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| Leader name |
| Elephant Connection |
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| Entity type |
| Non-governmental organization |
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| Launching Date |
| 3 April 2015 |
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| Assessment initiative |
| Assessed |
Human-elephant conflict is widespread across Africa due to crop raiding by elephants, which can severely affect the livelihoods and security of subsistence farmers. Farming communities adjacent to protected areas often regard wildlife authorities as responsible for crop damage by wildlife, which can undermine wildlife conservation efforts. In some areas a direct link has been made between crop damage and levels of elephant poaching (Kahler et al. 2013). Contact with elephants is inevitable as elephants move on their migratory routes or seek out water resources, which are often shared between rural subsistence farmers and wildlife. A toolbox of mitigation techniques is needed, especially in areas where farmers have negative attitudes towards elephants after previously trialling a variety of initiatives at varying levels of success. Farmers tired of sleeping in their fields to engage in the dangerous activity of chasing elephants away at night with only a torch and a farm dog as their weapon, feel defenceless and abandoned by government authorities.
To assist subsistence farmers in mitigating the effects of elephant crop-raiding, we developed solar-electric Poliwire fencing, which has an immediate effect in stopping the entry of elephants into fields and has proven to be a viable solution for human-elephant conflict in rural farming areas. For $300-$400, these portable fencing systems represent a cost-effective method for subsistence farmers with small holdings (<1 km circumference) to keep elephants out of their seasonal maize or vegetable fields, and thereby secure their livelihoods.
By implementing farm-based deterrent measures that can help to alleviate human-elephant conflict, farming communities may become more accepting of elephants and thereby work together with wildlife authorities for their long-term conservation.
Solar-electric poliwire fencing is aimed at mitigating the impact of elephants on the livelihoods of subsistence farmers. It is a small, portable, farm-based initiative used during each cropping season to deter elephants from individual fields, while allowing them to continue to move through the landscape and access resources that they need. Our initiative uses a single strand of poliwire to completely encircle a small field or group of vegetable gardens (<1 km circumference) to prevent access by elephants. The initiative provides a relatively low-cost, low-labour, low-maintenance method, which will be important in HEC areas where it is difficult to instil community ownership/management of wildlife conflict. It can provide an additional deterrent method for use in HEC management, especially in areas where elephants may have become habituated to other methods.
Poliwire (polywire) is a mix of fine wire strands interwoven with polyethylene, and due to its flexibility, it is not stiff enough to form wildlife snares; thereby not creating any collateral damage to other wildlife.
Each solar-electric poliwire fence consists of poles encircling a field upon which a single strand of poliwire is placed at 1.7 metres high, with flagging strips attached between each pole to ensure visibility by the elephants. Fencing to deter elephants has shown success only if it completely encircles the property that needs protection (Hoare 2012). Electrification of the poliwire is achieved with a solar panel, solar charge controller, small sealed battery and Energiser unit, which can be placed in existing farm buildings or makeshift shelters adjacent to fields. A minimum voltage of 7.0 kV is the target, based on studies in Kenya with the use of electrified fences to deter elephant crop-raiding on the Laikipia Plateau (Graham et al. 2009). Due to the greater resistivity of the poliwire’s six stainless steel strands compared to conventional fencing wire, it can only maintain a voltage of 7.0 kV on farms that are one kilometre in circumference or less. Therefore this poliwire product is more suited to mitigation of human elephant conflict on smaller farm plots and its cost-effective pricing compared to conventional electric fencing can make it suitable for small-scale subsistence farmers. This method can also be used to deter hippopotamus by dropping the height of the poliwire.
References:
Graham M.D., Gichohi N., Kamau F., Aike G., Craig B., Douglas-Hamilton I. and Adams W.M. (2009) The Use of Electrified Fences to Reduce Human Elephant Conflict: A Case Study of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Laikipia District, Kenya, Working Paper 1, Laikipia Elephant Project.
Hoare R (2012) Lessons from 15 years of human–elephant conflict mitigation: Management considerations involving biological, physical and governance issues in Africa. Pachyderm 51, 60-74.
Kahler J.S., Roloff G.J. and Gore M.L. (2013) Poaching risks in community‐based natural resource management. Conservation Biology 27(1), 177-186.
Training of farmers in how to effectively manage the technology to ensure an effective elephant deterrent fence is maintained. Farmers should not 100% rely on the fence to save their crops, and they should continue with existing measures.
Voltage must be a minimum of 7.0 kV at the furthest distance away from the Energiser unit, so as to deter elephants over time. This voltage can be best achieved by i) reducing the length of the fenceline, ii) keeping the earth rods always wet, iii) reducing loss of voltage by removing grass/trees touching the poliwire.
