How conservation apps help wildlife security

By Nneka Nwogwugwu

EarthRanger, a protected-area management software that was developed by Vulcan Inc. in 2017 and is currently used in several protected areas around the world.

The conservation tool collects and shares information on a single online platform that helps conservationists combat a wide range of problems. For instance, it helps operational teams and scientists protect wildlife, understand ecological changes, combat human-wildlife conflict, and prevent poaching and other threats like deforestation.

“[EarthRanger] is data aggregation and visualization system that integrates many different data input sources,” says Jes Lefcourt, senior director of conservation technology at Vulcan.

These sources include rangers, vehicles, aircraft, field-based events and wildlife-tracking devices, as well as various other sensors. The program then “combines all of that information together in an easy-to-use interface,” Lefcourt adds, allowing conservationists to operate both reactively and proactively.

Focusing on three main areas — security, ecological management, and human-wildlife conflict — EarthRanger is used by conservationists at 170 different organizations operating in 40 countries across five continents.

Conservation technology, like many other kinds of remote technologies, has proved to be extremely useful during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey commissioned by Vulcan.
Over the past 18 months, 67% of conservation technology users said their ability to engage in fieldwork had deteriorated, and 54% said their budgets had gotten worse, Mongabay reports.

At the same time, the economic downturn sparked by various forms of lockdowns has driven a surge in illegal wildlife activity, such as trading, poaching and illicit fishing, in a number of regions, according to the survey, highlighting the impact of the pandemic on conservation efforts around the world.