Wildlife crime is one of the greatest challenges facing conservation, and one of the conservation tech world's biggest areas of innovation. With new ideas and solutions constantly being put forth to track and protect species targeted by poachers, manage protected areas and support rangers, and combat the growing online market for illegal wildlife products, the engineers and conservationists working to solve wildlife crime's many challenges rely on tools like machine learning, biologging, camera traps, acoustic monitoring, drones, mobile apps, and more.
This wide variety of overlapping technology makes our Wildlife Crime group a potential melting pot for many of our other communities, and makes it an especially exciting place to find collaborators working in different tech spheres to meet a common goal. Whether you're a camera trap expert looking for information on thermal vision to spot potential poachers, a machine learning expert with the skills to analyze acoustic data for gunshots, or a protected area manager seeking the latest integrated mobile tools, this group can connect you with the right members of our community!
Below, you'll find WILDLABS resources and conversations to help you understand how different technologies are being put to work in the fight against wildlife crime, and what conservation tech practitioners need for these tools to be effective.
Three Tutorials and Videos for Beginners:
- How do I use AI to fight wildlife crime? | Lily Xu, Tech Tutors
- WWF Wildlife Crime Technology Project | Eric Becker, Virtual Meetups
- SmartParks | Laurens de Groot, Virtual Meetups
Three Forum Threads for Beginners:
- Snare detection technologies | Rachel Kramer
- Tools for conservation management | Chris Muashekele
- Looking for Intelligence Database Software | Dexter Oelrichs
Three Articles for Beginners:
- Using AIS data to investigate the world's fishing ports, Max Schofield
- How do Wildlife Crime Experts view Remote Sensing Technologies used to Combat Illegal Wildlife Crime?, Isla Duporge
- Metal Detecting Sensors for Anti-Poaching, Sam Seccombe
Join this group now to get to know our community and start discussing solutions and ideas together!
Header photo: © Frank af Petersens/Save the Elephants
- @nadyam
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Michigan State University
Conservation geneticist at Michigan State University. Co-founder of iCatch. Solving problems in monitoring, traceability, and enforcement through rapid species identification tech.
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- 3 Discussions
- 6 Groups
Technologist and Visual storyteller focusing on social, conservations issues.
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- 31 Discussions
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- @nlubcker
- | Dr
Results-Driven R&D Project Manager | Data scientist | I'm a versatile professional with 10 years of global experience in conservation and research.
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- 1 Discussions
- 7 Groups
- @mariahmeek
- | she/her
Michigan State University
Dr. Mariah Meek is the PI and co-founder of iCatch, an Associate Professor at Michigan State University, and the Director of Research at The Wilderness Society.
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Heading up comms for a conservation agency based in the United Arab Emirates
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- 6 Groups
Neuroscientist & engineer transitioning to conservation tech. I have experience working with large imaging datasets, pose estimation and positional tracking, and machine learning. Looking to get involved with GIS, remote sensing, and AI for conservation.
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- 17 Groups
- @CalumRyan
- | He/Him
Intern at Fauna & Flora working on the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART)
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- 4 Groups
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- 16 Groups
Tech 4 Conservation
President, Tech 4 Conservation
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- 6 Discussions
- 18 Groups
Botswana Predator Conservation Trust
- 0 Resources
- 72 Discussions
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Partner in Conservation at WWF
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- 17 Discussions
- 6 Groups
- @gzlazzari
- | she/her
I am a master's student working with the Genetics, Evolution, Ecology and Conservation of Carnivores Research Group at PUCRS/Brazil. I am especially interested in molecular techniques to answer genetic, ecological and forensic questions about jaguars.
- 0 Resources
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- 4 Groups
Each year Tusk honours extraordinary individuals battling on the frontline in the fight for wildlife conservation in Africa. Nominate your 2019 Conservation Heroes now.
12 February 2019
Jacqueline Ramos explains how artificial intelligence can help to track and prevent chimpanzee trafficking across the globe.
6 February 2019
The Open Data Institute and the Office for AI are partnering to explore how data trusts could help to solve environmental, societal and industry challenges by enabling increased access to data while retaining trust....
