Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) in Mid-Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe: Implementation challenges and practices

Biodiversity monitoring and data-management technologies can enhance the protection of persecuted species, such as African elephants (Loxodonta africana), through providing management-relevant information. Implementing these technologies, however, often presents several capacity and resource challenges for field staff in protected areas. In the Mid-Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) is in the process of adopting the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) as law enforcement and data management tool for adaptive management. With the support of several conservation partners, ZPWMA was able to acquire SMART equipment (computers and handheld cyber-tracker devices) as well as train rangers and officers on how to use SMART in the region. Following the training and provision of SMART equipment, most protected areas (6 out of 7) in the Mid-Zambezi Valley have adopted SMART for law enforcement and relevant data are being collected. This study draws from the first-hand experience of training workshops, interviews with field staff, observations from support visits, and discussions with conservation partners in the Zambezi Valley. We observed that the introduction of SMART was marred by (a) technical and capacity challenges, (b) behavioral and human dynamics challenges, and (c) resources challenges. These were linked to ineptness among patrol rangers and officers, discomfort with the new technology, and uneven distribution of resources to implement SMART. To help overcome some of the challenges, we propose the development of an integrated SMART implementation plan, motivation of field staff, learning from implementation models of institutions that have successfully implemented SMART, and the provision of more SMART equipment.