimbabwe with a new wildlife veterinarian field vehicle. In partnership with Save the Rhino International. This grant will enable a vehicle to be purchased for dedicated use by veterinarians to assist on essential rhino conservation operations in southeastern Zimbabwe. The vehicle will be specially equipped to support emergency darting and translocation of rhinos by an experienced capture team.
FWS: $50,000 Leveraged funds: $61,250
RT-1169 Rhino management operations in stateland areas of Manicaland and Matabeleland Provinces, Zimbabwe, 2011. In partnership with International Rhino Foundation. This grantee will work with an experienced team to locate and tranquilize black rhinos in the Manicaland and Matabeleland regions order to: a) treat the animals for snare injuries and other injuries, b) conduct ear-notching for monitoring, c) fit transmitters for monitoring, and/or d) translocate rhinos in vulnerable areas to places of greater safety.
FWS: $50,575 Leveraged funds: $26,112
RT-1173 (also in South Africa) Improving rhino protection in selected protected areas in Zimbabwe and the Republic of South Africa. In partnership with International Rhino Foundation. This grant will support security needs assessments of several rhino habitats in Zimbabwe and South Africa, including both private and national park land. Based on the assessments, equipment and training will be provided to improve patrolling ability and, in the event of poaching, to properly collect forensic evidence and conduct investigations to improve prosecution rates.
FWS: $30,090 Leveraged funds: $25,000
Range states
RT-1162 Supporting the core activities of the African Rhino Specialist Group for the benefit of African rhino conservation. In partnership with Save the Rhino International. This grant will support a portion of the core services provided by the Secretariat of the IUCN's African Rhino Specialist Group, including compiling continental data for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and other meetings, providing impartial advice to range states, and maintaining timely communications among range states and experts on emerging issues.
FWS: $10,000 Leveraged funds: $53,630
Asia
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 36 new grants in ten African countries and one grant in all range states, totaling $1,888,122.00 in USFWS funding which was matched by $2,641,494.00 in leveraged funds.
Bangladesh
RT-1093 Monitoring tigers and formulating solutions to reduce tiger-human conflict in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. In partnership with Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh. This project will continue long-term tiger abundance monitoring in the Bangladesh Sundarbans, completing the third Sundarbans-wide tiger abundance survey to assess and analyze changes over the 2007 and 2011 period. The results will be used by management to assess the overall trend in the population and to identify particular areas that require management attention.
FWS: $11,704 Leveraged funds: $4,730
RT-1094 Developing tiger response teams to tackle tiger-human conflict in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. In partnership with Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh. This project will reduce human-tiger conflict in the Bangladesh Sundarbans through working with the Forest Department and local villages. The grantee will develop a culturally sensitive strategy based on an investigation into the human dimensions, patterns and impacts of conflict. Every year approximately 50 people, 60-80 livestock and three or more tigers are killed in such conflicts in the region.
FWS: $52,554 Leveraged funds: $38,023
Bhutan
RT-1142 Conserving at the source - protecting tigers, elephants and other wildlife in Bhutan's Royal Manas National Park. In partnership with The Bhutan Foundation. This project will strengthen anti-poaching capacity of staff in the park to prevent poaching of tigers and other wildlife. The grantee will construct an observation tower at Specialthang, providing vehicular access to the tower by preparing a dirt road. The grantee will also provide radio communication equipment to complete coverage of the park, and tents and rain gear needed by patrol rangers. This project will set the stage for adoption of MIST based patrols in the park.
FWS: $50,000 Leveraged funds: $16,000
RT-1145 Conserving a source population of tigers - monitoring tigers and other wildlife in Bhutan's Royal Manas National Park. In partnership with The Bhutan Foundation. This project will strengthen Bhutan’s capacity to monitor tigers, other carnivores and prey populations in the park in order to detect trends and influence timely management decisions. The grant will support Bhutan’s Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment in developing and validating tiger population density and habitat estimates for the park. The capacity developed under this project will then be used to scale up monitoring of tigers and their prey in other protected areas of Bhutan.
FWS: $50,000 Leveraged funds: $42,000
China
RT-1070 MIST implementation and Amur tiger monitoring in China. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will continue the implementation of MIST in Hunchun Nature Reserve and surrounding areas. It will strengthen tiger monitoring by improving protocols and practices and increasing the number of monitoring stations in Jilin and Heilongjiang Provinces. These actions are key to enhancing local capacity for tiger conservation and eliminating direct threats to tigers in northeast China.
FWS: $78,238 Leveraged funds: $71,308
RT-1150 Promoting law enforcement and conflict reduction in Hunchun, China. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will strengthen law enforcement in public forests in the vicinity of Hunchun Reserve. The grantee will conduct anti-poaching patrolling and a snare removal campaign in collaboration with the Hunchun Forestry Industry Bureau. The number of cattle released into forests near tiger habitat will be reduced by increasing the participation of local communities in tiger conservation and by linking the government stall-fed cattle program with tiger conservation. Hunchun, located in the transboundary area of China, Russia and DPR Korea, is the key to Amur tiger recovery in China.
FWS: $59,517 Leveraged funds: $55,158
RT-1158 Using DNA to track the origin of tiger parts from illegal trade in Asia. In partnership with Peking University - College of Life Sciences. This project will build an effective communication network for Chinese wildlife law enforcement authorities. It will provide training workshops for CITES, Customs, and Forest Police on illegal tiger trade and wildlife forensic analysis. These groups will collect and carry out forensic analysis on representative specimens of tiger parts confiscated from illegal trade for the years 2000-2010 as well as from upcoming seizures. By elucidating the origins and routes of the illegal trade in tiger parts entering China, this project will provide information needed for more effective law enforcement operations against poachers and illegal traders operating in China and internationally.
FWS: $50,600 Leveraged funds: $32,000
India
RT-1061 Meta-population dynamics of tiger populations in the Malenad-Mysore Landscape of Karnataka - Brahmagiri-Pushpagiri-Talakaveri and BRT-Cauvery Protected Area Complexes. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will initiate rigorous monitoring of tigers through camera trap and genetic capture-recapture sampling. Information will be developed on the presence or absence of tigers and prey over a wide region. The results will be used to identify additional core areas for future targeted conservation, identify tiger population sources and sinks, and detect emerging threats to habitat connectivity.
FWS: $66,377 Leveraged funds: $66,026
RT-1044 Noninvasive genetics identity based monitoring of tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) populations in the Protected Areas of Assam, Phase I. In partnership with AARANYAK. This project will initiate application of noninvasive, cost effective, genetic techniques in the monitoring of the tiger population of northeast India. The grantee will collect and analyze tiger scats from Manas Tiger Reserve, and develop a strategy for the long term genetic population monitoring of the tigers of the Reserve.
FWS: $48,600 Leveraged funds: $10,200
RT-1099 Supporting anti-poaching measures for tiger conservation in proposed Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, Uttar Pradesh State, India. In partnership with World Wildlife Fund - India. This project will implement a strategic, information-led anti-poaching system and a tiger and prey monitoring program for the proposed reserve. This area is critically important to maintenance of habitat connectivity within the Terai Arc landscape, linking Lagga Bagga forest with Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Terai-Bhabar forests in India with Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve in Nepal. Despite its importance for tigers and other wildlife, the area lacks government funding for enforcement because it is still awaiting official designation as a Tiger Reserve.
FWS: $59,963 Leveraged funds: $124,833
RT-1120 Conserving highly endangered tigers in northeast India through awareness (CHETNA). In partnership with Centre for Environment Education. This project will develop and deliver a tiger conservation education program in the vicinity of Kaziranga and Dibru-Soikhowa national parks. This will directly benefit one hundred schools while also reaching 6,000 schools through the eco-club network. The park directors called for this project out of concern for lack of conservation awareness among local people.
FWS: $52,425 Leveraged funds: $8,950
RT-1121 Legal training for 'Hunting the Hunters-II' - capacity building program in the State of Rajasthan. In partnership with Tiger Trust. This project will develop the capacity of Rajasthan’s forest officers to collect evidence, maintain the chain of evidence custody, and prepare, document and present cases. The project aims to bring about more successful prosecutions of wildlife crimes, particularly those against tigers and their prey. The grantee will conduct a training program three times during a period of 24 months including Indian wildlife law, post crime procedures, and presentation of evidence in court.
FWS: $33,030 Leveraged funds: $11,760
RT-1122 Legal Training for 'Hunting the Hunters-II' - capacity building program in the State of Assam. In partnership with Tiger Trust. This project will create a replicable training model that provides legal and technical expertise to park staff at the state level, directly benefiting the park officers, prosecutors, judiciary and other enforcement agencies. The grantee will conduct a training program on Indian wildlife law, post crime procedures, and presentation of evidence in court.
FWS: $36,690 Leveraged funds: $11,760
RT-1074 Study to develop Protected Areas Management Information System of Assam following MIST software. In partnership with Wildlife Areas Development and Welfare Trust. This project will pilot the development and implementation of advanced management of anti-poaching patrols in Kaziranga National Park utilizing the most up-to-date processes, programs and expertise. The grantee will train staff for MIST monitoring and patrols by Kohora Range anti-poaching camps, develop performance indicators for use in evaluating annual operations plans, and summarize the results for use in decision-making regarding further implementation of MIST in the protected areas of Assam.
FWS: $43,000 Leveraged funds: $50,800
RT-1028 Monitoring tigers by camera trapping in Melghat Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India. In partnership with Wildlife Research and Conservation Society. This grant will support determination of tiger density estimates through camera trap surveys in the Gugamal National Park and Melghat Wildlife Sanctuary portions of the Tiger Reserve. The Reserve authorities will use these density estimates to evaluate their current management interventions. This project is part of a long-term monitoring effort for the tiger and its prey in the Reserve.
FWS: $46,325 Leveraged funds: $4,200
RT-1175 Capacity building project - training of tiger range states' officials in wildlife management. In partnership with Global Tiger Forum. This project will train five tiger range state forest officers whose current assignments are relevant to tiger conservation. The officers will be enrolled in either the three month or nine month wildlife management course at the Wildlife Institute of India. This is part of a long term initiative to develop a cadre of trained wildlife managers and field personnel to implement tiger conservation across the range countries.
FWS: $48,862 Leveraged funds: $42,400
RT-1130 Strengthen the protection measures in Manas National Park as a part of the program 'Indian Rhino Visions 2020' to expand the numbers and range of wild rhinos in Assam, Phase V. In partnership with Wildlife Areas Development and Welfare Trust. This grant will support the salary of 40 home guards (another 10 will be supported by the Bodoland Tribal Council) to strengthen security so rhinos may be translocated into the park and remain safe from poaching. These guards will be drawn from the fringe areas of the park to improve the socioeconomic status of the fringe villagers and develop good relations. Aside from patrolling and guard duty the home guards will encourage fringe villagers to provide information on anti-poaching activities.
