Using mist nets and acoustic monitoring along an impact gradient, we will build the first bat diversity database, echolocation library and raise awareness about bats importance to change local communities’ negative attitudes. Outcomes will help prioritize habitat and roost protection, and engage local stakeholders in sustaining ecosystem resilience.

This project will help to protect threatened habitats, by using bats as a keystone species to bring awareness of the impacts of habitat loss and disturbance. We will carry out education campaigns about the risks of bats disappearing due to habitat loss, and the consequences that can occur to the environment, given bats’ important ecological contributions (disseminations of plants, seeds dispersal, pollination, and control of insect numbers).

We will recommend to foresters, land users, and wildlife managers to considerably reduce or suspend the exploitation of selected areas that are confirmed as important bat foraging, commuting and roosting areas, which are often those with good vegetation cover and often close to waterways. We will advocate to local farmers about the importance of planting trees in their farms that can help with long-term preservation of bats, and mitigate some of the threats they face from agriculture.

Certainly, this action will take a considerable time for trees to mature, but a control during subsequent visits will allow follow-up, and constitute a motivation for the farmers. The study will span 12 months (March 2026–February 2027), covering all climatic seasons. Findings from this project will be published in peer review journal, shared during conferences.