Flagging on the Poliwire must be maintained by the farmer, so that elephants can detect the poliwire and avoid it.
If elephants run into the poliwire frequently, that will give them a chance to learn about it and find ways to move through it. The objective should be that an elephant only touches it once and never touches or challenges it again. If elephants can see the poliwire, then they can choose to avoid it. Any lightweight material can be tied to the poliwire (i.e. flagging) to improve visibility for all during the day and night, including the farmer. Visibility is improved with longer pieces of flagging.
Completely encircle fields to prevent entry of elephants. Deny any ambitions to run a longer straight-line fence. In our experience, rather than repelling elephants back in the direction from which they came, elephants will simply walk along a straight-line fence to the end and from there gain entry to the field.
Only run the Energiser at night if possible. The system has a small battery to reduce costs, so it needs time to charge during the day. The multi-meter is needed so you can check that the battery stays charged above 12 volts. The solar charge controller stops the battery from being overcharged from too many volts coming from the solar panel. It will help your battery to last longer. The solar panel puts out 21 volts, but the battery only requires 12 volts. Battery should be only used for the elephant deterrent fence, and not used for other purposes.
IMPLEMENTATION
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| Workforce |
| 3 |
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| Workload |
| less than 1 day |
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| Training |
| Basic < or = 1month |
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| Training duration |
| 1 hour. However, follow up/refresher training for farmers is desirable |
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| Financial cost |
| 350 |
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| Currency financial cost |
| USD $ |
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STEP 1 – Encircle field
• Field/Crop circumference should be less than or equal to one kilometre (~15 acres) to achieve the poliwire minimum voltage of 7.0 kV required to deter elephants
• If the field is not within 5 metres of farm buildings, farmers need to construct a small shelter beside the field to secure the equipment within.
• Farmer to harvest 2.5 metre long 'Bush posts' (20 cm circumference) and dig them 0.5 metres into the soil around the field at a distance of 15 metres apart. A 15 metre spacing reduces the likelihood of the poliwire sagging and stretching. Corner posts should be larger than others and dug deeper into the soil, as they are subject to all of the poliwire tension.
• Tie insulators on the outside of each post with the plastic builders line (do not use any conductive metal to attach insulators). On corner posts only, insulators should be facing towards the inside of the field. Insulators should be at a height of approximately 1.7 m above the ground (i.e. height of elephant’s head). If the fence is too low, elephants may step over and if it is too high, elephants may crawl under.
• Place a single strand of Poliwire on the insulators. To do this, begin at the farm building/shelter and tie together the 2 rolls of poliwire using a basic knot. Then extend each 500 metre roll in an opposite direction along the boundary of the field. At the far end of the field, each roll should be tied off to an insulator on a post after pulling tight by hand so that it is not sagging. At the far end of the field, the two lines of poliwire should not be tied together.
• Tie strips of Flagging to the poliwire between each post so that the poliwire line is visible to all. Flagging can be any light material such as cloth, plastic, foil. Ideally flagging is tied between the poliwire strands to keep it in place, but care needs to be taken when doing this so as not to break the fine stainless steel strands of the poliwire.
• Check that the poliwire is not touching anywhere on the posts
STEP 2 – Equipment installation
• Choose site for solar panel at the farm building/purpose-built shelter. Ideally solar panel should be placed on the roof facing north to optimise sun exposure. Feed the power lead of the panel into the building/shelter (via roof, window, door, etc).
• Attach the power-lead of the panel to the solar charge controller. If the solar panel power-lead has a plug at the end, cut it off. The wire side-cutters can be used to bare the ends of the wire before attachment. The solar charge controller should have diagrams on the unit to indicate where the solar panel and battery are required to be attached (see photo example). Use the red wire to attach to the positive (+) controller terminal. Use the black wire to attach to the negative (-) controller terminal. If wires are not placed in the correct terminal, the battery will not charge.
• Attach the battery to the solar charge controller using electrical wire. Bare the ends of the wires before attaching. Use the red wire to attach the positive (+) battery terminal to the positive controller terminal. Use the black wire to attach the negative (-) battery terminal to the negative controller terminal. To ensure the system is installed correctly, monitor the battery with the Multimeter to ensure the voltage is slowly increasing during the day. Equipment should be raised off the floor to reduce exposure to moisture.
• Attach the Energiser on an inside wall, close to the battery.
• Hammer an earth rod into the soil on the outside of the building adjacent to the inside Energiser location. While hammering, pull out the earth rod periodically to fill the hole with water; applying water deep into the soil will improve the earthing ability of the earth rods. Leave 10 mm of the top of the earth rods exposed in order to attach wire. Similarly, hammer a second earth rod one metre away, and a third earth rod a further one metre away.