FWS: $54,780 Leveraged funds: $49,000
RT-1124 Tiger conservation initiative through community capacity building, human-tiger conflict mitigation education and teachers-for-tiger training programs around the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) in Uttarakhand, India. In partnership with Conservation Himalayas. This project will raise awareness and understanding of tiger conservation in both the Reserve’s fringe communities and local forest officers, so they can interact effectively to minimize human-tiger conflict. It will also create a ‘Save-Tiger’ network of communities, teachers and students to foster community-based tiger conservation.
FWS: $49,882 Leveraged funds: $15,275
RT-1125 Monitoring tigers and prey animals in the Kaziranga National Park, Assam. In partnership with AARANYAK. This grant will support year 2 of a project to provide information needed to evaluate management options and develop a science-based strategy for managing the park’s tiger population. The grantee will evaluate and monitor the status of tiger, prey and their habitats in the park, identifying existing or possible dispersal routes for tiger into and out of the park and mapping of those using GIS. The project will build the capacity of twenty forest staff and four biologists of the region in tiger research and monitoring.
FWS: $57,000 Leveraged funds: $33,800
Indonesia
RT-1034 Protection and conservation of Sumatran tiger in Kerinci Seblat National Park. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This grant will support routine field patrols and stronger relationships between patrol personnel and forest edge farmers. The program will provide advice to local NGO partners on tiger conservation, facilitate activities to stop park encroachment, work to mitigate human-tiger conflict, and educate forest edge communities and local decision makers about tiger conservation. The project aims to develop a cadre of highly-skilled national park rangers and managers.
FWS: $52,240 Leveraged funds: $233,994
RT-1110 Rhino Protection Units in Ujung Kulon National Park, Java, Indonesia. In partnership with International Rhino Foundation. This project will protect the population of Javan rhinos living within the park through continued operation of four anti-poaching units. The units will patrol and monitor for at least 15 days per month and will ensure that no traps are permitted to be placed in the park or remain long enough to entrap rhinos. They will apprehend, or at least identify to local authorities, all suspected poachers so they may be prosecuted. The grantee will also create an intelligence and law enforcement unit to investigate illegal activities, collect evidence, and facilitate arrests and prosecutions. These units are critical to the continued survival of the Javan rhino.
FWS: $70,000 Leveraged funds: $69,217
RT-1151 Mobile village tiger patrols V: an integrated approach to tiger protection through education, conflict mitigation, improved livelihoods and law enforcement. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will continue support to a highly successful program on the island of Sumatra in the vicinity of Bukit Barisan National Park and Bukit Balai Renjang Landscape. The project will conduct human-wildlife conflict patrols, wildlife crimes investigations, legal aid for prosecution of wildlife crimes cases, and educational events. The habitat addressed by this project is home to an estimated 200 remaining tigers.
FWS: $60,095 Leveraged funds: $62,073
RT-1108 Expanding habitat for Critically Endangered Javan rhinos. In partnership with International Rhino Foundation. This project will improve habitat management in the Gunung Honje portion of Ujung Kulon National Park to increase the amount of habitat available to the rhinos. The grantee will clear invasive species and plant areas with rhino food plants, create a permanent water supply, permanent wallows, and saltlicks. They will also install electric fencing, create a patrol path, construct guard posts, hire and train a new Rhino Protection Unit, and conduct awareness-raising with local communities.
FWS: $100,000 Leveraged funds: $450,000
RT-1143 Strengthening institutional capacities in the Leuser-Ulu Masen Tiger Conservation Landscape, Aceh. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This project will develop high quality law enforcement patrol training materials and master trainers, strengthening government capacity to manage patrols to protect tigers and their prey. The grantee will also establish a sustainable Aceh-wide patrol data management system. This initiative represents the beginning of a systematic, long-term approach to protecting the tiger in this globally important landscape.
FWS: $55,934 Leveraged funds: $56,316
Laos
RT-1113 Conservation of tiger and prey populations in the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area landscape, Lao PDR through increased patrolling by mobile teams for illegal wildlife trade in human settlements and improved field patrolling in the core zone. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will organize and train four mobile patrol teams in four districts surrounding the protected areas. Training will be provided to the team members on the maintenance of health and hygiene while on patrol. Also, steps will be taken to create a career path for local people to work as protected area staff.
FWS: $54,790 Leveraged funds: $54,060
RT-1152 Community participation in managing the Nam Et Phou Louey National Protected Area to increase tiger and prey populations, Phase II. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will conserve internationally important tiger and prey populations in the NEPL NPA by increasing community participation in NPA management. The grantee will implement outreach and social marketing to assist local communities in realizing the direct benefits they receive from the NPA. Meetings will be conducted with village, district, and provincial officials to negotiate and mitigate conflicting interests over land and natural resources.
FWS: $54,522 Leveraged funds: $53,300
Malaysia
RT-1115 Conservation of the tigers of the Endau-Rompin landscape, Malaysia, through improved law enforcement – expansion to the southeast and southwest. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will strengthen law enforcement efforts at Kluang and Mersing forest blocks of the Endau Rompin landscape. The grantee will ground-truth land uses and conduct recce surveys for other wildlife sign in the Endau Rompin landscape. The resulting information will be used to protect corridors from various forms of encroachment.
FWS: $55,000 Leveraged funds: $56,328
Nepal
RT-1063 Wildlife Crime Database. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Nepal. This grant will support updating the database’s records on wildlife traders, seizures, arrests and convictions, and provision of information on wildlife crime to enforcement agencies. It will emphasize crimes against rhinos and tigers but will benefit many species. This will enhance the ability of authorities to combat wildlife crime and will be useful to judicial bodies in sentencing wildlife criminals.
FWS: $35,145 Leveraged funds: $18,260
RT-1147 Finding solutions to mitigate human-tiger conflict in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. In partnership with University of Minnesota - Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology. This project will strengthen tiger conservation in the park by protecting tigers in adjacent buffer zone community forests. The grantee will collaborate with local communities and park staff to determine human and tiger use patterns at the edge of the park in buffer zone community forests, developing a model to minimize human-tiger conflict. This will be used to strengthen cooperative management in the buffer zone.
FWS: $62,066 Leveraged funds: $1,181
Russian Federation
RT-1062 Protecting Amur tigers in Anyuisky National Park. In partnership with Phoenix Fund. This grant will provide motorboats, snowmobiles, GPS units, field clothes and other basic equipment to rangers for anti-poaching patrols. This is needed to strengthen protection of the Amur tigers living in this newly declared national park located on the northern edge of the tiger’s range.
FWS: $23,279 Leveraged funds: $410,320
RT-1064 Support for anti-poaching operations in Leopardovy wildlife refuge and the Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve. In partnership with Phoenix Fund. This grant will supply fuel, field equipment, and funds for field expenses (food and other basics) of rangers so they may carry out anti-poaching patrols and strengthen habitat protection activities in the refuge. The patrols will protect both the Amur leopards and tigers of the refuge and reserve.
FWS: $24,190 Leveraged funds: $107,315
RT-1112 Enforcement of anti-poaching activity by the Amur tiger conservation in the south of Khabarovsk Kray. In partnership with The Wildlife Foundation. This project will establish a rigorous system of community-based patrols to prevent poaching of tigers and their prey. The tiger patrol group will be comprised of six local people and will be under the leadership of the State Territorial Service for Wildlife Protection and Specially Protected Natural Areas of Khabarovsk Kray. They will develop cases against poachers for prosecution by the administrators of the village of Gvasyugi, and conduct outreach to local communities on tiger conservation.
FWS: $68,200 Leveraged funds: $139,100
RT-1127 Monitoring and protection of Amur tiger during the winter period in Sikhote-Alin Reserve (Primorsky Krai, Russia). In partnership with Sikhote-Alin Biosphere State Reserve. This project will improve the quality of monitoring and protection of the Amur tiger and its prey in Sikhote-Alin Reserve and its adjacent areas in heavy winter weather. The grant will provide fieldworkers with winter clothes, footwear, skis, sleeping bags, and satellite phones. The grantee will organize regular monitoring, additional patrol groups and spot-checks for protection of the most fragile areas of the Reserve during the winter.
FWS: $49,775 Leveraged funds: $72,211
Thailand
RT-1117 Tiger protection and population monitoring in the Kaeng Krachan National Park, Tenasserim – Western Forest Complex, Thailand. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will support an intensive camera trapping project in Kaeng Krachan National Park’s optimal tiger habitat (an approximately 1,000 square kilometer area) to assess the tiger population. The grantee will also support and monitor the performance of eight SMART patrol teams in the Park to ensure their efficient and effective functioning.
FWS: $62,333 Leveraged funds: $63,525
RT-1101 Female home range size and large ungulate density in western Thailand: key parameters for managing tigers. In partnership with University of Minnesota - Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology. This project will provide managers with critical information needed to help them evaluate efforts to sustain and improve tiger habitat. The grantee will measure female home range size in relation to prey abundance and relate prey abundance to vegetation type and geophysical conditions. This field work and the associated training will also initiate development of a second generation of trained, experienced tiger conservation officers for Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
FWS: $44,701 Leveraged funds: $14,972
RT-1140 Sustaining wildlife guardians in Thailand's forgotten parks. In partnership with FREELAND Foundation. This project will improve protection of tigers in Thap Lan and Pang Sida national parks. The grantee will provide law enforcement training for the park’s rangers, gather information on tiger population in the parks, and carry out a study tour to adjacent habitat in Banateay Chhmar, Cambodia. Thailand’s National Tiger Action Plan designates these two adjacent parks as one of only two priority landscapes for tiger conservation in the country.
FWS: $49,999 Leveraged funds: $42,846
Range states
RT-1159 The Asian big cat trade – a film guide for enforcement officers. In partnership with Environmental Investigation Agency. This project will promote the use of intelligence driven law enforcement against perpetrators of illegal trade in big cat parts and derivatives in the tiger range countries. A new version of a 2006 film will be produced, that properly reflects the shifting trade in Asian big cat parts and derivatives in 2011. The film will be distributed to all appropriate law enforcement agencies throughout the range for use in conjunction with classroom and field training.
FWS: $16,306 Leveraged funds: $48,253
Marine Turtle Conservation Fund
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 39 new grants from the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund totaling $1,717,006.00, which was matched by $2,590,357.00 in leveraged funds. Field projects in 27 countries (in alphabetical order below) will be supported, in addition to two projects that involve multiple countries.
Bangladesh
MT 11-040 Community-based sea turtle research and conservation project in Bangladesh. In partnership with MARINELIFE ALLIANCE. This grant will continue a community-based conservation project and extend the project another 150 km on the Teknaf Peninsula, St. Martin and Sonadia Islands. Community members will be trained to conduct field work and 1,000 fisherman will be trained in identification of sea turtles, safe handling, and release techniques for accidentally captured sea turtles.
