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1 April 2008 A knowledge-based approach to wildlife management
Barbara Paterson, Chris J. Brown, Greg Stuart-Hill, Heike Winschiers, Les G. Underhill, Tim T. Dunne, Britta Schinzel, Ben Beytell, Fanuel Demas, Pauline Lindeque, Chris Weaver
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

We present a method for developing a knowledge base to give wildlife managers timely access to pertinent information. This knowledge-based approach to species management in Namibia focuses on anthologies and management strategies for high-value mammal species. To manage wildlife resources sustainably access to an appropriate knowledge base is essential. The strategic species management approach promotes planning on local, national, and international levels. A hypermedia Information System for Rare Species Management (IRAS) and a decision support system (Wildlife Introduction Advisor) are described. Unlike print media, which become dated, hypermedia is easily updated. The non-sequential nature of hypermedia allows information extraction according to the readers needs. Due to this flexibility hypermedia supports adaptive management and information sharing. Usability evaluation of the IRAS system disproved our assumption that established wildlife conservation categories such as habitat, distribution, and numbers are appropriate and sufficient to structure species information. This result led to a restructuring of the information according to management objectives. Evaluation of the Wildlife Introduction Advisor indicates that the model performs reliably and is robust towards input error. Human experts seem to be susceptible to bias. The economic benefits associated with wildlife translocations demand accountability through a well-defined, transparent distribution process. In Namibia this demand is achieved through the use of a knowledge-based decision support tool.

Barbara Paterson, Chris J. Brown, Greg Stuart-Hill, Heike Winschiers, Les G. Underhill, Tim T. Dunne, Britta Schinzel, Ben Beytell, Fanuel Demas, Pauline Lindeque, and Chris Weaver "A knowledge-based approach to wildlife management," South African Journal of Wildlife Research 38(1), 1-10, (1 April 2008). https://doi.org/10.3957/0379-4369-38.1.1
Received: 16 July 2007; Accepted: 1 March 2008; Published: 1 April 2008
KEYWORDS
decision support
expert system
hypermedia system
knowledge-based system
Natural resource management
wildlife management
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