Project brief identifiers

Eradication Plan and Budget

4.1. Eradication Plan. This is expected to take 5 years to complete and will consist of 3 phases:

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  Preparation, including training, acquisition of equipment, establishment of infrastructure and planning
  
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  Eradication, through careful sequencing of aerial hunting, and ground based hunting as follows.
  
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  Rapid population knock-down using aerial shooting from helicopters (up to 90% reduction in population expected).
  
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  Follow-up using ground based hunting teams assisted by bailing dogs (dogs that locate and immobilise goats for subsequent removal by hunter -dogs will not make kills). Movement of dogs and hunters will be assisted by helicopters (another 5-8% reduction expected).
  
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  Removal of remaining goats using the Judas goat methodology - radio-collared goats to be released in strategic areas and permitted to locate and associate with remnant goats over a period of weeks / months.
  
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  Radio-tracking subsequently leads hunters to these goats. (remaining 2-5% removed).
  
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  Monitoring of the success of the second phase through the use of Judas goats. An analysis of the feasibility of eradicating goats from southern Isabela will be performed with an option of execution.
  

4.2. Cost. The eradication project has been budgeted at U.S. $8,444,900 (CDRS, 1997). The first phase was inaugurated in 1998. Funding for a large part of it (total budget $1,665,700) was raised in 1998 and 1999, allowing for staff to be hired, GNP and CDF field workers trained, infrastructure established and equipment acquired. Recent activities include contracting of two consultants to provide advice on technical specifications for the eradication campaign and contracting procedures for aerial hunting services. A total of 3,300 hours of helicopter flying time over a two-year period will be needed to complete the eradication. The cost of the helicopter service (including two pilots, one mechanic, four marksmen, mobilization and demobilization, helicopter time and base camp operation costs) has been calculated at US$ 3.6 million for the two year duration of the campaign. The total budget for phase two is projected at $6,046,000 and includes, beyond the helicopter work, equipment (base camp and support material, firearms and ammunition) and operational and personnel costs (project management, ground hunting crews, a team of 40 trained bailing dogs, and kennels). Phase three will require funding for staff, a large team of field assistants and associated support costs of systematic and monitoring activities. This has been costed at US$ $729,100.

5. Potential Impacts of the Eradication Campaign

5.1. Ecological: As northern Isabela island is relatively undisturbed, any intrusion of people associated with the campaign will have potential negative impacts. The greatest threat comes from possible accidental introduction of new species through the movement of goods from the continent or other islands to northern Isabela. The more people involved, the greater the risk, as foodstuffs and other goods are transported to the island. This risk will be minimized by: (a) keeping the number of people based on the island to a minimum; (b) locating base camps in inhospitable areas where introduced species are highly unlikely to survive (e.g. lava fields far removed from vegetation): and (c) applying a strict quarantine protocol on the shipment of goods to the islands during the campaign. In addition, some short-term, negative effects may occur to native and endemic species from the presence of people and their activities. To combat this, ground hunters will be kept to a minimum (in part due to the use of helicopters) to avoid excessive disturbance of ecosystems and the inadvertent transportation of seeds/insects between different ecological zones of the island. The possibility of fuel spills exists, though fuel dumps will be maintained on lava fields far removed from sensitive areas. There is a chance of fire damage due to human presence, or from helicopter operations (e.g. heat from helicopter exhaust igniting vegetation, or helicopter crashes). Each base camp will be equipped with ground and helicopter based fire-fighting equipment to combat such fires. Finally, there is the threat of disturbance to plants and animals from the movement of people and equipment. Past observations have revealed that tortoises are unperturbed by the sound of gunfire. Any possible disturbance is likely to be temporary and much smaller in scale than an unchecked population explosion of feral goats.