FWS: $24,999 Leveraged funds: $32,450
Barbados
MT 11-043 Building capacity for conservation of hawksbill turtles in Barbados. In partnership with University of the West Indies. This grant will continue long-term conservation programs at key hawksbill nesting beaches in Barbados, which hosts one of the three largest hawksbill nesting populations in the Caribbean.
FWS: $36,300 Leveraged funds: $68,400
Cambodia
MT 11-066 Marine turtle conservation and assessment in Cambodia. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This project will protect marine turtle nesting sites at Koh Tang Island through field surveys at target sites, academic and technical capacity building of Cambodian researchers, and awareness workshops in key areas.
FWS: $25,000 Leveraged funds: $58,148
Cape Verde
MT 11-021 Protecting loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting beaches on Boa Vista Island, Cape Verde (2011). In partnership with Turtle Foundation, USA. This grant will support night patrols in collaboration with the military to protect nesting loggerhead females from rampant illegal slaughter on important nesting beaches on the Cape Verde Island of Boa Vista. This island hosts about 90% of the Cape Verde nesting population. The project will also involve a public awareness campaign in schools and communities throughout the island.
FWS: $57,000 Leveraged funds: $183,384
MT 11-028 Protection of nesting loggerhead turtles and beaches in Cabo Verde, Africa. In partnership with ADTMA - SOS Tartarugas. This grant will support night patrols on the most important loggerhead nesting beaches on the island of Sal to prevent killing of nesting females. The project will provide training for local Cape Verdians to carry out marine turtle conservation on the islands of Sal, Maio and San Nicolau. The grant will also support conservation outreach activities on Sal to local and municipal government, police, military, local citizens and tourists.
FWS: $49,803 Leveraged funds: $86,686
MT 11-036 Effective protection of loggerhead females and nests in higher density nesting area of the Archipelago of Cabo Verde. In partnership with Cabo Verde Natura 2000. This grant will support field staff and provide material support for two field camps that effectively protect about 75% of the nesting turtles on the Island of Boa Vista, which accounts for 90% of the Cape Verde loggerhead nesting population. The grantee will also organize the annual meeting of the Cape Verde Sea Turtle Coalition, and engage with fisherman to investigate the extent of bycatch and turtle meat trafficking in Cape Verde.
FWS: $67,480 Leveraged funds: $162,520
Costa Rica
MT 11-067 Conservation project of leatherback nesting on the North Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Langosta Beach. In partnership with Fundacion para el Equilibrio entre la Conservacion y el Desarrollo (FUNDECODES). This grant will support nesting beach conservation programs for Playa Langosta, one of the two key East Pacific leatherback nesting beaches in Costa Rica.
FWS: $24,999 Leveraged funds: $1,650
MT 11-046 Sea turtle research, conservation and capacity building at Tortuguero, Costa Rica. In partnership with Sea Turtle Conservancy. This project will build capacity in Latin America and the Caribbean through Sea Turtle Conservancy's Tortuguero training program in marine turtle research and management techniques, community involvement and ecotourism. The training will be targeted to regional biologists, natural resource managers and community leaders.
FWS: $20,000 Leveraged funds: $370,697
MT 11-007 (see project summary in Panama section)
Cote d' Ivoire
MT 11-051 Conservation of marine turtles of Mani beach (Ivory Coast-West Africa). In partnership with SOS-Forets. This project will involve local communities and university students to monitor and protect nests from poaching along an 18 km stretch of important leatherback nesting beach in Cote d’Ivoire, with an estimated 700 sea turtle nests annually. The grantee will also conduct environmental education outreach with local communities.
FWS: $18,000 Leveraged funds: $30,650
Democratic Republic of Congo
MT 11-035 Protection and study of nesting sea turtles on the coastline of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In partnership with Action Communautaire de Development et d'Encadrement Social (ACODES). This grant will support patrols and protection of sea turtle nests along the 40 km coastline of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The grantee will work with coastal fishing communities to release sea turtles accidently captured in fishing nets, and conduct environmental outreach activities in coastal communities.
FWS: $7,500 Leveraged funds: $725
Equatorial Guinea
MT 11-044 Equatorial Guinea 2011-2012; challenges and opportunities for sea turtle conservation. In partnership with Instituto Nacional Desarrollo Forestal y Manejo del Sistema de Areas Protegidas (INDEFOR). This grant will support a community-based conservation project at Bioko Island which hosts one of the most important leatherback nesting populations in West Africa. It will also support development of a marine turtle conservation program on important mainland nesting beaches at Rio Campo, and a national outreach campaign.
FWS: $24,999 Leveraged funds: $30,500
MT 11-015 (see project summary in Gabon section)
Gabon
MT 11-073 The Gabon Sea Turtle Partnership for leatherback research and conservation, 2011-2012. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will support nesting beach conservation programs for one of the two largest leatherback nesting populations in the world, through an alliance of National Park, NGO and local community participants. The project will increase capacity of the National Agency for National Parks to address sea turtle bycatch from legal and illegal coastal fisheries within and adjacent to coastal National Parks.
FWS: $165,000 Leveraged funds: $67,098
MT 11-015 Sea turtle technical assistance in the Gulf of Guinea, West Africa 2011-2012. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will support on site coordination of the Gabon Sea Turtle Partnership. The grantee will provide technical support for high priority sea turtle projects in Congo, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe and Equatorial Guinea, and support efforts with local Benga communities in Corisco Bay, Gabon to address unsustainable sea turtle harvest practices.
FWS: $43,195 Leveraged funds: $31,856
Honduras
MT 11-017 Community-based capacity building for hawksbill conservation and population recovery in Caribbean Honduras. In partnership with Loma Linda University. This grant will support community training in conservation project development at historically important hawksbill nesting beaches on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. The grantee will also conduct extensive outreach to raise public awareness and gain greater support for sea turtle conservation.
FWS: $25,422 Leveraged funds: $28,319
India
MT 11-049 Strengthening the network for monitoring and conservation of sea turtles in India. In partnership with Madras Crocodile Bank Trust. This grant will support the 4th Annual National Workshop for network members throughout India to review action plans and assign specific responsibilities for implementation. The workshop will provide training and support for standardized monitoring protocols at index beaches, including standardized surveys of the olive ridley arribada nesting population at Rushikulya during the 2011-12 nesting season--one of the eight remaining large olive ridley nesting populations in the world.
FWS: $45,000 Leveraged funds: $45,000
MT 11-009 Towards long-term monitoring of olive ridley arribadas in Orissa, India. In partnership with Madras Crocodile Bank Trust. This project will focus conservation efforts on the Rushikulya nesting beach, which has supported arribada nesting between 80,000 and 100,000 nesting females. The grantee will train community members to conduct nesting surveys, assessing hatching and nesting success to help manage threats. The community members will also survey sea turtle strandings to document bycatch mortality and support efforts to press for fisheries management.
FWS: $10,000 Leveraged funds: $7,130
Indonesia
MT 11-030 Conservation of the leatherback nesting population at Jamursba Medi and Wermon Beaches – Papua, Indonesia. In partnership with The State University of Papua (UNIPA). This grant will support conservation of the largest remaining Western Pacific leatherback nesting population and ensure the effective involvement of local communities in a recovery program.
FWS: $66,000 Leveraged funds: $144,700
Liberia
MT 11-063 Community-based sea turtle conservation project-Liberia. In partnership with Save My Future Foundation. This grant will support continuation of community efforts to protect nesting leatherback, hawksbill and olive ridley sea turtles along 13 km of nesting beach. It is the only sea turtle conservation project operating within Liberia.
FWS: $30,000 Leveraged funds: $1,250
Mauritania
MT 11-054 Knowledge and conservation of sea turtles nesting on the coasts of Mauritania. In partnership with Chelonee. This grant will support continuation of surveys of the 750 km Mauritanian coast to verify reports of nesting loggerheads and green turtles. The project will implement awareness campaigns in coastal villages and involve local communities in developing community-based conservation programs in accordance with survey findings.
FWS: $20,000 Leveraged funds: $76,472
Mexico
MT 11-042 Conservation of the leatherback in the Mexican Pacific 2010-2011 - Phase 2. In partnership with Kutzari, Asociacion para el Estudio y Conservacion de las Tortugas Marinas, A.C. This grant will support expanded nesting beach conservation during the 2010-11 nesting season at two important nesting sites which have been difficult to access logistically. The project will also assess fisheries activities near nesting beaches and develop management recommendations to Mexico’s fisheries regulatory agency that will prevent bycatch mortality of nesting females during the nesting season.
FWS: $65,235 Leveraged funds: $79,267
MT 11-018 Conservation of marine turtle nesting beaches at north coast of Yucatan peninsula Mexico. In partnership with Pronatura Peninsula de Yucatan, A.C. This grant will support monitoring and nesting beach conservation programs for three major hawksbill nesting beaches in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The grantee will also conduct public outreach and awareness programs in communities adjacent to the nesting beaches.
FWS: $24,999 Leveraged funds: $28,850
MT 11-071 Population recovery of the black turtle of Michoacan, Mexico. In partnership with Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo. This grant will support a community-based nesting beach conservation program for the black turtle at Colola and Maruata Beaches, the two most important nesting beaches for this species in the East Pacific.
FWS: $24,999 Leveraged funds: $25,000
MT 11-076 Conservation of the leatherback turtle in the Mexican Pacific season 2011-2012. In partnership with Kutzari, Asociacion para el Estudio y Conservacion de las Tortugas Marinas, A.C. This grant will support nest surveys and protection at the four primary leatherback nesting beaches which account for over 40% of leatherback nesting in Pacific Mexico. The grantee will operate turtle camps at the four main nesting beaches of Cahuitan, Tierra Colorada, Mexiquillo and Barra de la Cruz, and conduct daily and nightly patrols along these beaches to protect nests from poaching, depredation and tidal inundation. The grantee will also conduct a workshop for approximately 20 coastal communities along the Pacific leatherback nesting beaches to facilitate greater community involvement in leatherback conservation.
FWS: $96,615 Leveraged funds: $258,130
Morocco
MT 11-056 Building capacity for an effective sea turtle research and conservation program in the Kingdom of Morocco. In partnership with Association Pour La Protection Des Tortues Marines Au Maroc (ATOMM). This grant will support interviews and ground surveys to determine the status of sea turtle nesting in Morocco. The grantee will hold workshops for fishers to assist with data collection on sea turtle bycatch, provide outreach to coastal communities and the general public, and conduct training workshops for student, NGO and local biologists to assist with surveys and sea turtle conservation projects.
FWS: $27,000 Leveraged funds: $2,500
Nicaragua
MT 11-016 Conservation of marine turtles in Caribbean Nicaragua. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will support the monitoring and protection of hawksbill nesting populations on 12 of the Pearl Keys and 42 km of beach at El Cocal. The project will assist local communities to develop and expand conservation of hawksbill and other nesting sea turtles through ecotourism programs for turtle watching.
