April 16, 2007
Cell phones, text-messaging revolutionalize conservation approaches
An interesting interview of IT conservation expert Ken Banks on
Mongabay.com.
"... Mobile phones are increasingly being viewed as tools for conservation and development.
Ken Banks established kiwanja.net as hub for the latest information on how technology, in particular mobile phones, can be applied to tackle issues of economic empowerment, conservation, education, human rights and poverty.
Banks says that the development of low-cost handsets and the spread of second-hand phones into emerging markets like South Asia and Africa is generating a revolution in how organizations approach conservation projects.
Mobile phones offer these groups new ways to engage stakeholders, while reducing overhead costs and inefficiencies. The technology can even allow them to track animals, protect parks, and conduct surveys in some of the world's most remote forests.
Excerpts of interview related to 3 projects.:
1. One project I was heavily involved in was wildlive!, a service which promoted global conservation by providing news and information on various issues through peoples' handsets. It also had a direct fundraising angle through the sale of conservation-themed wallpapers, ringtones and games. Funds raised went to Fauna & Flora International, a UK-based organization, and directly to the conservation projects being promoted.
2.In Sumatra, tiger researcher Debbie Martyr kept a live field diary that was broadcast via a mobile internet site. Her experiences included live sting operations which used camera-phones to capture poachers and illegal fur traders in action.
3. In the Okapi Wildlife Reserve of the Democratic Republic of Congo, satellite phones enable patrols to text message their GPS location along with a short message from anywhere in the Reserve. The base operator can then call the patrol teams in an emergency, resulting in a much quicker response to threats to the Reserve.
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