Strengthening Conservation through the Event Book in CREMA in Ghana

GHANA: IMPROVING DATA COLLECTION

 Two years ago, in response to the data collection challenges faced by community patrollers responsible for protecting natural resources and wildlife within our CREMA partners in Ghana, Noé drew inspiration from a tool developed in Namibia twenty years ago called the Event Book to address this issue.

24 May 2023

EVENT BOOK, AN ADAPTED TOOL FOR CREMA


The Event Book is a simple tool that has proven effective within community governance structures for natural resource management in Namibia. It enables tracking trends in wildlife presence and the pressures imposed by illegal activities such as poaching and logging within a specific area.

A simplified version of the tool was developed in Ghana and initially tested by patrollers from the Ankasa-Tano CREMA in the southwest of the country, and more recently by patrollers from CREMAs bordering the Eastern part of Mole National Park.

 
Capacity Building for Conservation Stakeholders

                        

This pilot project has highlighted certain limitations and challenges encountered with the adapted version of the tool. Consequently, Noé sought the expertise of DG Ecological Consulting and Prof. Morgan Hauptfleisch.

The objective was to benefit from their knowledge on the subject and organize a mission to evaluate and improve the existing tool. Additionally, a training workshop was planned for the development and utilization of a comprehensive and tailored Event Book for a specific landscape.

These initiatives involve numerous community partners, NGOs, and governmental organizations from the ECONOBIO II program.

These two weeks of fieldwork have resulted in a shared understanding of the tool and its significance for all conservation stakeholders, as well as strengthened relationships between CREMA patrollers and representatives from the decentralized offices of the Wildlife Division within the Forestry Commission.

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