FWS: $68,800 Leveraged funds: $68,492
MT 11-003 Conserving Critically Endangered leatherback and hawksbill marine turtles on Nicaragua's Pacific Coast. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This grant will support nesting beach conservation programs for the three most important East Pacific leatherback populations in Nicaragua, and a hawksbill conservation program at the recently discovered nesting site at Estero Padre Ramos. This site accounts for 40-50% of all East Pacific hawksbill nesting. The grantee will work closely with local communities and stakeholders as partners in the conservation programs.
FWS: $62,000 Leveraged funds: $70,000
MT 11-007 (see project summary in Panama section)
Oman
MT 11-039 Strategic development of initiatives for marine turtle conservation on Masirah Island, Oman. In partnership with Environment Society of Oman. This grant will provide material and logistical support for the Ministry of Environment rangers to monitor population trends for the world’s largest loggerhead nesting population at Masirah Island. The grantee will also conduct a public outreach program for marine turtle conservation issues in Oman, including outreach to Masirah Island community through a Turtle Celebration event at the beginning of the 2011 loggerhead nesting season.
FWS: $95,000 Leveraged funds: $78,320
Panama
MT 11-032 Hawksbill and leatherback turtle population recovery project in Panama. In partnership with Sea Turtle Conservancy. This grant will support efforts to restore the Chiriqui Beach nesting population of hawksbill turtles, once the largest in the Wider Caribbean, in partnership with the local Ngobe Indian communities. The grantee will provide monitoring and protection of the largest leatherback nesting population in the Western Caribbean.
FWS: $58,175 Leveraged funds: $124,615
MT 11-007 Regional assessment of arribada olive ridley sea turtles. In partnership with Southeastern Louisiana University. This grant will support a continuation of simultaneous regional estimates of the olive ridley arribada nesting populations and hatching rates in Panama, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica using standardized methodology.
FWS: $39,935 Leveraged funds: $31,026
Papua New Guinea
MT 11-059 Community-based conservation of leatherback turtles along the Huon Coast, Papua New Guinea 2011-2012. In partnership with Marine Research Foundation. This grant will support community-based nesting beach conservation of the most important leatherback nesting populations in Papua New Guinea and the second most important in the West Pacific.
FWS: $23,000 Leveraged funds: $66,079
Republic of Congo
MT 11-070 Marine turtle monitoring and protection in the Republic of Congo. In partnership with Renatura. This grant will support efforts to protect nesting leatherback and olive ridley sea turtles along 20 km of nesting beach adjacent to Conkouati-Douli National Park. It will also support continuation of a turtle bycatch release program with local fisherman that releases approximately 1,500 turtles annually, and an environmental outreach program with local communities.
FWS: $24,999 Leveraged funds: $26,192
MT 11-068 Leatherback conservation program in Republic of Congo, 2011-2012. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This grant will support a leatherback conservation program along 60 km of high density leatherback nesting beach within Conkouati-Douli National Park, which is contiguous with the major leatherback nesting population in Mayumba National Park, Gabon.
FWS: $68,000 Leveraged funds: $47,083
MT 11-015 (see project summary in Gabon section)
Sao Tome
MT 11-015 (see project summary in Gabon section)
Sierra Leone
MT 11-048 Continued development of a marine turtle conservation program for Sierra Leone and leatherback conservation initiative at Turtle and Bonthe/Sherbro Islands. In partnership with Conservation Society of Sierra Leone. This grant will support community-based conservation programs for marine turtle conservation at key leatherback nesting beaches in Sierra Leone with a special emphasis on community involvement, capacity building, and environmental outreach with fisherman and local communities.
FWS: $66,000 Leveraged funds: $10,412
Solomon Islands
MT 11-061 Leatherback turtle monitoring and conservation at Sasakolo and Lithogagira, Solomon Islands. In partnership with The Nature Conservancy. This grant will support community-based nesting beach conservation programs for the two most important leatherback nesting beaches in the Solomon Islands, which are part of the Critically Endangered West Pacific leatherback nesting population.
FWS: $25,000 Leveraged funds: $28,638
United States of America
MT 11-072 32nd Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation; Marine Turtle Newsletter; Seaturtle.org. In partnership with International Sea Turtle Society. This grant will support 35 students or individuals from institutions in developing countries, who would not otherwise be able to attend this meeting of about 1,000 marine turtle researchers, managers, and conservationists.
FWS: $32,000 Leveraged funds: $68,000
Vietnam
MT 11-006 Community based marine turtle nesting beach conservation in Vietnam; pilot sites for hawksbill turtles in Quang Ninh Province and leatherbacks in Quang Tri Province. In partnership with IUCN (International Union for Conservation of the Nature and Natural Resources). This grant will support a community-based sea turtle conservation program targeted at restoring a once significant but now depleted leatherback nesting population. It will also support a community-based hawksbill conservation project for a depleted nesting and foraging population in and near Bai Tu Long National Park.
FWS: $48,004 Leveraged funds: $57,200
Yemen
MT 11-034 Assessing the status and conservation needs for sea turtles in Yemen, initial steps to building a long-term sea turtle conservation program in Yemen. In partnership with Yemeni Biological Society. This grant will support two Yemeni biologists to travel to Oman for training and to consult with and learn about Oman’s sea turtle conservation programs, management, research and outreach activities at Masirah Island at the beginning of the 2011 loggerhead nesting season. The grantee will build a coalition of groups and experts within Yemen, identify key nesting beaches, and develop conservation projects at the most important nesting beaches.
FWS: $28,000 Leveraged funds: $16,170
Regional - Western Hemishere
MT 11-026 Support for the Fifth Conference of the Parties of the IAC and the meetings of its subsidiary bodies in the framework of the lAC's 10th Anniversary. In partnership with Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles. This grant will support the Secretariat and Party members of the Inter-American Convention to attend the Fifth Conference of the Parties (COP 5) and Consultative and Scientific Committee meetings. It will also provide assistance for the Secretariat’s office to coordinate and organize COP 5 and meetings of the Scientific and Consultative Committees.
FWS: $41,800 Leveraged funds: $40,000
Regional - Africa
MT 11-055 Scientific and technical support to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cape Verde, Principe, and Morocco. In partnership with Ocean Ecology Network. This grantee will provide technical assistance for Marine Turtle Conservation Fund-supported nesting beach projects in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cape Verde, Principe and Morocco. The project will build capacity of implementing personnel and institutions in the areas of scientific techniques and community involvement.
FWS: $36,748 Leveraged funds: $36,748
Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Fund
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 24 new grants from the Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Fund totaling $593,821.90, which was matched by $1,185,685.10 in leveraged funds. Field projects in nineteen countries (in alphabetical order below) will be supported.
Antigua and Barbuda
EA-0216 Antiguan Racer Conservation Project: advancing the recovery of the world's rarest snake. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This grant will continue support for an ongoing project to increase the Antiguan racer population in a group of small islets off the coast of northeast Antigua. The project will identify an additional island suitable for restoration and re-introduction of Antiguan racers, and translocate five Antiguan racers of each sex from the larger colony on Great Bird Island to the smaller colonies on Rabbit and York Islands. The grantee will also conduct invasive species control, field and sociological surveys, educational outreach to local schools, and training and exchange programs with West Indian students and conservation practitioners from other islands.
FWS: $25,000 Leveraged funds: $34,805
Bangladesh
EA-0235 Protecting and stabilizing spoon-billed sandpiper populations along their migration route in China and on the wintering grounds in Bangladesh. In partnership with National Audubon Society. This project will protect wintering spoon-billed sandpipers in southeastern Bangladesh and coastal mudflats used by migrating sandpipers in eastern China. The grantee will conduct winter field surveys in the Sonadia Island region, Bangladesh and surveys in China in the spring and fall, collaborating with Chinese government authorities to raise awareness and recommend key sites for protection along the species’ migration route. The grant will also support establishment of an incentive program to reduce hunting of shorebirds with nets and a community guard program at Sonadia sites.
FWS: $38,300 Leveraged funds: $21,700
Cambodia
EA-0217 Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Program: ensuring the future of the Critically Endangered Siamese crocodile in the wild. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This project will reintroduce at least 20 captive-bred Siamese crocodiles into the wild in southwestern and eastern Cambodia, rescue populations under immediate threat of dam construction in the Cardamom mountains, and establish community-based sanctuaries for crocodiles to be recognized by Cambodia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. The grantee will also identify alternative income-generating activities for local communities, establish a national task force, and recruit and train at least 20 community wardens to patrol wetlands, raise awareness about local wildlife, and report illegal activities.
FWS: $25,000 Leveraged funds: $25,421
Colombia
EA-0285 Support baseline studies to promote declaration of protected areas in Colombia. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will work toward the establishment of protected areas for the most important remnant populations of brown spider monkeys in the middle Magdalena River valley and adjacent foothills of the Central Cordillera, Columbia. Field surveys of species distribution and habitat will be used to develop a conservation management plan, and to select the area to be recommended for formal protection.
FWS: $24,996 Leveraged funds: $46,150
Equatorial Guinea
EA-0211 Conservation strategies to protect the Critically Endangered Pennant's red colobus, Procolobus pennantii, on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. In partnership with Drexel University. This project will enhance forest patrols in the southwestern corner of Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, during the three-month post-rainy season (September-November) when high water discourages personnel from maintaining a regular patrol schedule. The grantee will also conduct market surveys in the urban Malabo (Semu) bushmeat market, continuing a 14-year-old monitoring program, and provide outreach to authorities to promote primate conservation on Bioko Island.
FWS: $16,500 Leveraged funds: $18,500
India
EA-0292 Conserving great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) occupied landscapes through scientific understanding and government-community participatory planning. In partnership with Wildlife Institute of India. This project will deploy at least 3 GPS tracking devices on great Indian bustards in western India to determine habitat use and seasonal migratory movements and to identify key habitat. The grantee will promote establishment of community reserves in Kachchh District and management actions that reduce threats in priority areas for great Indian bustards.
FWS: $24,990 Leveraged funds: $172,311
Indonesia
EA-0210 Rehabilitation and release of the highly endangered Bali starling (Leucopsar rothschildi) on an established island-wide sanctuary on the island of Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia. In partnership with Friends of the National Parks Foundation. This project will increase the genetic diversity of the remaining Bali starling population of 100 individuals on Nusa Penida, by introducing 10 birds with different blood lines purchased from reputable breeders. The grantee will also rehabilitate individuals in a newly constructed enclosure on Nusa Penida, then release and monitor rehabilitated birds during temple ceremonies to reinforce community support for conservation.
