Building partnerships across the emergency management, animal health and environment/ wildlife sectors is an important first step for planning and implementation of wildlife surveillance to ensure results are used to guide science-based policy and disease control mechanisms. Convening multi-sectoral meetings to open discourse and share information on the challenges and opportunities to monitoring and management of disease at the wildlife-livestock interface, and to develop smooth communications and trust between and across sectors as well as multi-sectoral surveillance and response networks is critical.

The training sessions targetted community members and CSOs, and aimed to provide the basis for them to be able to develop and propose project ideas effectively. 

As the objective was for collaborative protection and management of the protected landscape, the management plan for the Buna River protected area was the first topic, for a shared understanding of the plan and local management objectives. 

Secondly, the focus was on threats to the natural values - which helped participants understand what they could focus efforts on to have the most positive impact.

An upcoming grant program was then introduced, and a session held on how to develop project ideas and apply for grants that aligned with the call. Some key environmental issues in the area, plus key activities in the management plan were highlighted. 

The Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) is a both a software and a framework that allows forest rangers and anti-poaching patrols to collect geospatial data on their smart phones (via the SMART mobile app), which acts as an advanced handheld GPS. When traps, illegal encampments, animals, or violators are located, the patrol will make a record using the app’s customized “data model” (a customization of the application that creates specific drop-down lists, and decision trees). The SVW data model is based on Vietnamese forestry law, so when any technical gaps are identified in the data model in terms of arrest procedures, non-standard violations, or priority species listed in legislative decrees, it can directly inform and improve policy.

Once data has been collected by patrols on their smart phones, the patrol data (paths walked, km travelled, time spent on patrol, and data recorded) will upload automatically to SMART desktop. This is where managers can evaluate poaching hotspots to apply pressure, and also allows them to monitor the effectiveness of the patrols themselves. With each new data input, data managers are able to adapt to the situation and adjust their team and patrolling regimens accordingly.

Anti-poaching (AP) teams are hired and funded under Save Vietnam's Wildlife, and approved by protected area managers where they sign a joint contract between the two. They undergo approximately one month of training in Vietnamese forestry law, species identification, self-defense, field training, first aid, and using SMART. 

AP patrols stay with forest rangers for 15-20 days of patrolling at various ranger stations each month, and an assigned Data Manager typically processes, cleans, analyzes and reports SMART data for all patrols to the park director and SVW coordinators. At the beginning of each month, a SMART report is generated by the data manager; based on the intelligence from this report, a patrol plan will be discussed with the ranger and anti-poaching members, and then submitted to the protected area director for approval; mobile units are on standby and led by forest rangers to rapidly respond to any emergencies, locations outside of planned patrol areas, or situations accessible by road.

Rangers were trained to use SMART mobile through vertical knowledge transfer in the field, and by the end of 2020, 100% of the forest rangers (73 people) were all effectively using SMART, increasing patrol data coverage across the entire protected area (Figure 1).

From the conception of the PREDICT project through to today’s day-to-day laboratory management, partners working effectively across sectors has been an essential building block. The PREDICT project brought conservation and health nonprofits and Malaysian federal and local government departments together to collaborate on zoonotic disease surveillance. Over the last 10 years the WHGFL has been able to expand into new surveillance, genetic, and forensic research as capacity is built through open and productive collaboration. The Sabah Wildlife Department has scaled up their involvement increasing their funding for the WHGFL each year and leading the management committee. The management committee ensures the multiple projects utilizing the small laboratory are coordinated and organized, especially as new projects come on board and the scope of work expands.

When the PREDICT project began working in Sabah there was no laboratory dedicated to wildlife sample testing that met the necessary standards for biosafety. The financial and logistical hurdles of building the necessary infrastructure from the ground up were too high for this project, making a brand-new lab not an option. Instead, SWD and CM identified an existing empty building belonging to SWD in Sabah and renovated it to meet international laboratory standards, as detailed in the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories Guidelines (6th Ed.) for Biosafety Containment Level 2 requirements, to establish the WHGFL. These upgrades saved the project time and money, allowing samples to safely remain in Sabah for virus screening and creating a state-of-the-art lab for SWD and DGFC to pursue genetic and forensic research.

Lack of awareness due to poor sensitization is often the main reason for little understanding of environmental issues. Sharing proper information supported by valid scientific/practical proof will convince communities that are unfortunately less educated, economically deprived and directly forest dependent. Equip them not only with true information but also with tools such as camera trapping, and support for species identification and naming. Such an approach will develop a sense of belonging and inculcate ownership of the cause/purpose.

Each village is known to have a distinct set of rules and functions for social coexistence. The village community is composed of various groups that function independently to manage certain areas for their welfare in the community. However, for a common cause such as Biodiversity Conservation initiatives, these various institutions can be converged and function as a single entity.

One of the keys to identifying habitat loss is through traditional means. During the olden days, the naming of any species happened due to its presence/sightings. But presently, most of the species that have local names are not found in the wild. One of the reasons could be that their numbers are declining or may even have become extinct. Therefore, through the approach of traditional knowledge, species availability and vulnerability assessments can be made.

Protected areas are a sanctuary for complex species like the Persian leopard, but the moment they leave the safety of the protected area they run into herder camps, their dogs and livestock, increasing the chance that leopards may kill the livestock. Herders may respond by killing the leopards. When protected area staff have good communication with communities in the buffer zone and support them by helping them mitigate the conflict or even better prevent it through the use of several conflict prevention tools, the acceptance of local communities towards leopards can increase.