by Nick Maughan
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been identified as one of the ‘top three rising technologies being used in conservation’ today, eliminating the manual task of gathering wildlife data and helping park rangers protect endangered species from being poached. AI could be the solution needed to effectively monitor and safeguard vast landscapes across Africa that, up until now, have been protected solely by patrolling.
Technology companies such as Hack the Planet, on their ‘AI camera trap’ project, have paired AI with cameras already set up in remote areas of Gabon to identify trespassing poachers and prevent animals from wandering into African villages, without depending on Wi-Fi connections. Camera traps take pictures when triggered by movement and send these images to a mini-computer. AI is then used to determine whether a human or animal is depicted in the image.
Before this project, rangers would have to manually check the images captured by the cameras, and they would not be viewed in real-time. Speeding up the process of identifying poachers in the area can save the lives of countless endangered species.
Engineer Thijs Suijten said that AI-generated information from the images captured in the camera traps has provided the Gabon farmers with an early warning system that alerts them of approaching elephants.
Not only does AI assist with protecting farmers’ lands, but the elephants themselves are protected from revenge or self-defence killings. Gabon’s Environmental Minister, Lee White, asserted that AI camera traps would lead to fewer ranger deaths and increased poacher arrests. This type of technology could be applied to countries such as Kenya, where human-elephant conflict has been recognised as having overtaken poaching as the biggest killer of the animals.
Tusk has long been promoting the conversation about the potential uses of AI in conservation since 2018 when technologist Ted Schmitt gave a speech about the wide range of AI’s capabilities at the Tusk Conservation Lecture. Schmitt outlined the ‘myriad applications of technology’, referencing how it can remarkably improve tracking, identification, monitoring of animals, notifying rangers, and recommending new conservation methods.
Tusk has also been encouraging technological integration by financially supporting rangers in Kenya, assisting them in achieving a poaching rate of zero for six years across the 93,000-acre Lewa/Borana landscape.
In an interview conducted with Edward Ndiritu, the Head of the Kenyan Anti-Poaching Unit for Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, he emphasised how embracing technology has expedited the response to conflict and poaching which has improved human-wildlife coexistence.
While AI has been used on smaller-scale conservation projects in countries such as Slovenia and the Netherlands, wildlife conservation specialists are now hoping to apply it in larger anti-poaching efforts. Creative road mapping initiatives, such as the Earth Sciences Project, which are using AI machine learning algorithms to decipher animal communication, aim to transform conservation methods by revolutionising our understanding of animal behaviour.
In order to utilise AI effectively in the context of conservation, it should be viewed as a tool that can complement existing anti-poaching technology and strategy. Poaching prevention requires a multi-faceted approach that combines consistent law enforcement, local commitment and international cooperation. AI and other emerging technology are not a standalone solution, but this small addition makes a significant difference in the fight against poachers.
