Swamp Stomp
Volume 17, Issue 34
Paul Allen, one of the co-founders of Microsoft, wants to cover 90,000 square miles of African territory with smart sensors and drones before this year ends. He wants to do this in order to be able to know what is going on in Africa’s most remote, wildlife-packed corners. There is no larger tech-focused conservation project as of right now that utilizes a command-and-control system so that rangers can record and respond to poaching threats all the way from Kenya to Tanzania.
The project is called the Domain Awareness System (DAS) and is being funded by Allen through his company Vulcan. Though it is a very simple concept, it is much more complex in execution. Though the software is not flashy, it is likely the key to one of most important philanthropic causes of our time.
What DAS wants to accomplish is to study the movement of endangered animals so that rangers can understand where the main poacher threat is going to be and then get ahead of them on a scale that allows Big Data to predict threats across entire regions.
This technology would allow for less of a foot traffic presence which is the current way elephants and rhinos are protected. Anytime one of the sensors were tripped, nearby rangers will be notified about the threat as well as being notified of any microchipped animals in the area.
When asked why Allen wanted to get involved helping to fix this problem, he said that “By nature, I am attracted to tough problems—problems that, by definition, require innovative and dramatic solutions. The DAS project is the ideal combination of two of my interests—technology and the preservation of [the savannah elephant,] one of Africa’s most iconic species.”
Completely accurate data from conservationists cannot be gathered for two to five years, but so far DAS looks to be working well. As of yet, there have not been any animals saved as a direct result of DAS, but there have been two separate cases of rangers using DAS alerts to apprehend poachers who had already made a kill.
There are other significant threats to the African wildlife besides. The system has allowed rangers in Kenya to prevent human-wildlife conflict by understanding which farms’ cattle are most likely to wander into conservation areas. The rangers have worked with locals to keep the livestock out of conservation areas. This allows rangers prevent retaliatory killings by farmers. This happens when wildlife preys on wandering livestock.
The next step is bringing the system to places that still do not have it, such as the jungles and forests of Congo. Enhancing connectivity where it is low will also be key because it will allow DAS to show alerts in real-time instead of on a delay.
Allen is happy to let his team run wild. “I’ve spent time with these park rangers, so I’m familiar with how difficult their work is. Providing this kind of tool to help them defend endangered species is incredibly fulfilling.”
Do you think this could be the answer to helping catch poachers? What else do you think should be done to prevent poachers from harming and killing elephants and rhinos?
Source: Ekstein, Nikki. “Paul Allen Is Using Technology To Save The African Elephant.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 09 May 2017. Web. 10 May 2017.