31 January 2019
FLIR have announced the Kifaru Rising Project, a multi-year effort in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to deploy FLIR thermal imaging technology to help improve wildlife ranger safety and contribute to their...
18 January 2019
Although invaluable for conservation and ecological research, camera traps frequently take pictures of people as well as wildlife. This has important implications for privacy and human rights and may ultimately...
22 November 2018
Ted Schmitt joined us for a lunchtime lecture in which he shared his experiences working across Africa the past five years with protected area managers, anti-trafficking organisations, and scientists to effectively...
22 November 2018
Motion-sensing wildlife-tracking cameras in South Sudan have captured 425,000 photos, documenting species not previously known to be found in this richly forested area. The team is now asking for your help to identify ...
22 August 2018
Article
In this case study, conservation ecologist Ayesha Tulloch takes us behind the scenes of her recent paper, which came out in Nature Ecology & Evolution earlier this month. In this paper, Ayesha and her team present a...
20 August 2018
Society’s Marine Protection Prize will award $450,000 for innovative solutions and technologies that protect and sustain fisheries in coastal communities
1 February 2018
‘The Field’… Say the words ‘The Field’ to a group of conservationists and it will immediately conjure up vivid memories of everything from sticky wet rainforests to burning dusty deserts. What’s more, it’s almost...
17 January 2018
The WWF Wildlife Practice has a small amount of funding available to provide grants of around €10,000 to support key innovative ideas.
11 January 2018
Following the UK Government’s landmark announcement of plans to introduce a complete ban on the domestic trade in ivory, it was fitting that a new machine learning product designed to tackle the supply end of this...
6 December 2017
June 2024
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November 2023
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29 Products
1 R&D Projects
37 Organisations
Recently updated products
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Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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Hi @DaveGaynor regarding funding, have you reached out to any lodges? I know that snaring is rife in the Manyaleti ... maybe some of the lodges in the Sabi Sands would be... |
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AI for Conservation, Drones, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Wildlife Crime | 7 hours 29 minutes ago | |
Hi @emmahiggins , sounds like a great plan. Could you tell more about the content of the program, and perhaps the institutional context (which department(s) is(are)... |
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Build Your Own Data Logger Community, AI for Conservation, Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Biologging, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Acoustics, Community Base, Connectivity, Conservation Dogs, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Drones, Early Career, Earth Observation 101 Community, East Africa Community, eDNA & Genomics, Emerging Tech, Ending Wildlife Trafficking Online, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Footprint Identification Technique (FIT), Human-Wildlife Conflict, Marine Conservation, Open Source Solutions, Protected Area Management Tools, Remote Sensing & GIS, Sensors, Software and Mobile Apps, Sustainable Fishing Challenges, Wildlife Crime, Women in Conservation Tech Programme (WiCT) | 2 days 8 hours ago | |
Hello guys,I'm looking into the topic of measuring species vulnerability to overharvesting of species in trade. I am exploring existing... |
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Ending Wildlife Trafficking Online, Marine Conservation, Wildlife Crime | 1 week ago | |
I am interested in expanding our capability and understanding of snare detection by canines. We have two canines working in Asia that have successfully detected snares in training... |
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Wildlife Crime | 2 months 1 week ago | |
Hi Scott, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts here! It would be great to learn more about this, would you be interested in finding a time to chat? Thanks! |
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Marine Conservation, Sustainable Fishing Challenges, Wildlife Crime | 2 months 3 weeks ago | |
Hi Danilo. you seem very passionate about this initiative which is a good start.It is an interesting coincidence that I am starting another project for the coral reefs in the... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Biologging, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Community Base, Connectivity, Drones, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Open Source Solutions, Sensors, Software and Mobile Apps, Wildlife Crime | 3 months 3 weeks ago | |
Fire detection is a sort of broad idea. Usually people detect the products of fire, and most often this is smoke.Many home fire detectors in the US use a radioactive source... |