FWS: $20,939 Leveraged funds: $3,708
EA-0265 Long-term conservation of maleo nesting ground in Northern Sulawesi through integrated nest site management, non-breeding habitat protection and corridor establishment. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society Indonesia. This project will protect nesting grounds for the maleo on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, to increase the number of successfully hatched eggs at nesting sites and reduce the threats of illegal egg collection and invasive vegetation. The grant will support local guardianship at four managed sites and establishment of warden facilities at a fifth nesting site, Lagamuru, to maintain semi-natural hatcheries that prevent predators from destroying large clutches of eggs.
FWS: $24,996 Leveraged funds: $27,369
Kenya
EA-0231 Conservation of Grevy's zebra through citizen science and action. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Network. This project will increase access to water and forage for Grevy’s zebra in Kenya during the dry season through community outreach and management. The project will identify and manage water sources most used by Grevy’s zebra, provide supplementary feeding to lactating females and foals during periods of stress, improve livestock grazing management, and establish a scout-based monitoring database. Community puppet shows will be performed by village scouts, to raise awareness of the status and management of Grevy’s zebra.
FWS: $25,334 Leveraged funds: $41,316
Madagascar
EA-0205 Protection of the ploughshare tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora) in Baly Bay National Park, Madagascar. In partnership with Chelonian Conservation Center. This project will establish a rapid communication system to report fires, intrusions, or similar activities in Baly Bay National Park to law enforcement. The grant will support village patrols and surveillance to detect illegal trade in live tortoises, and construction of a permanent field station at Beaboaly. The grantee will promote publicity and follow-up of illegal trade cases brought to court, and establishment of a traditional law (dina) for the protection of ploughshare tortoises.
FWS: $24,926 Leveraged funds: $51,315
EA-0215 Reinforcing conservation activities to protect critically endangered lemurs in the Sahamalaza-Iies Radama National Park-Madagascar. In partnership with European Association for Lemur Study and Conservation. This grant will support development of operational ranger stations and ranger training, including manuals and a reporting system, to enhance patrol of core zones of a protected area in Madagascar. The grantee will recruit at least 4 more local villagers to be trained as rangers and construct two ranger stations, including one in the buffer zone to the east of Ankarafa Forest and one in the buffer zone on the eastern side of the Sahamalaza Peninsula.
FWS: $24,252.90 Leveraged funds: $37,340.10
Malaysia
EA-0305 Capacity building in Latin America and Southeast Asia for endangered tapirs; International Tapir Symposium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 16-21, 2011. In partnership with Houston Zoo, Inc. This project will assist up to eight tapir conservationists from Latin America and Southeast Asia to attend the International Tapir Symposium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 2011.
FWS: $5,000 Leveraged funds: $58,100
New Caledonia
EA-0261 Putting New Caledonia's National Emblem on the map. In partnership with BirdLife International. This grant will support field surveys for the kagu in New Caledonia with acoustic monitoring units, training for community members to collect field data and report kagu sightings to a coordinator, and outreach to promote kagu conservation.
FWS: $24,925 Leveraged funds: $51,941
Pakistan
EA-0281 Vulture Safe Zone. In partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan. This project will develop a refuge for the white-backed vulture in southeastern Pakistan and awareness campaigns to reduce the use of veterinary drugs harmful to vultures, such as Diclofenac. The grantee will collaborate with veterinary pharmaceutical companies to reduce accidental vulture mortality and test drug alternatives, such as Meloxicam, promoting them if they are found to be safer, through veterinarian outreach and a free vaccination program for the livestock in local communities.
FWS: $21,330 Leveraged funds: $0
EA-0287 Expanding protection for snow leopards in Pakistan. In partnership with International Snow Leopard Trust. This project will reduce the killing of snow leopards in response to livestock depredation at 12 sites in the Chitral District, northern Pakistan. The grantee will conduct community outreach to promote conservation in over 900 households from 12 communities in the Torkho, Mastuj, and Laspur Valleys, including school outreach to promote environmental education with 11 schools and a vaccine delivery campaign to improve livestock health in return for a commitment from communities to limit herd sizes and to refrain from killing snow leopards and their primary prey.
FWS: $23,350 Leveraged funds: $44,540
EA-0270 Community-based conservation of the endangered flare-horned markhor in Gilgit-Baltistan Province, Pakistan. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project aims to increase the number of local resource committees for markhor conservation in northern Pakistan from 23 to 34, and to increase the number of deployed community rangers from 62 to 88. The grant will support biannual field surveys, and the creation of conservancies that join together neighboring communities to manage markhor populations across landscapes.
FWS: $24,517 Leveraged funds: $24,129
Panama
EA-0199 Saving the pygmy three-toed sloth from extinction. In partnership with Zoological Society of London. This grantee will collaborate with local authorities and community organizations in Escudo de Veraguas Island, Panama, to reduce poaching of pygmy sloths and destruction of mangrove habitat. The grant will support a refurbished park ranger facility, field surveys of sloth populations and habitat, and socio-economic surveys of local community members. The grantee will hold at least 4 environmental workshops for fishermen and their families, and organize a fishermen’s committee to be incorporated into a regional development and conservation association, ADEPESCO.
FWS: $24,780 Leveraged funds: $53,435
Peru
EA-0278 Community-based conservation of the white-winged guan in the Lambayeque-Cajamarca Biological Corridor, Northwest Peru. In partnership with Asociacion TuTierra. This grant will support an effort to develop and implement community-based conservation plans for the white-winged guan in northwestern Peru. The project will provide support for communities to register land as private conservation areas, for outreach to local schools, and to recruit and train at least 4 conservation agents to provide leadership within the community and monitor white-winged guan presence.
FWS: $24,980 Leveraged funds: $18,350
Russian Federation
EA-0245 Conserving Critically Endangered Salmonids, Koppi River, Russian Far East. In partnership with Wild Salmon Center. This project will recruit members of the Salmon Council and Hunters and Fishers Society to enroll in the Khabarovsk inspector certification process and to join public-private patrol teams to reduce illegal harvest of the Sakhalin taimen in southeastern Russia. The grantee will conduct market surveys to detect threatened fish species and provide angler outreach to promote best fishing practices.
FWS: $23,480 Leveraged funds: $49,060
EA-0223 Anti-poaching measures to protect the Argut snow leopard population in Russia's Altai Republic. In partnership with Earth Island Institute. This project will establish and train an anti-poaching patrol team in the middle section of the Argut River watershed in southern Russia, consisting of local village residents, NGO staff, and inspectors from the Altai Republic’s Game Management Committee. The team will conduct patrols to remove snares for snow leopards and other wildlife, and apprehend poachers according to Russian and Altai Republic law.
FWS: $24,998 Leveraged funds: $28,929
South Africa
EA-0253 African penguin chick bolstering project, South Africa: an action plan towards bolstering wild populations. In partnership with Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds. This project will supplement existing wild colonies of African penguin in South Africa through construction of a chick-rearing facility at SANCCOB and rehabilitation and release of abandoned chicks. Field monitoring of juveniles with tracking devices and other efforts will increase understanding of how environmental change affects the viability of colonies and how to assist wildlife adapt to climate change.
FWS: $24,000 Leveraged funds: $107,500
Vietnam
EA-0260 Institutionalize the conservation for the Crticially Endangered Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus) in Vietnam. In partnership with Vietnam National Parks and Protected Areas Association (VNPPA). This project will establish a stakeholder working group with members from government wildlife and scientific authorities, and hold a one-day workshop in Hanoi to promote awareness and reduce threats to the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey in northern Vietnam. Community-based teams and rangers will be trained to patrol and collect field data as well.
FWS: $24,820 Leveraged funds: $10,550
Zambia
EA-0274 Decreasing snaring mortality on transboundary source populations of African wild dogs in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia through community-based law enforcement. In partnership with South Luangwa Conservation Society. This project will provide support and equipment for community-based snare-removal teams to decrease the incidences of snared wild dogs, and for aerial surveillance to guide ground patrols. The grant will also support training courses for wildlife scouts in data collection, and training for a government veterinarian in wildlife immobilization and treatment.
FWS: $35,620 Leveraged funds: $185,840
Zimbabwe
EA-0280 Conserving the endangered African wild dog in the Zimbabwean part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area. In partnership with African Wildlife Conservation Fund. This grant will support a long-term, sustainable education, and conservation project for African wild dogs in the Zimbabwean part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA). The grantee will develop a regional photographic database, and produce a large carnivore conservation plan for the GLTFC. Vaccination campaigns will improve domestic dog health and reduce the risk of disease transmission to wild carnivores.
FWS: $36,788 Leveraged funds: $73,376
Amphibians In Decline Fund
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 13 new grants from the Amphibians In Decline Fund totaling $343,341.00, which was matched by $483,311.50 in leveraged funds. Field projects in thirteen countries (in alphabetical order below) will be supported.
Cameroon
AD-0116 Conservation of Cameroon's caecilian amphibians. In partnership with The Natural History Museum. This project will support five species of poorly known caecilians in Cameroon by building national capacity in caecilian natural history and conservation. The grantee will conduct field surveys in forested areas, reassessments of the species’ conservation status, and training for Cameroonian personnel in caecilian biology and conservation.
FWS/USAID: $24,955 Leveraged funds: $25,432
China
AD-0074 Building a future for the Chinese giant salamander: a consolidated approach to the conservation of Andrias davidianus. In partnership with Zoological Society of London. This project will build a long-term program for conservation of the Chinese giant salamander. The grantee will conduct field surveys and genetic analysis of giant salamander populations in Anhui, Guangxi, Shaanxi, and Qing’hai, including surveillance for emerging infectious diseases. The project will also build capacity for networks of Chinese experts and stakeholders at key institutions, and train Chinese conservationists in field and laboratory protocols.
FWS: $24,955 Leveraged funds: $109,272
Costa Rica
AD-0107 Identifying antifungal cutaneous bacteria for potential biocontrol of the amphibian chytrid fungus in Costa Rica. In partnership with University of South Dakota. This grant will support the costs of culturing bacteria from amphibian populations that have survived chytridiomycosis epidemics to search for microbes that may increase resistance to the disease. The grantee will grow different types of bacteria found on at least 20 wild frogs from 10 populations in Costa Rica, and conduct trials to identify the bacteria species that inhibits the fungal pathogen responsible for chytridiomycosis.
FWS: $34,997 Leveraged funds: $12,947
Ecuador
AD-0103 Emergency action for the conservation of Hyloxalus jacobuspetersi (Amphibia: Dendrobatidae), a species at the verge of extinction. In partnership with Fundacion Ontaga. This project will establish a captive assurance colony for a species of poison arrow dart frog, Hyloxalus jacobuspetersi, in central Ecuador. The grantee will conduct field surveys and behavioral studies of wild individuals in the Valle de los Chillos, including disease surveillance to determine frequency of infection and chytrid’s impact on the survival of target species. The grantee will also protect and restore habitat for the species, including re-routing of a visitor path.
