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Caribbean

Central America

South America

Black coral conservation on the island of cozumel

Montserrat

Berjano Esquivel

Caribbean

Central America

South America

Black coral conservation on the island of cozumel

Montserrat

Berjano Esquivel

North America

Pantanos de Centla Sustainability Plan

Gonzalo

Castillo

North America

Pantanos de Centla Sustainability Plan

Gonzalo

Castillo

South America

Prioritising the SDGs for Galapagos

Sophia

Cooke

West and South Europe

T4N: Create CO2 certificates using biodiversity measures

Roman

Eyholzer

Additionality

Avoid double counting

Long-term sequestration

Baseline

West and South Europe

T4N: Create CO2 certificates using biodiversity measures

Roman

Eyholzer

Additionality

Avoid double counting

Long-term sequestration

Baseline

West and South Europe

T4N: Create CO2 certificates using biodiversity measures

Roman

Eyholzer

Additionality

Avoid double counting

Long-term sequestration

Baseline

Experimental monitoring system

Monitoring System Implemented in the Project

IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation

Visitors in nearby trail

IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation

The experimental monitoring system consists of a set of parameters to track the behaviour of the species, visitor mobility practices, and risk detection:

GPS transmitters: they are programmed for data collection and with a download scheduling; there is a zoning around the nest.
Axis Station software: Axis Loitering Guard tracks moving objects and triggers alerts (e.g. a user exists the trail for x amount of time), sound alerts, and notifications when a threshold is exceeded. Axis Fend Guard detects interaction events (e.g. the bird leaves the next, two users leave the trail).
Alerts for potential mortality, potential territory expulsion, absences at the nest, users near the nest, and noise thresholds.
Other data related to trail usage by user type and the Bonelli’s eagle breeding process.
Annual reports on raptor spatial mobility, semi-annual reports on interactions and critical events.

It is essential to count on a simple-to-use software programmed with the desired parameters. It is fundamental to make the parameters as relevant as possible to the specific monitoring needs, and as concise as possible so that park managers are able to do a proper follow-up and respond to any alerts.

It should be noted that certain situations involving wildlife cannot be controlled. For example, in our case, we faced the reproduction failure of the pair of Bonelli's eagles, which partly modified the monitoring objective.

Although the use of a more sophisticated alert management software based on artificial intelligence is being explored, a simple software such as Axis Station can do the trick to start developing a functioning monitoring programme that notifies critical risk events. Processes and procedures for pre-alert management and data collection and analysis need to be periodically optimised based on the lessons learned during the process.

Implementation

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Installation of the technological infrastructure

Technological Architecture Implemented in the Project

IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation

The technological infrastructure is composed of two cameras along the nearby trail to monitor visitor flows, and a panoramic camera in front of the nest, which were installed in October 2022. The cameras are powered by solar panels and also have integrated mics that detect noise disturbances. Two GPS transmitters, installed in December 2022, are used to track the behaviour of for the pair of eagles. Data transmission from the cameras is carried out through point-to-point microwave antennas via a separate Internet line. The information is stored on the NAS and on Huawei’s cloud. The GPS units include a small solar power plate, and the data is transferred via radio frequency to the Move Bank cloud.

To enable the success of this building block, it is essential to count on the technical equipment (GPS trackers and cameras), a wireless connection to allow data transmission, and a storage system. Human capacity to know how and where to install the equipment in order to avoid disturbances to the species is also key, ensuring that the reproduction cycle of the species isn’t affected.

As in many experimental projects, the monitoring programme encountered technical challenges, mainly due to connectivity issues and the need to coordinate various systems and teams. Legal-administrative considerations, such as data use and installation permissions, are also essential when implementing this building block.

Concerning the GPS trackers, the programming of the transmitters according to different geozones makes it possible to optimise the reception of locations and improve the updating of the data for possible emergency inquiries. Besides, the double solar plate transmitter model placed on the female has proven to be more effective than the single plate model placed on the male during the months of less insolation.

The nest camera needs to be installed using and adequate distance to avoid disturbances while ensuring a good image resolution. In this case, the need for a higher-resolution device has been identified in order to make a good interpretation of the behaviour, identify the ringed individuals and their preys, as well as to implement the automation of alarms.

Inception phase

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