A fuzzy decision support tool for wildlife translocations into communal conservancies in Namibia

  • Authors:

  • Barbara Paterson;Greg Stuart-Hill;Les G. Underhill;Tim T. Dunne;Britta Schinzel;Chris Brown;Ben Beytell;Fanuel Demas;Pauline Lindeque;Jo Tagg;Chris Weaver

  • Affiliations:

  • Avian Demography Unit, Department of Statistical Science, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa;World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Living in a Finite Environment (LIFE), P.O. Box 9681 Windhoek, Namibia;Avian Demography Unit, Department of Statistical Science, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa;Department of Statistical Science, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa;Abteilung Modellbildung und soziale Folgen, Institut für Informatik und Gesellschaft, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Friedrichstrasse 50, 79098 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany;Namibia Nature Foundation, P.O. Box 245 Windhoek, Namibia;Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Directorate of Parks and Wildlife, Private Bag 13306, Windhoek, Namibia;Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Directorate of Scientific Services, Private Bag 13306, Windhoek, Namibia;Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Directorate of Scientific Services, Private Bag 13306, Windhoek, Namibia;Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Private Bag 13306, Windhoek, Namibia;World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Living in a Finite Environment (LIFE), P.O. Box 9681 Windhoek, Namibia

  • Venue:
  • Environmental Modelling & Software
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

A fuzzy logic knowledge based decision support system, Wildlife Introduction Advisor, was developed using NetWeaver to standardise the decision making process of selecting communal conservancies for wildlife translocation in Namibia. Wildlife translocations are a valuable conservation tool with benefits for both local communities and wildlife populations, but are often undertaken in an ad hoc fashion. In Namibia, communal conservancies present a conservation opportunity for the expansion of wildlife ranges but the economic opportunities associated with wildlife create difficult situations of having to decide who gets animals and who does not. The Wildlife Introduction Advisor is the result of experts' agreement on structuring and prioritising the main factors that need to be considered. Both the validity of the system outputs and their sensitivity to input changes were evaluated through a series of tests, which show that it is possible to use a fuzzy logic decision support system to aid the selection of translocation sites for wildlife species. A knowledge based decision support tool such as Wildlife Introduction Advisor is an effective tool for a wildlife agency because it standardises the decision making process and thus enhances transparency and management accountability.