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Community Base, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Open Source Solutions, Protected Area Management Tools, Sensors, Wildlife Crime | 4 months ago | |
Hi folks! Happy 2024 and thanks in advance for your patience in case I over-used tags. If you’re using any form of natural language... |
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AI for Conservation, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Early Career, East Africa Community, Emerging Tech, Ending Wildlife Trafficking Online, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Open Source Solutions, Software and Mobile Apps, Wildlife Crime, Women in Conservation Tech Programme (WiCT) | 4 months 2 weeks ago | |
Will you accept personal/hobbyist focused on conservation on their small plots of land (10-100 acres)?I would, and know others, who would happily pay more than the official... |
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Camera Traps, Climate Change, Community Base, Connectivity, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Sensors, Wildlife Crime | 5 months 1 week ago | |
Hi Zach,Our organization (SEE Turtles) has a campaign working on the illegal tortoiseshell trade around the world called Too Rare To Wear. We are going to be updating our Global... |
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Community Base, Conservation Dogs, Early Career, East Africa Community, Ending Wildlife Trafficking Online, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Wildlife Crime | 5 months 1 week ago | |
Yes, I considered that one as well. At the time of this post (2016) the full masters wasn't available yet, only the online certificate courses. Unfortunately, both the masters and... |
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Wildlife Crime | 6 months 2 weeks ago | |
greetings! i sent you a PM regarding this, feel free to contact me however is most convenient for you - regards,chris |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Climate Change, East Africa Community, Wildlife Crime | 1 year 1 month ago |
We want to provide tracking and surveillance tech FOC to catch poachers.
14 October 2019 3:22pm
21 April 2020 11:11am
Hello MH, can we get into contact what edge devices (camera traps, CCTV or other sensing) you might have? we are working on the frontline of technology as a force mutliplier for ant-poaching units mostly in southern africa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOWW0LwKc0g
thank you and regards
Wolf
17 June 2020 3:55pm
Hi Richard, I've been working with Kerinci Seblat National Park in Sumatra for the better part of 20 years focusing primarily to countering tiger and other wildlife poaching and IWT in/around one of the largest national parks in Asia, might be good to talk, at very least you would have a better idea of some of the issues our ranger teams face.
Innovator Interview: Hack the Poacher
4 June 2020 12:00am
World Bank Conservation Tech Survey
3 June 2020 2:46pm
WILDLABS Tech Hub: WWF PandaSat
13 April 2020 12:00am
WILDLABS Tech Hub: Poreprint
26 March 2020 12:00am
Online Workshop: Conservation Technology
23 March 2020 12:00am
Webinar: IIED Community-Based Approaches to Tackling Poaching and Illegal Wildlife Trade
17 March 2020 12:00am
Reading tips on De-extinction/Regenesis
12 March 2020 4:10pm
Accepting Applications: ArcGIS Solutions for Protected Area Management
4 March 2020 12:00am
Call for Nominations: Tusk Conservation Awards
3 March 2020 12:00am
12 Nov: Tech-crime workshops
4 September 2019 12:08pm
19 November 2019 1:05pm
Hi - how can I find out about future meetups please?
22 November 2019 3:14pm
The ASC conference happens annually, the next one will be in Washington DC over the 18-21 November 2020. Details for the pre-conference workshops are only e-mailed a few months in advance to conference participants. I won't be attending next year, otherwise I would post any opportunities that come up on here. You could e-mail the organiser (Susan Case; [email protected]) next September 2020 to see if there are any tech-related workshops planned.
Lion Relocation Projects
17 October 2019 11:13am
Instant Detect 2.0 emerges
3 September 2019 12:00am
16 November 2023 1:11am
Which NGOs are keeping detailed track of the forest-product supply chain?
11 July 2019 8:21pm
22 August 2019 5:06pm
Hi Liev,
I'm not an expert on this stuff, but from the sound of it, your answer will depend on what you're looking to focus on.
By 'illegal', do you mean 'obtained a contract through corrupt means', 'failing to adhere to an existing contract in terms of engagement with a community' or 'linked to human rights allegations in terms of treating workers'?
By 'unsustainable', do you mean 'responsible for polluting the local area', 'involved in activities like palm oil production that might be globally unsustainable', or 'failing to provide employment opportunities to local residents'?
Or is the answer 'all of the above'?
I've added a few tools below that I've come across, all of which have a lot of information about various aspects of the questions you mentioned. Hope it helps!
