New Expertise Platform Planned to Deliver African Park Rangers Real-Time Devices to Defend Iconic Animal Species

SEATTLE, March 22: Reacting to the elephant poaching catastrophe exemplified in 2016's Great Elephant Census (GEC), philanthropist Paul G. Allen and his group of technologists as well as conservation specialists are connecting with park administrators throughout Africa to deliver a novel expertise platform to effectively safeguard this iconic species and other wildlife endangered by human actions.

The GEC acknowledged a disturbing 30 percent loss of savannah elephants over the preceding seven years chiefly because of augmented ivory poaching. This established conservationists' utmost worries and gives new significance to expertise to support in tackling this catastrophe.

The Domain Awareness System (DAS) is a device that combines the locations of radios, vehicles, aircraft and animal sensors to deliver users with a real-time dashboard that portrays the wildlife being safeguarded, the populace as well as assets defending them, and the possible unlawful action jeopardizing them.

"Accurate data plays a critical role in conservation," revealed Paul Allen, adding, "Rangers deserve more than just dedication and good luck. They need to know in real-time what is happening in their parks."

The imagining and exploration competencies of DAS permit park administrators to make instant strategic resolutions to then competently use assets for outlawing and vigorous administration. "DAS has enabled us to establish a fully integrated approach to our security and anti-poaching work within northern Kenya," stated Mike Watson, chief executive officer of Lewa Conservancy where the first DAS system was used late previous year. He added, "This is making us significantly more effective and coordinated and is showing us limitless opportunities for conservation applications."

The scheme has been fitted at six threatened wildlife conservation locations since November 2016. Functioning with Save the Elephants, African Parks Network, Wildlife Conservation Society, as well as the Singita Grumeti Fund along with the Lewa Conservancy and Northern Rangelands Trust, an aggregate of 15 sites are anticipated to embrace the scheme this year.

"When we are fully operational by the end of 2017, the system will cover more than 90,000 square miles of protected area," stated Ted Schmitt, lead program manager for DAS, adding, "In speaking with park managers over the last few years, a large gap was a lack of a single technology platform that could make great use of the data to direct enforcement efforts and enable deep analysis."

The SMART Partnership, a group of conservation NGOs, government associates, and equipment companies, is functioning with Paul Allen's group to assimilate DAS with SMART software utilized in approximately 500 locations throughout 46 nations to gauge, assess and adaptively enhance the efficiency of wildlife law implementation guards and location-centered conservation actions.

DAS is also driving the Save the Elephants Tracking App, a mobile device for rangers and scientists that is already showing to be useful in various field locations throughout Africa.

"If you know where elephants are, and how they are moving, then you can help protect them," revealed Iain Douglas-Hamilton, president of Save the Elephants, adding, "We've been tracking elephants for a long time to get ahead of poachers in this way and the DAS is taking this into a new realm. I'm absolutely thrilled that Paul Allen is doing this. DAS is a game changer." 

With prompt and keen adoption by the threatened zones to date, the execution group is concentrating on the assimilation of fresh data sources as they become obtainable. Satellites, drones, camera setups, animal sensors, weather screens and expertise yet to be conceived can all be utilized for administering and defending wildlife no matter what dangers grow in the future.