Summary

Human wildlife conflict (HWC) occurs when wildlife requirements encroach on those of human populations, with costs both to residents and wild animals (IUCN, 2005). There is need for a proper understanding of the conflict in an area in order to find relevant mitigation measures. It is also important that information about conflicts is communicated effectively and timeously for a quick and adequate intervention. This study is focusing on the development and implementation of an information system to monitor HWC in 9 wards in Hwange Communal Area using Kobo Toolbox, a Mobile Data Collection System (MDCS). MDCS is the gathering of structured information using mobile communication devices such as smart phones. Five of the wards were selected based on results from a socio-economic survey was conducted in these wards in 2010 and replicated in 2015. This socio-economic survey was used to develop the questionnaire used in this MDCS Information System. The other four wards were selected after consultations with local people on the areas which are mostly affected by HWC. The development of the information system began with the training of community representatives on how to record and provide detailed information on HWC incidences through the Kobo Toolbox application named KoBoCollect. The system involves local data collectors from the community who gather HWC information and send this information to the relevant authorities. This MDCS was expected to improve the way in which people select the relevant mitigation measures for HWC. In addition, the system was also expected to result in improving the timeliness and relevance of responses to HWC reports or cases by the responsible authorities. Results from the study show that the MDCS based information system is more relevant for use as a monitoring tool. It needs to be supported by basic sms and calling platforms in order to be used as an early warning system.