FWS: $24,999 Leveraged funds: $4,550
Equatorial Guinea
AD-0113 Conservation of Bioko Island's endangered amphibians, Arlequins krebis and Didynamipus sjostedti. In partnership with Drexel University. This project will prevent immediate destruction of critical habitat for two endangered frogs on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. The grantee will conduct a habitat assessment and coordinate with a road construction company, Razel Inc., to mitigate the effects of a new road. The grantee will also promote amphibian conservation to local authorities.
FWS/USAID: $10,609 Leveraged funds: $11,681
Ethiopia
AD-0088 Conserving threatened amphibians of the Ethiopian highlands. In partnership with University of Basel. This project will develop management plans for at least four target amphibian species in the Ethiopian highlands, including revision of the species’ IUCN Red List assessments and public outreach. The grantee will conduct disease surveillance and field surveys of species distribution and habitat, including less developed forest sites in Bale Mountain National Park and the Simien Mountains, and training for government wildlife authorities in amphibian conservation and field data collection.
FWS/USAID: $30,650 Leveraged funds: $26,635
India
AD-0090 Evaluation and impact of chytridiomycosis on the endemic, highly threatened amphibians of the Western Ghats. In partnership with Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society-Zoo Outreach Organization. This project will sample for the presence of the fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in the threatened amphibians of the Western Ghats, India. The grantee will conduct a field survey of the status of Bd in at least 10 locations, develop a policy document that addresses exotic species in the aquarium trade, and coordinate public outreach to promote amphibian conservation.
FWS: $24,640 Leveraged funds: $43,010
Kenya
AD-0070 Habitat restoration for the critically endangered Sagalla caecilian Boulengerula niedeni Muller, Measey, Loader & Malonza, 2005 in Sagalla Hill, Kenya. In partnership with National Museums of Kenya. This project will address the direct threats affecting the Sagalla caecilian including soil erosion, water draining, and siphoning effects of exotic plant species. The grant will support hiring and supervising of community participants to identify and plant the most viable native tree species for each location. The grantee will develop educational materials on procedures for tendering and maintenance of native plant species.
FWS: $22,917 Leveraged funds: $11,995
Madagascar
AD-0076 Supporting communities to conserve the critically endangered golden mantella frog in Madagascar. In partnership with Madagasikara Voakajy. This project will engage the government of Madagascar to support community-based organizations to conserve the golden mantella frog. The project will restore and protect breeding ponds damaged by gold mining, train at least 5 community members to collect field data, and establish a community-based conservation organization in Lakato Village. Community outreach will promote amphibian conservation and establish a traditional law to protect the breeding ponds.
FWS/USAID: $24,925 Leveraged funds: $49,653
Panama
AD-0072 Probiotic method to reduce the threat of chytridiomycosis to Panamanian Golden Frogs II. In partnership with Smithsonian Institution. This project will test the ability of anti-fungal bacteria to persist on Panamanian golden frog skin and confer resistance to the fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which is affecting golden frog populations. Skin swabs of Panamanian frogs will determine if these beneficial bacteria can colonize and persist on the skin of the species, and laboratory trials will treat the frogs to determine if anti-fungal bacteria improves survival of frogs exposed to Bd.
FWS: $29,000 Leveraged funds: $29,027
Peru
AD-0089 Conserving Peru's Lake Titacaca frog. In partnership with Denver Zoological Foundation. This project will reduce harvest of the Lake Titicaca frog in Peru and increase awareness of the conservation status of the species. The grantee will conduct field surveys to assess population trends, sampling for genetic analysis and fungal chytrid pathogen, and public outreach to promote amphibian conservation. An amphibian breeding center will be established at the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano (UNA) at Puno.
FWS: $23,390 Leveraged funds: $102,330
Philippines
AD-0084 Can we prevent a chytridiomycosis epidemic in the Philippines? In partnership with San Francisco State University. This project will comprehensively survey for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in the Phillippines and attempt to lower Bd infection intensity by treating frogs with beneficial bacteria. The grantee will treat free-ranging amphibians with native mutually beneficial bacteria, and monitor the treatment’s success against the fungal pathogen responsible for chytridiomycosis.
FWS: $24,997 Leveraged funds: $20,023
South Africa
AD-0098 Rough moss frog habitat protection project. In partnership with CapeNature. This project will restore at least 1,350 hectares of habitat for the rough moss frog in southern South Africa by controlling an invasive pine tree that increases the risk of catastrophic fire. The grantee will also conduct at least 6 field surveys of rough moss frog abundance.
FWSUSAID: $42,307 Leveraged funds: $36,756.5
Wildlife Without Borders-Africa
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 18 new grants from the Wildlife Without Borders-Africa program totaling $1,373,767.85, which was matched by $813,661.00 in leveraged funds. Field projects in eleven countries (in alphabetical order below) will be supported, in addition to seven projects that involve multiple countries.
Democratic Republic of Congo
AFR-0114 Building the foundation for a range-wide okapi conservation status assessment. In partnership with Zoological Society of London. The purpose of this project is to train rangers from the Institut Congolais pour la Conservacion de la Nature (ICCN), the conservation authority of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as part of a major field-based okapi conservation status assessment. Informative field guides on okapi ecology and public awareness-raising materials will be produced through broader collaborative conservation and community education efforts.
FWS/USAID: $93,985 Leveraged funds: $146,517
Ethiopia
AFR-0081 Training park personnel on fish resource identification and conservation in Alatish National Park, Ethiopia. In partnership with Addis Ababa University and Institute of Biodiversity Conservation. The purpose of this project is to train park personnel in Alatish National Park on diversity, distribution and importance of the fish life of the region. Park staff will learn methods of sampling, identification, and data collection on fishes in order to improve their conservation and management activities.
FWS/USAID: $24,816 Leveraged funds: $6,160
Gabon
AFR-0086 Increasing Institutional and Individual Capacity for Crocodile and Hippo Management in Gabon Through the Implementation of a Crocodile Management Unit. In partnership with Rare Species Conservatory Foundation. The purpose of this project is to build the capacity of a Crocodile Management Unit within the Gabonese National Parks Agency (ANPN) and the Department of Wildlife to manage and conserve their crocodile and hippopotamus populations in four critical protected areas. Through workshops and hands-on training, Gabonese personnel will gain an understanding of the threats facing crocodiles and hippopotami, gather data needed to mitigate these threats, assess opportunities for reintroductions, and work on conservation management.
FWS/USAID: $49,610 Leveraged funds: $36,532
Gabon and Republic of Congo
AFR-0141 MENTOR-FOREST: Building conservation capacity in the Congo Basin - a multi-disciplinary team training program to improve forest stewardship and wildlife conservation. In partnership with Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux. The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to develop an innovative new program to build a team of ten Central African forest resource professionals. The team will work together to improve upon current forestry programs, identify new forest stewardship strategies and methods, mitigate impacts to wildlife and provide information critical to the sustainable management of forests. MENTOR (Mentoring for ENvironmental Training in Outreach and Resource conservation) is a Wildlife Without Borders Signature Initiative that builds the capacity of teams of African conservationists who can work together to address complex conservation challenges.
FWS/USAID: $599,957 Leveraged funds: $100,000
Kenya
AFR-0108 Planning for the Sustainable Management of Kenya's Tana River Delta. In partnership with Nature Kenya. The purpose of this project is to increase Kenya’s capacity to manage the Tana River Delta sustainably by creating a government-led action plan for the delta and by facilitating the implementation of the plan. Activities include a workshop attended by representatives of all key stakeholder groups; building capacity within civil society to advocate for effective implementation of the plan; and ensuring that the Ramsar designation process for the Tana River Delta is completed as an essential step towards the establishment of a sustainable ‘wise use’ management regime for this vitally important site.
FWS/USAID: $43,330 Leveraged funds: $28,850
Liberia and Sierra Leone
AFR-0113 Developing a program and building capacity for the conservation of the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) across its range states. In partnership with Zoological Society of London. The purpose of this project is to strengthen the capacity of governments and national stakeholders in the pygmy hippopotamus range states of Liberia and Sierra Leone. It will train senior government wildlife authority staff, NGO personnel and university staff in strategic planning, field techniques and wildlife monitoring; help develop an IUCN Species Survival Commission-endorsed Pygmy Hippo Conservation Strategy; determine the current distribution of and threats to the pygmy hippo; and raise awareness about this evolutionarily distinct and endangered species.
FWS/USAID: $51,566 Leveraged funds: $63,404
Sierra Leone
AFR-0082 Professional Training in Wildlife Conservation and Protected Area Management at Njala University, Sierra Leone. In partnership with Njala University. The purpose of this project is for faculty of Njala University to conduct a conservation capacity needs assessment, and develop and implement new in-service training short courses to address identified needs on wildlife conservation and protected area management for individuals working for government agencies, civil society and the private sector.
FWS/USAID: $64,123 Leveraged funds: $12,980
South Africa
AFR-0120 Training for Kruger National Park Natural Resource Managers. In partnership with Southern African Wildlife College. The purpose of this project is to support a training effort to improve management of Kruger National Park, South Africa. Activities will include conducting courses in trans-frontier conservation area management, human-wildlife conflict, and community-based natural resource management. The project will also build skills in anti-poaching techniques and geographical information systems for wildlife managers.
FWS/USAID: $51,541 Leveraged funds: $15,742
South Sudan
AFR-0137 Building capacity to reduce bushmeat consumption and trade in neighboring villages around the Bor Corridor, South Sudan. In partnership with Isaac Seme and Wildlife Conservation Society. The purpose of this project is to build the capacity of ex-poachers to address the illegal bushmeat trade in three villages (Jalle, Pariak, and Padak) around the Bor migratory corridor in the Boma-Jonglei landscape in South Sudan. It will make consumers and sellers aware of the bushmeat crisis in South Sudan, and train ex-poachers to participate in fish production as an alternative to reduce bushmeat hunting in the Bor Corridor.
FWS/USAID: $10,000 Leveraged funds: $6,000
Tanzania
AFR-0138 Capacity building to reduce illegal elephant hunting and bushmeat trade in the Selous Ecosystem in Tanzania. In partnership with Tanzania Wildlife Division. This purpose of this project is to respond to illegal elephant hunting for bushmeat in and around the Selous ecosystem. Activities will include holding meetings with village leaders and wildlife managers to discuss the status of the bushmeat trade, organizing workshops to train game wardens and village scouts to monitor elephants killed for bushmeat and to report elephant deaths, interviewing village residents involved in the bushmeat trade, and launching an awareness campaign in villages and schools about illegal bushmeat hunting and consumption.