- https://ejatlas.org/
- https://landmatrix.org/
- https://resourcecontracts.org/ and https://resourceprojects.org/
- https://openlandcontracts.org/
- https://opendevelopmentmekong.net/search/data/
- https://rspo.org/certification/search-for-certified-growers
- https://open.sourcemap.com/
Tech In the Wild: Where technology meets conservation
22 August 2019 12:00am
ESA Kickstarter: Environmental Crimes
22 August 2019 12:00am
Virtual Meetup Special Discussion: Scaling technology solutions to tackle the illegal wildlife trade
6 June 2019 3:28pm
Technology companies, FCO, and conservation NGOs come together to scale technology solutions to end wildlife crime
4 June 2019 12:00am
AI for Earth Innovation Grant (extended)
4 June 2019 12:00am
How machine learning can help fight illegal wildlife trade on social media
31 May 2019 12:00am
Caught in the crossfire – Tapirs in tiger territory
31 May 2019 12:00am
Technology lab focused on wildlife protection opens on Ol Pejeta Conservancy
31 May 2019 12:00am
GWP Webinar Recording: Using SMART at scale for effective wildlife protection
21 May 2019 12:00am
WILDLABS TECH HUB Showcase
17 May 2019 12:00am
Meet the WILDLABS TECH HUB Winners
13 May 2019 12:00am
Huge appetite for data trusts, according to new ODI research
15 April 2019 12:00am
Tech Hub open call: Tech to end wildlife crime
7 February 2019 2:53pm
11 February 2019 9:30am
Hello Nik
I am still very much learning about startups and building a business but the bottom line is: whatever your product or service, there need to be customers for it who are happy to pay the price you ask for. This is one of the details you have to think about thoroughly when writing a business plan. This in turn forces you to really understand your customer and their particular needs so that you can make sure your product or service is meeting these - not just your own ideas of what a great product should look like.
It does not matter whether you are selling to the public, private or third sector, whether it is a luxury item or something to "improve the public good". Your product/service needs to be affordable by the user and do the job they require it to do. The business plan forces you to work out these details.
To many engineers like myself this kind of work compares poorly to working on the tech side of a soution. But it is a VERY useful exercise and it can actually be fun once you get into it. Having said that, the infamous business plan is also often a document that is created at great effort for someone else (like a funding provider) and then filed, forgotten and never updated. A wasted effort really.
To get started try something much more visual like drawing up a 'Business Model Canvas' and 'Value Proposition Canvas' (see https://www.strategyzer.com/ ). Consider it a precursor to the business plan and "something you can pin on your office wall" to keep it updated more easily. There are plenty of useful short tutorials on the above website (just need to register for free) to explain the concept. It is making a lot of sense and I found it very useful in getting the business basics sorted out.
Good luck,
Joachim
11 February 2019 7:27pm
Hello Joe
Fine, I will apply as you suggested and see what happens.
Joachim
15 February 2019 12:48pm
Thanks for the wonderful answer to Nik's query, Joachim! I think you covered everything, but to put a cap on it: for our good to make a long term impact, it has to survive the long term. That means we'll have to have a plan for long-term sustainability. That doesn't necessarily mean selling expensive licenses, but it does mean knowing your costs, and having an idea of how you'll offset them. Hence a business plan.
Nominations for the 2019 Tusk Conservation Awards Now Open
12 February 2019 12:00am
TECH HUB Open Call: Tech to end wildlife crime
7 February 2019 12:00am
ChimpFace: Facial recognition to combat wildlife trafficking
6 February 2019 12:00am
14 October 2019 11:57pm
I RUN THE GLOBAL WILDLIFE WARRIORS NETWORK COMPRISED OF 30 ONLINE LOCATIONS IN 30 COUNTRIES WITH A LARGE TEAM OF ADMINISTRATORS. WE ALSO HAVE ADMINS THAT ARE ANTI-POACHING RANGERS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF AFRICA. LAST YEAR GWW REACHED OVER 5,000,000 PEOPLE. THAT IS ALWAYS GWW'S MAIN GOAL, OUTREACH! AS WE BELIEVE THAT THIS WAR TO PROTECT WILDLIFE WILL BE WON ONCE THE CREED OF CONSERVATION REACHES CRITICAL MASS GLOBALLY