November 14th, 2014
Via Outside Magazine, a brief look at the convergence of big data and conservation:
Poaching is big business, with black-market elephant tusks bringing in $30,000 and rhino horns fetching $300,000. But conservationists are fighting back with an arsenal of increasingly effective high tech weapons.
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WildLeaks (wildleaks.org) lets anyone submit tips about poachers, information that vetted and shared with law enforcement.
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Eyes on the Forest (eyesontheforest.or.id) fights Indonesian deforestation by using Google Earth to combine satellie tech with ground-based reporting.
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In 2013, no elephants, rhinos, or lions were killed in Nepal, a statistic credited to the use of drones, which can monitor parklands much faster and much more safely than ragners on foot.
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A program called SMART (for spatial monitoring and reporting tool) aggregates poaching tips and footage from drones and camera traps to create animal and poacher patterns.
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New technology called DNA fingerprinting is making it possible to collect DNA from animal feces and seized animal products, which investigators use to help map the path of trafficked items.
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