TECH CORNER – TRACKING THE SMART WAY

TRACKING THE SMART WAY

FINELLA GRAY, MADAGASCAR PROTECTED AREA DATA SPECIALIST A PICTURE-BASED SMARTPHONE APP ALLOWS LOCAL PATROLLERS WORKING WITH THE DURRELL TEAM IN MADAGASCAR TO RECORD DATA FROM THE FIELD WHILE OVERCOMING LOW LITERACY LEVELS AMONG INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

Local communities lie at the heart of our work to protect endangered wildlife and habitats. Villagers from these communities have valuable knowledge about their local environment and are trained to patrol protected areas. However, many are not able to read and write, which can limit the quantity and quality of data they can report.

To overcome this, our team on the ground in Madagascar use the app CyberTracker to record wildlife sightings and threats encountered on their patrols. The app is designed for use by non-literate trackers by using pictures and symbols to represent the different species and threats. The app links to the SMART patrol and threat management software where this data can be stored and analysed by our data team in Madagascar. From this data, the team can better manage protected areas by identifying hotspots for illegal activity.

The CyberTracker app was initially developed for Kalahari bushmen to record wildlife data using icons. Our team can customise CyberTracker to include data such as the start and end time of patrols and the track these patrols take. Patrollers can add geolocated photos and details of threats or wildlife sightings, solely using icons.

The dry forest of Menabe Antimena is increasingly threatened by slash and burn agriculture. Patrollers need to be able to record threats accurately and report data for action as quickly as possible. At the end of 2019, SMART database manager Angelo Ramy and his team trained three village patrols, Kirindy, Lambokely and Kiboy, to use the CyberTracker.

The patrollers can now record and report threats in greater detail and are not restricted by literacy levels. Our team will continue to train and support them until they are confident and proficient at using CyberTracker. They will then roll out the project to the other nine patrol villages in Menabe. We hope that eventually all of our community patrols will use CyberTracker.

Patrol data is regularly collected from the smartphones and taken to the Morondava office to be uploaded into SMART so that Angelo can analyse the data and give feedback to the team on the ground. However, the remoteness of villages can cause frustrating delays. In the coming months Angelo and his team will be implementing ‘SMART Connect’, which aims to provide nearer ‘real-time’ sharing of patrol data. This update will be critical in dealing effectively with the many threats to Menabe’s wildlife.

IT’S A SMALL WORLD

This tiny Henkel’s leaf-tailed gecko hatched at Jersey Zoo on the 15th November 2019 after an incubation period of 110 days. He was around 9cm long at the time of hatching, but adults can grow up to 30cm in length. These geckos are native to Madagascar and, although they are relatively widespread, destruction of their forest habitat and collection for the pet trade poses a threat to the species.

Whilst he is still growing, this little gecko will remain behind the scenes at the zoo’s Amphibian and Reptile House so the keepers can make sure he is settled and eating well before going on public display. Look out for updates on Jersey Zoo’s social media channels.

PHOTO Pierre Krizan