Roundup: Experts call for satellite tech to be used in Africa's anti-poaching efforts

Satellite technologies for the monitoring of wildlife movements and protection of biodiversity management are the solution to the conservation efforts in Africa, an expert said on Monday.

Dr. Jake Wall, a Geospatial Adviser with the Save the Elephants, noted that the technology is capable of enabling conservationists in saving wildlife and other natural resources from exploitation.

"It is upon the governments to adopt the technology through the collaboration with the technology developers," Wall told the conference on space technology and applications for wildlife management and protecting biodiversity in Nairobi.

He said that radar satellites that can penetrate clouds to detect poachers and sensors that can tell when animals are about to be killed are among major technological advances that exist in North America and Asia and is capable of helping African governments.

"Technologically advanced animal sensors can tell when an elephant is about to be poached by detecting its unusual behavior, giving law enforcement time to act, hence helping save wildlife from demise," he added.

He said that several organizations offer training opportunities in North America and Asia where the technology has been used for many years.

According to experts attending the conference, high resolution radar satellites can help combat wildlife crime by detecting vehicles and other equipment as they move under forest cover, or during the night.

The gadgets also help in detecting unusual human presence in national parks and could allow anti-poaching units to identify, locate and ultimately arrest poachers.

"High resolution radar satellites can also penetrate cloud cover unlike other optical earth observation satellites, helping in the fight against illegal fishing," Dr. Ghislain de la Sayette, Airbus Defense and Space Director for Africa said.

Sayette observed that it is unfortunate that Africa has not seen the benefits that the technology is capable of bringing to the continent.

"From defense, fishery, agriculture and other departments, all the departments have the potential of suing satellite technology," he said.

He revealed that only South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Nigeria have taken up training of their human resource while Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia and Namibia have high ambitions of improving.

Sayette called on the developing countries to start developing policies for the promotion of satellite.

He said that through satellite observation, illegal logging and illegal trade in wildlife has reduced in Central African Republic and the Congo Basin as a whole.

"The countries stand to promote innovation and be able to increase industrial development base," he added.

He said that the countries need to create awareness amongst the policy makers first before engaging the masses since the technology is capable of empowering the people in better ways of using land resources.

Hyperspectral satellites can provide data that can be used to monitor crops in remote locations for potential diseases.

The satellites could also be used to identify crop types and crop growth stages, the extent of logging and deforestation, the availability of water, and to accurately monitor biodiversity in general.

"Small sensors can also be attached to animals, such as birds and even large insects, to allow scientists track the animals," the Chief Executive Officer of the International Cooperation for Animal Research using Space (ICARUS) Dr. Walter Naumann said.

Naumann observed that the technology is in a position to detect the spread of disease and predict natural disasters and give a greater understanding of the impact of climate change on animals.

He said that the organization uses customized tags that in the end help scientists develop new questions in finding the solutions.

"It's this technology that discovers the magnitude transmission of plagues' spread by bats and Africa must adopt the technology to avoid infection from such diseases," he added. Endit