Group

Wildlife Crime / Feed

Wildlife crime is a complicated challenge, so it's no wonder that the conservation technology community has explored solutions with every type of technology, all with the aim of predicting, preventing, and stopping crimes like poaching, illegal logging and fishing, and the sale of animal products like ivory. Join our Wildlife Crime group to meet others who are working on potential solutions to this global challenge and to add your own expertise to the conversation! 

discussion

Ivory ID using portable molecular sensors?

I was recently introduced to portable molecular sensors at a conference. One example is Consumer Physics' SCiO. Does anyone have experience using portable molecular...

3 0

There are so few details on the link that it is not possible to judge whether that particualr hardware will be any use for anything. I suspect that it used near infra-red which has some applications for bulk anayses of foods but I doubt that it could distinguish different types of animal ivory. It might be able to discriminate between vegetable and animal ivory.

Thanks, @Peter+Apps . I reached out to ConsumerPhysics for more information. They said that scanning animal ivories for identification purposes is likely to be feasible with SCiO and that others may be considering this application as well. 

They confirmed that SCiO uses NIR spectroscopy for classification between different substances, providing that the molecular fingerprints are different enough from each other. It sounds like they did a basic feasibility test that "showed promise in classifying ivory samples from different kinds of animals - elephant, mammoth, hippopotamus and walrus, as well as plastic mock-ivory samples. The corresponding molecular sensing models and applications will have to be developed further for better insight. This may be developed in the future either by us or by the SCiO developer community using the SCiO Development Toolkit, which allows users to create models and apps." 

They suggested that a user would need to take two things into consideration when working toward this application: "First, as SCiO’s detection threshold varies by material, and is typically 0.1%-1%, some micro-nutrients will not be detectable. This requires further research. In addition, it should be noted that building the database for such an application requires access to samples and their chemical characteristics."  

More info on DevKit SDK is online here: https://www.consumerphysics.com/myscio/developers/ and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wDLSF0ZkIA. I have no experience with this technology and no connection to ConsumerPhysics, but it sounds interesting.

I think this could be a good research project for someone in the WILDLABS community. With the scope of our network, gaining access to samples should not be a challenge.

It sounds like @David+Baisch at Conservation X Labs just ordered a SCiO spec and developer's kit to test its sensitivity. They're interested in seeing whether the device can be used to differentiate beteween tree species in treated and untreated wood products. Looking forward to learning more about that process!

 

See full post
event

Video: Discover the SMART Approach

The SMART Partnership
The Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) Partnership combines a ranger-based data collection tool with capacity building and a suite of best practices aimed at helping protected area and wildlife managers...

0
See full post
article

Can Drones Live up to the Hype?

Paul Glover-Kapfer
Drones are being explored for a spectrum of applications in conservation that include mapping, biodiversity inventories, antipoaching patrols, wildlife tracking and fire monitoring. However, questions remain about...

0
See full post
event

Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge Accelerator Bootcamp

Sophie Maxwell
Earlier this month, the 16 prize winners of the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge were called to Washington D.C. for an Accelerator Boot Camp. Sophie Maxwell, a member of the prize winning team from the Zoological Society...

0
See full post
article

TEAM Network and Wildlife Insights

Eric Fegraus
Operating the largest tropical forest camera trap network globally, TEAM Network has accumulated over 2.6 million images. How can large datasets coupled with new techniques for data management and analysis provide...

0
See full post
discussion

Wildlife Crime Apps

Here's a few apps relevant to combatting wildlife crime. 1. ENV- Report Wildlife Crime - This app specifically focuses on wildlife crime in Vietnam. You can report...

0
See full post
article

The Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART)

Alexa Montefiore
SMART combines a ranger-based data collection tool with capacity building and a suite of best practices aimed at helping protected area and wildlife managers better monitor, evaluate and adaptively manage their...

0
See full post
article

Bringing Conservation Technology to Life

Shah Selbe
We are living in the midst of a pretty exciting era. Never before has humanity been more educated, more connected, more enabled, or more empowered than we are today. There are many reasons to be optimistic about the...

0
See full post
discussion

JIGZAW and Mars Omega, an introduction

Hi All, Gautam has asked that I tell you a bit about who we are and what we do. The three Mars Omega Partners are all senior ex-British Army officers, with backgrounds in...

2 0

Thanks Anthony - what is the best way to introduce others to your product and solutions?  I live in Kenya - can you disclose who you are working with here?

With regards to a scale up partner, can you provide a few more details on what you are looking for?

Gautam!

Hi Gautam,

I think the best way is have them read the thread, and then get back to me with questions - I can then respond on a case-by-case basis.  Our website is here: http://www.marsomega.com.  We have not yet updated it to make public our involvement in countering wildlife crime, but that will be done shortly.

On disclosure, Hamish is actually in Kenya from tomorrow, and he is talking to our Kenyan partners to make sure they are happy to have this information made more freely available.  We necessarily are being very discreet.

On scaling - as one of the 16 Prize WInners in the Wildlfe Criem Tech Challenge, we have only just started talking to the competition sponsors about acceleration and scaling.  Once we have established that process and have more information ourselves, I will be happy to discuss this further.

Best regards,

Anthony

See full post
discussion

Illegal wildlife sales on social media

A great example of enforcement where illegal wildlife sales were detected on social media:  Facebook Investigation Leads to Turtle Thieves An...

1 0

This post made me wander whether we could employ social media listening tools to identify illegal wildlife trade hotspots, levels, changes in attitude towards IWT products etc.? Perhaps already being done? Here's some case studies from Brandwatch of how brands are using social media listening: https://www.brandwatch.com/case-studies/

 

See full post
article

Gaming for Good: Minecraft and Quiz Up

Peter Jacobs
Can games have real world impacts on issues like the illegal wildlife trade? In part two of his case study for the Gaming for Conservation Group, Peter Jacobs discusses United for Wildlife's efforts to engage young...

0
See full post
article

Technology for Traceability

Daniel Brizuela
Traceability (knowing where products come from and how they are made) is a foundational pre-cursor for many sustainability interventions. While many tools have been developed to offer high-level insight about the...

0
See full post
article

Gaming for Good: Runescape and Angry Birds

Peter Jacobs
Can games raise awareness of conservation issues like the illegal wildlife trade? In part one of his case study for the Gaming for Conservation Group, Peter Jacobs discusses how United for Wildlife is partnering with...

0
See full post
article

What is eDNA?

Sarah Kuppert
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is nuclear or mitochondrial DNA that is released from an organism into the environment. Sources of eDNA include secreted faeces, mucous, gametes, shed skin, hair and carcasses. In this article,...

0
See full post