Collen Mulanga Nelwamondo, currently based in Pretoria, South Africa, is a Conservation Practitioner with over 8.5 years of expertise in transboundary biodiversity enforcement and counter-wildlife trafficking. Having concluded a distinguished 7-year tenure with TRAFFIC International on June 30th, 2026, I specialize in operationalizing international mandates (CITES, UNTOC, SDG 15) and professionalizing the enforcement chain through evidence-based innovation.

As the Africa Focal Point for the global Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online, I lead cross-sector partnerships between conservation NGOs and major tech platforms to disrupt digital illicit hubs and have developed specialized investigative methodologies for online trafficking. I am at the forefront of conservation technology, representing TRAFFIC at the 2025 Applied Conservation Technology Congress in Vietnam, where I focused on integrating SMART, EarthRanger, and CMORE to enhance technology-enabled conservation and intrusion detection.

My professional identity is built at the intersection of operational intelligence and institutional reform. I am currently finalising a Master of Science in Nature Conservation (UNISA) that provides a firsthand diagnostic of the "Crime Scene to Court" (CSTC) continuum, identifying critical institutional fractures, such as legislative "legal chaos" and the "Schedule 1 bail crisis"—to improve prosecutorial outcomes against transnational organized crime.

I am an expert practitioner in an advanced analytical toolset, including SERCA, ArcGIS, Power BI, i2 Analyst’s Notebook, and SADC TWIX, used for spatial crime correlation and criminal network mapping. I am now immediately available for senior technical advisory, project management, or leadership roles globally (Remote or on-site) to help secure our shared future against the shadow economy.

Contact: +2772 840 9765 / [email protected] 

Hi all, Steve here, a software engineer in Ohio. I have spent the past year building an open-source network of solar LoRa mesh trail cameras to monitor my family's land in northeast Ohio, which is how I fell down the conservation-tech rabbit hole and eventually found my way here. Long-time lurker, especially in the Camera Traps group. Glad to finally be joining in, and happy to talk LoRa mesh, low-power ESP32 camera nodes, or on-device detection with anyone chasing similar problems.

Great idea!. I am interested in joining. 

Sounds great Matt!

Hello everyone,

Great idea! I would also join and happily-actively contribute to a HD group on technology. 

I am working for Callisto - Wildlife and Nature Conservation Society, an NGO, in Greece as part of its Human Dimensions group, and we are currently researching human-carnivore-related emerging technologies in the context of pastoralism-livestock.

So please, start this new group :)

Warm regards,

Dimitris

Hi Stephen, Hi All!

I'm very keen to see this group be created and bring together a wide audience of those interested in Z&A's role in conservation tech. I have recently started as a researcher at Marwell Wildlife / the University of Surrey in the UK, and I like many of you I am particularly interested in how to transfer utility from Zoo research to in-situ contexts. 

Looking forward to chatting to you all as this group grows!

I am very excited about the group being launched and am eagerly awaiting it! This platform is such a unique hub for networking and support. 

It’s worth considerig thermal cameras. They will see more, particularly small mammals at night. Here’s a Comparison of thermal and trail cameras. 
 

I really recommend GardePro. They are not too expensive and very resilient in the field.

Ok

The process begins 😂

Awesome!