wisdom
Innovation has historically been the enemy of the natural world in many ways. Responsible for industrial and digital revolutions, it has seen forests levelled, cities mushroom in size, and people retreat further away from the wilderness. But a tool is what you make of it. And the purpose and intent behind its use are all- important. Singita, working together with its partners, is harnessing the power of technological tools and the increasing capabilities of machine learning to help us understand and better protect landscapes and species. From mitigating human-wildlife conflict to species monitoring and protection, technology has become a crucial cog in the conservation machine. Head of Conservation at Singita, Inge Kotze, says a layered, multi-phased and faceted approach has been the key to increasing tech’s scope for success. Looking through the lens of anti-poaching, as one avenue where it’s been implemented, we can see how much technology’s role and capabilities have evolved since it was first introduced many years ago. Having started
with the trail cameras that were set up remotely and moved around manually, agents now use perimeter cameras and leverage AI technology to monitor fencelines 24/7 for incursions. This system issues early alerts for any movement detected, which can then be followed up with a rapid response. On road networks, too, license- plate recognition and real-time AI monitoring keep track of people and vehicles from a joint operational centre. Drone technology is a crucial part of the surveillance aspect of anti-poaching operations, enabling quicker and more widespread detection. “If activity is picked up, the dogs move. The drones are very useful for keeping ahead of the dogs, both for the safety of the team moving in, but also for holding a position and eye in the sky,” Inge notes. But the drones do more than just monitor – they’re used for long-term research data gathering as well, and for broad environmental management issues. They are also likely to link to ongoing annual census counts and ecological research in future.
Previous spread The positive applications of technology are limitless – from data gathering and ecological research to species protection. Left The Anti-Poaching Unit combines human dedication, canine training, and technological innovation to bolster its efficacy. Above Continual innovations in technology complement the expert skills and intuition of our dedicated game scouts.
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