FWS/USAID: $11,778 Leveraged funds: $115,760
Uganda
AFR-0135 Alternative income generating activities for cultural chiefs and reformed poachers group in areas around Murchison Falls Conservation Area, Uganda. In partnership with Okello Genesis. The purpose of this grant is to build upon ongoing efforts to engage cultural chiefs and the reformed poachers around the Murchison Falls Conservation Area in conservation. It will build the capacity of leaders to aid in reducing bushmeat trade and consumption by addressing protein and economic alternatives together with bushmeat awareness and law enforcement efforts.
FWS/USAID: $10,000 Leveraged funds: $3,626
Regional - Eastern and Southern Africa
AFR-0134 Capacity development for effective management and conservation of cheetah and wild dog populations in Eastern and Southern Africa. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This purpose of this project is to improve management of cheetah and wild dog populations in Eastern and Southern Africa. Activities will include developing course material, conducting a training course for wildlife managers from the range states in the cheetah and wild dog species ranges, and creating a web-based network of managers to share information and experience.
FWS/USAID: $49,336 Leveraged funds: $37,278
Regional - Southern Africa
AFR-0132 2011 AHEAD-GLTFCA Working Group Meeting. In partnership with South African National Parks and University of Pretoria. The purpose of this project is to bring together stakeholders to strategically plan and provide technical support and resources to address the interface of wildlife health, livestock health, human health and livelihoods for the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA) of South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Through the Animal & Human Health for Environment and Development (AHEAD)-GLTFCA decision-making process, collaborators will design projects to address complex trans-boundary conservation challenges.
FWS/USAID: $24,999 Leveraged funds: $31,950
Regional - West Africa
AFR-0085 Capacity Building for improvement of protected areas management in West Africa. In partnership with IUCN-PACO. The purpose of this project is to train 20 conservationists from Mali, Ivory Coast, Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso through a 12-week program on protected area management. Trainees will learn tools and technical skills that will enable them to better understand conservation challenges and deal with dynamics within and surrounding protected areas in West Africa.
FWS/USAID: $46,382 Leveraged funds: $45,580
Regional - West and Central Africa
AFR-0139 Scholarships and technical capacity building at Garoua Ecole de Faune. In partnership with Ecole de Faune de Garoua. [NOTE: $10,000 additional funded by the Great Ape Conservation Fund, total award $120,000.] The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to provide three USFWS scholarships to West and Central African wildlife professionals who will benefit from contact with USFWS and partner organizations over the course of their careers. It also builds the capacity of Ecole de Faune de Garoua faculty to more effectively teach and conduct applied research on great apes and wildlife conservation.
FWS/USAID: $110,000 Leveraged funds: $20,828
Regional - Africa
AFR-0106 Conserving the West African Manatee (Trichechus senegalensis): Capacity Building for Long-Term Success. In partnership with Ecohealth Alliance. The purpose of this project is to build a collaborative network of African researchers and resource managers who can work together to conserve West African manatees in every country in the species range (the African Atlantic coast from Mauritania to Angola, and the interior countries of Mali, Niger and Chad). Activities include training in manatee fieldwork techniques and provision of needed field equipment in the network members’ countries. Information on manatees will be disseminated to stakeholders to enable them to make informed decisions regarding the conservation of the West African manatee.
FWS/USAID: $12,081.85 Leveraged funds: $59,772
AFR-0122 The Pan-African Vulture Conservation Initiative. In partnership with Endangered Wildlife Trust. The purpose of this project is to organize an African Vulture Summit to build a network of vulture specialists, researchers and fieldworkers across the continent who can work together to communicate, share information, build capacity, and transfer skills. The initiative will promote conservation interventions to address the growing threats leading to declines in vulture populations.
FWS/USAID: $43,000 Leveraged funds: $8,000
AFR-0106 Conserving the West African Manatee (Trichechus senegalensis): Capacity Building for Long-Term Success. In partnership with Sea to Shore Alliance. The purpose of this project is to build a collaborative network of African researchers and resource managers who can work together to conserve West African manatees in every country in the species range (the African Atlantic coast from Mauritania to Angola, and the interior countries of Mali, Niger and Chad). Activities include training in manatee fieldwork techniques and provision of needed field equipment in the network members’ countries. Information on manatees will be disseminated to stakeholders to enable them to make informed decisions regarding the conservation of the West African manatee.
FWS/USAID: $77,263 Leveraged funds: $74,682
Wildlife Without Borders-Latin America and the Caribbean
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 9 new grants from the Wildlife Without Borders-Latin America and the Caribbean program totaling $757,920.90, which was matched by $910,711.50 in leveraged funds. Field projects in six countries (in alphabetical order below) will be supported, in addition to one project that involves multiple countries.
Argentina
LAC 11-007 Urban Natural Reserve System in the Rio Gallegos Estuary: Building local capacity for participatory management. In partnership with Asociacion Ambiente Sur. This project will increase local support and participation in the conservation of biodiversity and management of the Rio Gallegos estuary. The grantee will increase community awareness about the importance of the reserves and promote positive behavior changes through social marketing techniques.
FWS: $91,500 Leveraged funds: $209,900
LAC 11-015 Support to the Graduate Program in Wildlife Management at the National University of Cordoba, Argentina. In partnership with Centro de Zoologia Aplicada. This grant will support the Graduate Program in Wildlife Management at the National University of Cordoba, Argentina, by providing funding for student scholarships, visiting professors, and practical field experiences that enhance coursework.
FWS: $99,500 Leveraged funds: $235,500
Belize
LAC 11-008 Changing attitudes and behaviors towards conservation through coordinated and integrated landscape management in the Maya Golden Landscape, Southern Belize. In partnership with Fauna and Flora International. This project will increase participation and buy-in for the integrated management of the Maya Golden Landscape (MGL). It will bring together multiple stakeholders to identify and develop strategies that promote the sustainable use of natural resources.
FWS: $99,998 Leveraged funds: $100,213
Brazil
LAC 11-013 Reducing hunting and consumption of wild meat in the lower Purus Watershed, Amazonas, Brazil. In partnership with Instituto Piagacu. This project will test and compare the effectiveness of two types of interventions for reducing consumption and hunting of wild meat. The first intervention is to reduce the price of domestic meat alternatives and the second is to use social marketing techniques to increase community awarenes of the impacts of wild meat hunting.
FWS: $99,997.40 Leveraged funds: $49,487.50
Colombia
LAC 11-012 Proyecto Titi efforts to expand our sustainable development programs to foster cotton-top tamarin conservation, Colombia. In partnership with Fundacion Proyecto Titi. This project will expand sustainable development activities for rural communities in order to reduce forest resource extraction in cotton-top tamarin habitat. These activities will complement on-going youth environmental education programs in local schools.
FWS: $78,385.50 Leveraged funds: $48,560
Guatemala
LAC 11-005 Building a constituency for jaguar conservation, reducing human-jaguar conflict and increasing jaguar survival in the East Section of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala. In partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society. This project will combine community outreach with capacity building programs for ranchers within the southeastern Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) Buffer Zone to reduce negative perceptions about jaguars and increase the adoption of human-jaguar conflict management.
FWS: $100,000 Leveraged funds: $78,766
LAC 11-004 Socialization program for the New Cynegetic Region II and institutionalization of Environmental-Cultural Education Program in Northwestern Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. In partnership with Organizacion para la Conservacion de la Naturaleza y Desarrollo Comunitario (ORCONDECO). This project will raise public awareness of the legal agreements pertaining to the Cyngetic Region II with community leaders and authorities. It also aims to institutionalize the Environmental-Cultural Education School Program.
FWS: $89,880 Leveraged funds: $87,743
Peru
LAC 11-016 Student travel awards support for the IXth Neotropical Ornithological Congress in Cusco, Peru 8-14 November 2011. In partnership with Neotropical Ornithological Society. This grant will provide travel support to graduate students from Latin America and the Caribbean to attend the IXth Neotropical Ornithological Congress in Cusco, Peru from November 8 - 14, 2011.
FWS: $5,000 Leveraged funds: $0
Regional-LAC
LAC 11-001 Using Caribbean BirdSleuth to develop a conservation constituency. In partnership with Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds. This project will create a curriculum and associated collaborative web tools that promote student environmental stewardship. The grantee will train project partners and educators in the use of BirdSleuth Caribbean curricula.
FWS: $93,660 Leveraged funds: $100,542
Wildlife Without Borders-Mexico
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 22 new grants from the Wildlife Without Borders-Mexico program totaling $691,293.42, which was matched by $1,658,205.80 in leveraged funds.
MX 11-066 U.S. State agencies participation in the 2011 Canada/Mexico/U.S. Trilateral Committee for Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation and Management (Trilateral Committee) in Mexico. In partnership with Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. This grant supported U.S. state agencies (California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas) to participate in the Canada/Mexico/U.S. Trilateral Committee for Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation and Management Annual Meeting, which took place in Oaxaca, Mexico from May 16-20, 2011.
FWS: $15,000 Leveraged funds: $15,000
MX 11-002 Increasing elementary school teachers' knowledge in biodiversity conservation and their participation in the Mexican Program for the Conservation of Bats. In partnership with Bioconciencia, Bioconservacion, Educacion y Ciencia A.C. This grantee has worked over 10 years with the Natural Sciences Academy of the National Teachers College of Mexico City to implement an educational program on biodiversity conservation. This project will train future teachers (currently in college) on various teaching methods and techniques, so they can help advance biodiversity conservation education in their professional careers as schoolteachers.
FWS: $12,300 Leveraged funds: $35,955
MX 11-005 Training and environmental education of indigenous people as agents of change: monitoring and conservation of pollinating bat habitat in the Priority Conservation Region Urique Batopilas, Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua, Mexico. In partnership with Ecologia y Comunidad Sustentable A.C. This grantee in cooperation with local partners is gathering ancestral knowledge from the Raramuris native group to design educational modules about local species. The grantee will work with the community to define areas of protection for bats and ultimately establish a habitat corridor.
FWS: $45,000 Leveraged funds: $65,786
MX 11-007 Training on sustainable natural resources management for subsistence farmers in the Region of Chilapa, Guerrero, Mexico. In partnership with Grupo de Estudios Ambientales, A.C. This project will further advance the strategy to train subsistence farmers on sustainable land management, by considering the natural and socio-cultural environments and technical capacity. Particular emphasis will be given to women and youths in the area. The establishment of community reserves is also part of Grupo de Estudios Ambientales’ initiative to train peasant farmers.
FWS: $38,800 Leveraged funds: $118,000
MX 11-015 Management of two community owned Natural Protected Areas in the Lacandona Jungle and Sierra Costa in Chiapas – Phase IV. In partnership with Instituto para el Desarrollo Sustentable en Mesoamerica, A.C. This project will provide continuing training for local land managers on long-term environmental monitoring, land management, zoning, and development, including protected areas management plans. Voluntary Conservation or Community Owned Natural Protected Areas (CNPAs) is a designation the Government of Mexico has created to achieve natural resources conservation at local communities or ejidos.
