The use of ecosystem parameters in predicting the risk of aicraft-wildlife collisions at Namibian airports

[摘要] English: Human-wildlife conflict is affecting a number of aspects of society as a result of increasedcompetition for resources such as food and space. To address the complexity, management ofhuman wildlife conflict needs to be innovative to achieve a difficult but possible win-winsolution for both humans and wildlife. As an important form of human-wildlife conflict,aircraft-wildlife collisions (AWCs), more commonly known as bird strikes, require evengreater imagination and innovation to solve.AWCs have the potential to cause loss of life to humans, and annual losses in damages as aresult of such collisions runs in excess of US$ 3 billion per year to the aviation industry. Dueto lack of accurate reporting of AWCs in Namibia (and Africa as a whole) losses have beenimpossible to quantify locally. In addition to direct damage, airlines, airports and individualshave been litigated in Europe and the USA for indirect damages resulting from AWCs. Anumber of studies have identified an increasing trend in AWCs globally as a result of higherflight volumes and increases in risk bird populations.Flight safety in Africa is of concern internationally, and AWCs are an important safety aspectwhich need to be understood better. Very little empirical research on the extent or causes ofAWCs in Africa have been published. At Namibia's two major airports, Hosea KutakoInternational and Eros (domestic), 128 AWC incidents were recorded between 2006 and2010. Although none led to human injury or death, two major incidents lead to costs in excessof N$ 20 million and N$ 1million respectively. Publications on AWC minimisation strategiesand techniques on the continent are limited to South Africa and Uganda. This is problematic,as mitigation measures for AWCs in Africa are therefore mostly based on research in foreignecosystems; while we know that local knowledge of AWC factors, such as bird and mammalpopulation dynamics and climatic seasonality are critical to the success of AWCmanagement.This study is the first scientific investigation into any aspect of AWCs in Namibia. It aims tounderstand the relationship between ecosystem components and their effect on the risk ofaircraft-wildlife collisions occurring at Hosea Kutako and Eros airports. Monitoring ofecosystem components such as insects and small mammals are useful to airport wildlifemanagement as they are relatively quick and inexpensive tools for determining ecosystem health and functioning and can indicate varying environmental contexts and responses. Theseecosystem components and others such as vegetation and avian communities were explored.The study found that modelling the abovementioned ecosystem factors to predict the risk ofAWCs would be marginally accurate, but still useful in understanding the system, as well asthe effects of various management actions on that system. Systems modelling was found tohave the potential to map the complexity of influences on AWCs and make themunderstandable to airport management in order to allow more informed decision making andresourcing regarding the management of AWC risk.The international obligation placed on airport staff to control wildlife hazards in the vicinityof airports is often difficult to fulfil, especially at smaller airports or in countries withinadequate resources and capacity. In addition to this, research into wildlife habitat, speciesand their habits at airports has predominantly originated in Europe and North America, andhence mitigation measures are most effective in these conditions, and less effectiveelsewhere. Based on the context of its literature and empirical research, this study proposes atoolkit which was designed to guide airports in Southern Africa to minimise risk of aircraftwildlifecollisions. It is based on the understanding of ecosystems in the vicinity of the twoairports on which this study was based, but also on the broader understanding of capacity andresources available to many Southern African countries. It also considers the recommendedpractices of ICAO, global best practice and promotes a multi-stakeholder managementapproach.Key words: Aircraft-wildlife collision, airport habitat, avifauna, bird strike, ecosystem,human-wildlife conflict, multi-stakeholder management, systems modelling, toolkit, wildlifehazard management.

[发布机构] University of the Free State