• Bare the end of black electrical wire and twist on to the furthest earth rod from the building. Then run the wire to the middle earth rod and bare a section of the wire to twist onto that earth rod. Then repeat for the earth rod closest to the building before feeding the wire into the building (via roof, window, door, etc). Finally, cut the black wire to the desired length and bare the end so that it can be attached to the Earth terminal marked on the Energiser.
• Bare the end of red electrical wire and attach to the Power terminal marked on the Energiser. Feed the red wire out of the building (via roof, window, door, etc) to the poliwire fence line, which should be within 5 metres of the building. (Additional electrical wire will be needed if distance between the field and the building is greater than this). Cut the red wire to the desired length and bare the end so that it can be twisted onto the poliwire.
• Attach the alligator clips of the Energiser to the battery. Put the black clip onto the negative (-) battery terminal and the red clip onto the positive (+) terminal.
• Advise bystanders that you are turning on the Energiser and ensure the fence line is clear before starting the Energiser. Note that the Energiser does not produce a constant electrical current, but rather an intermittent pulse, which ensures that any electrical shock incurred by touching the poliwire is not fatal.
• Use the Fence voltage tester to test the voltage on the poliwire at the point where the red electrical wire is attached. This reading should be above 9.0 kV as this point is closest to the Energiser. The maximum possible voltage is 9.9 kV.
• Voltage runs a maximum of 500 m each direction away from building to ends of Poliwire. Voltage will decline with distance from the Energiser.
• Use fence tester to check poliwire voltage at each end of the poliwire at the furthest end of the field, and ensure both ends have a minimum voltage of 7.0 kV
• Note that some Fence voltage testers will require attachment to an earth source before they will give an accurate reading. This can be achieved using your fourth earth spike as a mobile earth rod, by hammering it 10 cm into the soil at the base of any bush post.
•Walk the fenceline to check that all insulators are correctly placed and poliwire is not touching the posts, as voltage can be lost to the ground via the posts. It is best to turn off the Energiser before adjusting the position of insulators, to reduce the chance of accidental shock from the poliwire.
STEP 3 – Farmer training
• Farmer training is given during installation and follow-up refresher training is desirable
• Farmer should be provided with a Multimeter to check battery charge and ensure good battery management
• Farmer should be provided with a Fence tester to check poliwire voltage
• To ensure the best fence voltage, farmers should walk the fenceline every few days to check all insulators so that the poliwire does not touch the posts, and check that no grass or leaves are touching the poliwire (listen for electricity shorting out on the posts). Broken poliwire can be repaired by tying ends together.
• Earthing is very important. Different soil types can affect the amount of voltage as very dry soils do not earth very well. Farmers should apply water to earth rods daily to maximise earthing.
• It is best not to leave the fence up all year, remove the fence after harvest. If elephants only see it for a few months each year, they won’t have much chance to learn about it. Also, the poliwire will last longer if it is stored out of the sun when not needed.
USE & MAINTENANCE
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| Workforce |
| 1 |
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| Workload |
| 2 hours per week during cropping season |
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| Training |
| Basic < or = 1month |
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| Training duration |
| Follow up/refresher training for farmers is desirable to reinforce the importance of maintenance |
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| Financial cost |
| 50 |
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| Currency financial cost |
| USD $ |
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| Annual period of use |
| Crop growing season |
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| Daily period of use |
| Day and Night |
Monitor fence voltage and battery charge Daily
Maintain flagging on fence to ensure visibility at all times
Apply water to earth rods every day
Only use the system when elephants are expected (e.g. night time)
10 TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL ELEPHANT-DETERRENT ELECTRIC FENCE
1) Voltage 7.0 kV or above to deter elephants
2) Plastic strips/flagging on poliwire so elephants can see the fence and not break it
3) Poliwire distance = 1 km Maximum circumference of field
4) Place Energiser in the middle section of poliwire fence. Voltage pushed up to maximum 500 metres each direction
5) 1.7 metres high to deter elephants
6) Tie insulators to poles with plastic or nylon. Do not use wire, as voltage can be lost.
7) Earth rods should always be wet, to maximise earthing and voltage
8) Always Remove and store after harvest = longer life for your equipment
9) Energiser OFF during daytime, so battery can charge. Solar charge controller prevents battery overcharging
10) Cut grass and trees away from fence, as voltage can be lost
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Contact | info@elephantconnection.org | |
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Internet links |
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Funding opportunities | International Elephant Foundation |
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Documentations | |
| Powerpoint_Poliwire-electric-fencing-as-farm-based-elephant-deterrent.pdf | DONWLOAD | |
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