The global threat of wildlife trafficking continues to grow.  Wildlife trafficking threatens security, undermines the rule of law, fuels corruption, and is pushing iconic species to the brink of extinction.  Technology innovation can help reduce this devastating challenge.  For more information, visit our website.

Does your organization need help to develop a technology solution that can help advance your wildlife conservation work?  If so, submit a proposal for a problem statement in this Google form. Please submit your proposals by Wednesday, August 1, 2018.

Additionally, photos can help bring your problem statement to life and can help tell the story of the problem you are trying to solve.  If you are interested, please send 2-3 photos to Victoria Peabody and we will include them with your problem statement. 

The problem statements are the challenges that participants work on during the Zoohackathon.  If your problem statement is selected for the competition, we request that you are available during both dates of the Zoohackathon to answer questions from the participants.

Last year, the Zoohackathon received problem statements that addressed a range of issues including demand reduction, raising awareness about the illegal wildlife trade, and reducing habitat loss and alteration. The problem statements included potential types of technologies that could help solve these problems. 

For example:

• A new software tool that helps to better track and collect information about wildlife species in different regions of the world
• Gaming software that educates the public about the importance of biodiversity
• Software that alerts park rangers of potential threats (e.g., identifying poachers from remote images and creating an alert system to target enforcement efforts)
• A programming tool that can help quantify the global illegal wildlife trade through social media platforms 

To view the 2017 problem statements, please visit these web links:

http://zoohackathon.com/problemstatements/sandiego/ 

http://zoohackathon.com/problemstatements/london/

Last year, the global prize-winning team, which consisted of university students, engineers, and a member of Bloomberg, developed an image-recognition algorithm that could be deployed on remote cameras to produce real-time alerts of potential poaching incidents.  They were brought to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs’ (OES) World Wildlife Day event where they met with wildlife experts and technology start-ups and incubators.  While meeting with these different groups, the winners were able to discuss potential ways they could further develop their technology and connected with others for future mentorship opportunities.