Issue

Vol. 10 No. 6 (2021)

Willingness to Adopt the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART): The Case of Ugalla Game Reserve, Tanzania

https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v10i6.123
Flora John Magige
nahonyo
paulo
Department of Life Sciences, Open University of Tanzania
Kayeye
Sokoine University of Agriculture
kisingo
College of African Wildlife Management

Corresponding Author(s) : Flora John Magige

magige.fm@gmail.co

Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), Vol. 10 No. 6 (2021)

Abstract

The Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) is a software for measuring,
evaluating and improving the effectiveness of wildlife-law enforcement patrols, thereby
enabling a better use of limited capacity and human resources, and improving antipoaching in protected areas. The Ugalla Game Reserve introduced SMART in 2016 to
facilitate patrol management in the protected area. The objective of this study is to
determine the willingness of the Reserve staff to adopt the SMART technology two years
after its implementation. Structured questionnaires were administered to 19 rangers from
the headquarters and ranger posts of the Reserve who participated in the study. Generally,
the SMART technology was well-received; with all the respondents agreeing that SMART
be used for monitoring law enforcement, and that it would benefit their protected area.
Most of the respondents (78.9%, n=15) were willing to use the programme (?
2 = 6.368, df
= 1, p = 0.01). The willingness to adopt the technology was ascribed to the prior
knowledge of GIS that the staff had before the introduction of SMART, on which the
technology largely relies. The enthusiasm to adopt SMART in the Reserve despite the
challenges should be used as a factor to improve the collection of patrol data. Additionally,
improved law enforcement—coupled with in-service training, provision of equipment,
incentives and improved infrastructure—are required for effective management of the
Reserve. The study recommends using Ugalla as a basic model for extending SMART
technology to other game reserves to combat poaching activities in Tanzania

Keywords

SMART, technology acceptance, willingness, conservation, patrol
Willingness to Adopt the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART): The Case of Ugalla Game Reserve, Tanzania. (2022). Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), 10(6). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v10i6.123
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX
References
  1. Arcese, P., J. Hando & K. Campbell. 1995. Historical and Present Day Anti-Poaching Efforts in
  2. Serengeti. In ARE Sinclair & P Arcese (Eds) Serengeti II Dynamics, Management & Conservation of
  3. an Ecosystem. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 506–533.
  4. Arning, K. & M. Ziefle. 2009. Different Perspectives on Technology Acceptance: The Role of
  5. Technology Type and Age. In A. Holzinger & K. Miesenberger (Eds.) USAB 2009. LNCS, Vol.,
  6. , Pp. 20–41. Springer, Heidelberg.
  7. Arning, K. & M. Ziefle. 2007. Understanding Age Differences in PDA Acceptance and Performance.
  8. Computers in Human Behaviour, 23: 2904–2927.
  9. Caro, T. & P. W. Sherman. 2011. Endangered Species and a Threatened Discipline: Behavioural
  10. Ecology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 26: 111–118. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/ j.tree.2010.12.008.
  11. Gaul, S. & M. Ziefle. 2009. Smart Home Technologies: Insights into Generation-Specific Acceptance
  12. Motives. In A. Holzinger & K. Miesenberger (Eds.) USAB 2009. LNCS, Vol., 5889, pp. 312–332.
  13. Springer, Heidelberg.
  14. Hall, B. & B. Khan. 2003. Adoption of New Technology. In Derek C. Jones, New Economy Handbook.
  15. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.
  16. Faulkner, S., M. Stevens, S. Romanach, P.A. Lindsey & S. Le Comber. 2017. A Spatial Approach to
  17. Combatting Wildlife Crime. Conservation Biology, 32, 10.1111/Cobi.13027.
  18. Kaltenborn, B.P., J.W. Nyahongo & K.M. Tingstad. 2005. The Nature of Hunting Around the Western
  19. Corridor of Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. European Journal of Wildlife Research, 51: 213–222.
  20. Lawson, S. 2014. Illegal Logging in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Energy, Environment &
  21. Resources Report (EER PP 2014/03). Chatham House, London.
  22. Loibooki M, H. Hofer, K.L.I. Campbell & M. East. 2002. Bushmeat Hunting by Communities Adjacent
  23. to the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania: The Importance of Livestock Ownership and
  24. Alternative Sources of Protein and Income. Environmental Conservation, 29: 391–298.
  25. Milner-Gulland, E.J. & E.L. Bennett. 2003. Wild Meat: The Bigger Picture. Trends in Ecology and
  26. Evolution, 18, 351–357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0169-5347(03)00123–x.
  27. Milner-Gulland, E.J. & J.M. Rowcliffe. 2007. Conservation and Sustainable Use: A Handbook of Techniques.
  28. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  29. Roger, E. M.. 2003. Diffusion of Innovations, Fifth Edition, New York: Free Press.
  30. Ripple, W.J., K. Abernethy, M.G. Betts, G. Chapron, R. Dirzo, M. Galetti & H. Young. 2016. Bushmeat
  31. Hunting and Extinction Risk to The World’s Mammals. Royal Society Open Science, 3: 160498.
  32. https://doi. org/10.1098/rsos.160498.
  33. SMART. 2017. SMART Partnership Annual Report http://smartconservationtools.org/wp-content/
  34. uploads/2018/05/smart_annualreport_2017_final_sm.pdf.
  35. Venkatesh, V. & F.D. Davis. 1996. A Model of the Antecedents of Perceived Ease of Use:
  36. Development and Test. Decision Sciences, 27: 451–481.
  37. Wilfred P. 2015. Exploring Differences Among Illegal Activities in the Ugalla Game Reserve of
  38. Western Tanzania. Tanzania Journal of Science, 41: 103–116.
  39. Wilfred P., H. Kayeye, F.J. Magige, A. Kisingo & C.L Nahonyo. 2019. Challenges Facing the
  40. Introduction of SMART Patrols in a Game Reserve, Western Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology.
  41. doi, 10.1111/aje.12634.
Read More
Author biographies is not available.

How to Cite

Willingness to Adopt the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART): The Case of Ugalla Game Reserve, Tanzania. (2022). Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), 10(6). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v10i6.123
Download