Ecological monitoring of the MMNR is a vital part
of the Ecological Management Programme.
Ecological monitoring has been carried out, to varying
degrees, in and around the Reserve since the mid 1970s, and
a formal ecological monitoring programme focusing on
specific aspects of the area, such as rainfall,
herbivore age and sex, and vegetation plots, was carried out
between 1989 and 2003. However, the sustainability of
this programme, which was implemented by a variety of
organisations in turn (FoC, WWF, and DICE) was
a problem, and linkages between the information
collected through this programme and management of
the area were weak. This final point was highlighted
in an assessment of the programme before its closure,
which concluded “it is unclear the programme
has any direct management value as it stands. It does not respond
to management needs, and does not interface with
management”27
This programme provides the basic information
needed for the development of a revised and
updated MMNR Ecological Monitoring Plan based on the MMNR
conservation targets, their key ecological
attributes and the priority threats to their integrity (as
identified through the TNC CAP process), and also
elaborated in the Ecology Programme Monitoring Framework
section (see below). The continued use of the
attributes identified through the TNC process as a basis for
ecological monitoring helps to ensure clear
and explicit links between the elements of the MMNR
that are the focus for ecological management, and
those that are being monitored (thereby enhancing the
ability of monitoring information to inform
management of the area). The MMNR Ecological Monitoring Plan
will be developed as one of the first actions to be
implemented under this management programme, and will
subsequently provide the basis for all routine
ecological monitoring in the MMNR.
The monitoring plan’s development will
involve an initial review of the relevant information presented
in this programme, and the subsequent definition of
the conservation targets’ KEAs and threats that will
be included in the monitoring plan. This will be
followed by the identification of appropriate monitoring
indicators, and methods of measurement (as outlined in the
programme monitoring section), along with the
development of detailed monitoring protocols, and the
allocation of responsibilities for collecting and
analysing information between KWS, MMNR management and any
external organisations. Once monitoring work
is underway, concise and easily digestible annual
summaries of the information collected will be prepared
and presented to MMNR management, KWS BRM Division and
other relevant stakeholders. Any
important
trends or implications for management
will be highlighted in these reports, with suggested management
adaptations as appropriate. This last point is especially
important, as without this vital link, much of the
ecological information is likely to be unused or unusable,
wasting both time and resources of those collecting
and analysing the
data.
