Camera-trapping in Nakai-Nam Theun with partners

Last month (February 2019) our teams were busy in the field to set up camera-traps in the field and we were pleased to welcome Mr. An Nguyen the national coordinator in Vietnam for the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW, Germany).

Mr. Nguyen provided training to our teams on camera-trap set up and on other aspects of camera-trap survey designs. Mr. Nguyen also trained our team on using PANTHERA camera-traps which we were using for the first time.

Since 2018, we are collaborating with the Leibniz-IZW for camera-trapping implementation in the Annamite landscape (Laos and Vietnam), applying the protocols and survey designs they have developed. The data collected from these surveys are processed within the program CamTrap R (also developed by Leibniz-IZW), which is then analyzed to monitor population trends over time of selected indicator species and species communities.

This biodiversity monitoring aims to facilitate an assessment of whether wildlife populations are increasing, decreasing or remaining stable as a result of management interventions.

Anoulak is supporting the Nam Theun 2 Watershed Management and Protection Authority to implement the biodiversity monitoring strategy with the use of camera-traps deployed in the forest at strategic locations and focusing on three Biodiversity Priority Zones.

From left to right: Mr. Chanthalaphone Nanthavong (Project coordinator, Anoulak); Camille Coudrat (Director, Anoulak); Mr. An Nguyen (Leibniz-IZW)