Spatio‐temporal analysis of illegal activities from ranger‐collected data in W National Park of Benin

Abstract

This study analyses the spatio-temporal trends of illegal activities in W Biosphere Reserve of Benin in order to provide guidance for planning the patrol system. We used ranger-collected data on illegal activities in the reserve from 2012 to 2015. Illegal grazing is the most common illegal activity observed in the reserve (1,137 incidents), followed by poaching (469 incidents), agricultural encroachment (285 incidents) and logging (69 incidents). The distribution of these activities in the reserve is highly dependent on zones and also varies between seasons. Generally, incidents of illegal activities were more frequent during the non-hunting season than the hunting season because of flooding, impassability of tracks and closing of plant cover which limit patrol activities during the nonhunting season. From these findings, managers of the W National Park can identify high human pressure zones where ranger patrol efforts should be enhanced. We propose the use of emerging technologies such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to better monitor these zones, especially during the non-hunting season when the reserve is practically inaccessible for rangers.