The two winning applications were chosen from 47 innovative ideas from 14 countries to help solve the increasing confrontations between people and wildlife such as tigers , polar bears and elephants . An international panel of human wildlife conflict and technology experts assessed the feasibility of the proposals .
TIM eMagazine Vol . 2 Issue 9 animal , but not when a human or a dog passes .
" This affordable tool uses infrared sensors to detect the unique body heat and shape of polar bears and tigers , which then sends an alert to locals of the approaching carnivore ,” said Stephanie O ’ Donnell , Community Manager , WILDLABS . “ By offering more precise discrimination between species detected by the system , the frequency of false alarms will be reduced and enhance the sense of security of people living near tigers , polar bears or other carnivores .” Improving effectiveness of electric fences De Groot and Van Dam , of ShadowView Foundation in the Netherlands , aim to reduce conflicts between people and elephants with their proposal based on the wireless LoRaWAN™ ( Long Range Wide Area Network ) telecommunication technology , to which a variety of sensors can be linked that detect animal presence and power leaks in electric fences that are currently used to keep out elephants . Alarms linked to the sensors alert
Images : wwf . org
The two winning applications were chosen from 47 innovative ideas from 14 countries to help solve the increasing confrontations between people and wildlife such as tigers , polar bears and elephants . An international panel of human wildlife conflict and technology experts assessed the feasibility of the proposals .
people when a fence has been damaged or broken by elephants by setting off buzzer flashlights or sending SMS messages to villagers .
Both proposals will be tested in India in 2018 . Since the proposals are complementary and can reinforce each other ’ s effectiveness , the developers are encouraged to collaborate . Field testing of the winning proposals can be followed on WILDLABS .
“ For the Asian elephant case , testing the winning innovations in Assam , India , provides an exciting opportunity to see how the two tools might work together for maximum impact and for conflict situations related to other species as well ,” said Nilanga Jayasinghe , Senior Program Officer for Asian Species , WWF . “ By combining these ideas , we can develop a comprehensive solution to benefit more species and communities .” Finding technological answers to a deadly serious problem The number of deadly encounters of people and wild animals such as tigers , elephants and polar bears is growing . This is due in large part to shrinking natural habitat for these species as human settlements and activities expand . As a result , the lives of people as well as wildlife are being lost , while great damage is being done to property , livestock and crops .
It is more important than ever to find solutions to this problem . Although there are currently a number of measures and tools to prevent human-wildlife conflict ( ranging from the use of electric fences to deep trenches , chilli bombs , bees , fire crackers and flashlights to improving education land use planning ), they are not effective or timely enough to prevent interactions between humans and wildlife from escalating into full conflict .
By putting the problem to engineers , designers and nature lovers from around the world , WILDLABS and WWF are harnessing the combined skills , knowledge and ingenuity of the global community to help solve this pressing conservation problem . wwfus . org
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