FWS: $40,000 Leveraged funds: $15,938
MX 11-016 Strengthening wildlife management and sustainable practices in Mexico. In partnership with World Wildlife Fund, Inc. This project will increase capacity on wildlife management and sustainable use practices through three training workshops to government officials and key community personnel who are responsible for the management of natural resources in protected areas. Mexican authorities currently lack sufficient capacity to perform their duties to protect the country’s natural resources.
FWS: $40,000 Leveraged funds: $7,344
MX 11-022 Training on cultivation techniques of camedor palm (Chamaedorea radicalis) as a conservation and sustainable management strategy in El Cielo Biosphere Reserve, Tamaulipas, Mexico. In partnership with Instituto de Ecologia Aplicada de la Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas. This project will train peasant farmers on the best practices and techniques to grow and manage camedor palm in a sustainable fashion. Workshops will teach peasants how to cultivate and grow commercial crops. By the end of this project, participants should be able to educate and pass on their knowledge to other community members.
FWS: $9,782 Leveraged funds: $32,980
MX 11-036 A sustainable model for recovery and conservation of the San Juan Micro - watershed in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR), Part II. In partnership with ALTERNARE, A.C. This project will continue educating and training communities of the MBBR to adopt sustainable productive practices and recover the degrated ecosystems of the area. Restoration of the ecosystems in the San Juan micro-watershed is urgent because its forests shelter the western hemisphere’s monarch butterflies during hibernation, have a rich biodiversity, and capture rain water for the Balsas and Lerma Rivers, which are part of two important basins.
FWS: $26,000 Leveraged funds: $296,670
MX 11-039 Training to conduct community monitoring for wildlife resources. In partnership with Conservacion Biologica y Desarrollo Social, A.C. This project is located in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve in the Canada Oaxaqueña region, where community groups conduct field trips to monitor and protect wildlife resources. This project will increase the technical and scientific capacity of these groups to monitor mammals, analyze data and communicate effectively. The grantee will work with communities to analyze monitoring results and to set goals and strategies for the management and protection of local wildlife.
FWS: $17,519 Leveraged funds: $55,312.90
MX 11-053 From My Forest Understory to the Canopy: a strategy on environmental education and the recovery of indigenous knowledge on mammals in Lacandon Communities, Chiapas, Mexico. In partnership with Tierra Verde Naturaleza y Cultura, A.C. This grantee will work with native Lacandon ethnic groups to develop a conservation ethic and safeguard indigenous knowledge of land stewardship. Three of the principle Lacandon groups live in nine Natural Protected Areas in the Lacandon Jungle, where human activities are disturbing the biological integrity of the area and taking a toll on the cultural identity of these ethnic groups.
FWS: $40,000 Leveraged funds: $31,485
MX 11-054 Training local groups from the Maya Community of Hidalgo and Cortez as environmental guards for the sustainable management and development of their forest. In partnership with Pronatura Peninsula de Yucatan, A.C. This project will increase the capacity of communities of Hidalgo and Cortez (Mayan culture) to develop three economic activities under the Best Management Program for 300 hectares of forest. The National Forest Commission (CONAFOR) gave the communities authorization to sustainably use this area for 30 years. The grantee will promote the sustainable use of the land and economic development, while maintaining the traditions of the Mayan culture.
FWS: $17,872 Leveraged funds: $20,172.80
MX 11-056 Creating and increasing the capacity of conservation professionals in Mexico through the Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners (RECP). In partnership with Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). This project addresses the training needs of employees of CONANP and SEMARNAT and other state government agencies of three critical regions in Mexico: (1) North and Sierra Madre Occidental, (2) Northeast and Sierra Madre Oriental, and (3) Gulf of Mexico-Coastal Plain. The grant will support three courses in conservation biology for decision makers and conservation professionals, to familiarize them with the tools and environmental education materials available in the Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners.
FWS: $36,000 Leveraged funds: $84,770
MX 11-059 Training for the earlier detection and monitoring of exotic marine invertebrates in Sinaloa, Mexico. In partnership with GEOMARE, A.C. This project will create a contact guide and train aquaculturists, touristic, sport fishing and yacht cleaning service providers, government inspection officials and students on techniques to prevent, detect, and monitor existent and new exotic species of marine invertebrates. The state of Sinaloa, Mexico is very vulnerable to exotic species invasion due to its diversity of coastal ecosystems, aquaculture activities, the presence of two harbors, and the development of new marinas.
FWS: $20,703 Leveraged funds: $46,495
MX 11-061 Training landowners of the Sierra Manuel Diaz: management and sustainable use of natural resources in their private protected areas. In partnership with Pronatura Mexico A.C.- Region Veracruz. This grantee works with landowners in the central coast of Veracruz to protect and manage their land. This project will continue education for landowners on the environmental, economic and conservation value of their land, increasing their ability to manage privately owned protected areas. The landowners will enhance benefits from sustainable use of their natural resources and develop new economic opportunities in Sierra Manuel Díaz.
FWS: $29,999.10 Leveraged funds: $35,596.10
MX 11-051 RED Sustainable Tourism: linking natural resource conservation and sustainable economic alternatives in Northwestern Mexico. In partnership with RED Sustainable Tourism, a project of International Community Foundation. This project will develop a network of small community owned tourism enterprises in Northwestern Mexico that support conservation through direct financial contributions, and by involving community and tourists in conservation activities. This project addresses the relationship between the well-being of local communities and the health of marine environments by linking enterprises with sustainable livelihood alternatives.
FWS: $30,000.32 Leveraged funds: $201,947
MX 11-052 An environmental educators’ network. In partnership with Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo, A.C. This project aims to strengthen an existing network of citizens committed to conservation from the coastal wetlands of Matzatlan, state of Sinaloa, Mexico. The grantee will form a network of young environmental advocates to advance the conservation of wetlands. The project will analyze the socio-economic situation and conditions of the local environment, and raise awareness about human-nature interactions.
FWS: $13,762 Leveraged funds: $93,430
MX 11-050 Monitoring biodiversity in community conservation areas in Oaxaca, Mexico through training of community promoters. In partnership with Centro de Estudios Andayú, S.C. This grant will continue support for community promoters to begin an inventory of the biological resources in their conservation areas over a six month period. Training on collection techniques, methods to assess the spatial dynamic of populations and technical tools to systematize data will precede the inventory part of the project. At the end of the project period, participants will be able to train other members of the communities on the subjects learned.
FWS: $33,976 Leveraged funds: $35,247
MX 11-006 Creating awareness through education concerning climate change and deforestation in the Sierra Tarahumara. In partnership with Sierra Madre Alliance, Inc. This project will develop awareness about the importance of conserving the Tarahumara forests, which are home to pine-oaks known for sheltering a great amount of the biodiversity in Mexico. The grantee will educate local residents on climate change and deforestation, and provide lessons for good practices in forest management based on traditional knowledge.
FWS: $37,000 Leveraged funds: $68,321
MX 11-020 Replication of successful conservation strategies of the Sierra Gorda Ecological Group in Natural Protected Areas. In partnership with Grupo Ecologico Sierra Gorda, A.C. This project will establish educational and participatory networks that link together stakeholders in order to strengthen the National System of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) in Mexico. On-site workshops and a virtual campus will introduce the networks, based on the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve's successful model of comanagement between the civil society and the federal government of Mexico.
FWS: $50,000 Leveraged funds: $79,544
MX 11-003 School for rural environmental and development advocates. In partnership with Centro Campesino para el Desarrollo Sustentable, A.C. This project will focus on strengthening the capacities and outreach techniques of 20 rural environmental education and sustainable development promoters from Tlaxcala, Mexico. The training courses will focus on developing skills in outreach, leadership skills, activity planning, and teaching of sustainable agriculture alternatives under climate change.
FWS: $25,000 Leveraged funds: $49,808
MX 11-031 Course in environmental management of natural protected areas in the southeast of Mexico. In partnership with Ducks Unlimited de Mexico, A.C. This project will provide training to build the capacity of protected areas managers from Mexico and Latin America to properly manage natural resources. The course is certified by the Autonomous University of Yucatan (UADY), with 540 hours (2 months) of training.
FWS: $22,500 Leveraged funds: $95,704
MX 11-065 Legislators and the environment. In partnership with Fondo para la Comunicacion y la Educacion Ambiental, A.C. This project will increase the effectiveness of the laws protecting biodiversity and natural resources in Mexico by promoting the creation of a multi-partisan, permanent, well informed, Environmental Caucus in the Mexican Congress. The grantee will identify key members of the Mexican Congress relevant to biodiversity and natural resource management, producing a public directory of the different relevant legislative committees and a public handbook on the legislative pathways to get environmental legislation enacted. The grantee will also implement a 6-day field site inspection for 12-15 key Mexican legislators to expose these individuals to successful environmental projects in Mexico, and create an interactive website specifically designed to provide relevant and timely information to Mexican legislators.
FWS: $90,080 Leveraged funds: $172,700
Wildlife Without Borders-Russia and East Asia
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 2 new grants from the Wildlife Without Borders-Russia and East Asia program totaling $95,101.46. Field projects in three countries will be supported.
Russian Federation
RUS 11-001 Program support at "Waterfowl of Northern Eurasia" conference in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia in the period March 24-29, 2011. In partnership with Monomaks OOO. This grant supported simultaneous English/Russian language interpretation at the "Waterfowl of Northern Eurasia" conference in Kalmykia, Russia to enhance communication among U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service migratory bird managers and their Russian counterparts. This is particularly useful in efforts to address the impacts of climate change and potential outbreaks of avian influenza and other diseases.
FWS: $15,102 Leveraged funds: $0
Russian Federation, Mongolia, and China
RUS 11-002 Providing support for the Critically Endangered saiga antelope. In partnership with Saiga Conservation Alliance. This grantee conducted a competitive grants competition to offer support to individuals, agencies, institutions or organizations for efforts to conserve saiga in the wild throughout its range. The project will provide funding to a variety of applicants, following a review of grant proposals, adhering to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Government administrative rules and guidance. Funding will support on-the-ground conservation action in Russia and Mongolia, enforcement efforts in China, and encourage a dialogue between authorities in Mongolia and China to address illegal trade.
FWS: $79,999.46 Leveraged funds: $0
Wildlife Without Borders-Global
In 2011, the USFWS awarded 1 new grant from the Wildlife Without Borders-Global Program totaling $100,000, which was matched by $15,000 in leveraged funds.
DIC 11-001 Strengthening and enhancing capacity for the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative and Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. In partnership with The Ocean Foundation. This project will strengthen and promote the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative (WHMSI) and the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar) activities in the United States. The grantee will conduct a stakeholder survey on priority marine themes WHMSI can address, and assist the U.S. Ramsar National Committee in fundraising to help bridge the gap between government funding and committee activities.
FWS: $100,000 Leveraged funds: $15,000
