M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers- Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) program is developed to assist wildlife managers in effective patrolling. However, it has an integral approach and it also allows user to asses ecological status of an area. The program has two components, and these are i) android based mobile application which use real time GPS to record observations and tracks to collect information from field, and ii) analytical engine which has a central desktop software and web based analysis tool. Further the desktop component creates a database using state of the art IT based tools, curates and analyses the information using geo-spatial and statistical tools to help wildlife managers in information based adaptive management. Beat is the smallest unit of forest administration in India since British time and usually one forest guard is assigned for one beat. The Role of a forest guard in Indian forest administration is multifaceted which includes protection, monitoring of wildlife resources, addressing human- wildlife conflict, working with local communities etc. while the primary responsibility is implementing law enforcement in forested areas. Frontline staff execute daily patrolling for law enforcement and record information on illegal activities, human impact, occurrence and relative abundance of wildlife, and animal mortality. Monitoring of ecological status mostly takes place seasonally and frontline staff record information on relative abundance of carnivores and mega herbivores, abundance of herbivores/ prey species, status of habitat, status of invasive weeds and human impact at a spatial resolution of 15 - 20 sq. km. which is average size of beat. Using M-STrIPES ensures accumulation of most genuine and scientifically robust information on each aspect for subsequent analysis and management decisions. It is a holistic monitoring tool that brings together law enforcement issues, and ecological aspects on the same platform. By compiling data, analysis and reports at local to country wide scales M-STrIPES permits wildlife managers and policy makers to intervene with appropriate conservation measures in a timely manner. The program brings in transparency and quantifies effort invested in various activities.
The program has two modules:
1.Patrol Module
2.Ecology Module
M-STrIPES Patrol application allows user to record information on illegal activities, human impact, occurrence and relative abundance of wildlife, and animal mortality. A data field to record information water hole is also available. The patrol team can backup the data on mobile and provide periodic backup to the range office, where the patrol information from various areas of the range is collated in the desktop software. Here, the user can visualize the profiles of individual patrol team, efforts invested every day, patrol coverage in the park, encounter rates and seasonality of crimes, animals, and animal mortality.
The M-STrIPES Ecological app is used in recording field data collected for establishing the basic information on the presence of wildlife and their habitat. It allows user to record information for four important indices i.e. relative abundance of carnivores and mega herbivores, abundance of herbivores/ prey species, status of habitat and human impact, and relative abundance of prey species by counting pellet/ dung. This information reflects the condition of habitat and human disturbance in the area. For any information recorded on an app, the accurate location (GPS location), time and date of observation and a geotagged photograph is saved. A separate application named Polygon Search is also used to record and analyse ecological status of eastern and higher Himalayas and mangrove areas.