A spatial approach to combatting wildlife crime

Area of Science:

• Conservation science
• Criminology
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Background:

• Wildlife poaching poses a significant threat to biodiversity globally, with illegal hunters using advanced techniques.
• Effective anti-poaching strategies are crucial for wildlife conservation and require understanding poacher behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt and apply geographic profiling, a mathematical technique from criminology, to wildlife crime investigations.
• To identify the origins of illegal hunting activities within a conservation area.
• To enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of anti-poaching interventions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an 8-year dataset of over 10,000 poaching incidents and 6,454 wildlife deaths in Savé Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe.
• Applied geographic profiling to spatial data of hunting incidents (e.g., snares) to pinpoint poachers' home villages.
• Incorporated landscape heterogeneity and permeability into the model to account for complex spatial patterns in hunting behavior.

Main Results:

• Successfully identified the home villages of illegal hunters based on the spatial distribution of poaching incidents.
• The model's accuracy in identifying villages was improved by adjusting for commuter crime patterns (hunters living outside the conservancy).
• Demonstrated the adaptability of geographic profiling for complex spatial scenarios in conservation.

Conclusions:

• Geographic profiling is a viable and effective tool for investigating wildlife crime and understanding poaching networks.
• This approach can significantly improve the targeting and efficiency of anti-poaching operations.
• Findings support the integration of geographic profiling and GIS data into broader conservation management and planning.