Monitoring the effectiveness of law enforcement operations in order to improve park management and ensure protection of Gabons national parks

The purpose of this project is to support conservation efforts in the 13 national parks of Gabon, the Wonga Wongu Presidential Reserve and their buffer zones by producing better planned, executed and monitored law enforcement and protection activities.

The project is intended to conserve Gabons elephant populations and other wildlife in Gabons protected area network by addressing the impacts of poaching driven by a rising demand for ivory and facilitated by infrastructure development and opening up of the forests by extractive industries.

Specific activities include: (1) provision of technical support to senior Gabonese National Parks Agency (ANPN) staff and Law Enforcement Monitoring (LEM) focal points to facilitate the planning and assess the performance of law enforcement activities including intelligence gathering and tools such as SMART to enhance anti-poaching activities; (2) capacity built in the use of GPS, navigation, communication, and mapping tools to use surveillance and communications equipment effectively; (3) national LEM program supported to improve conservation results.