Posted on 12 September
2012 - BARDIA NATIONAL PARK – Nepal’s antipoaching
efforts received a major boost this week
as park rangers and army personnel learn
how to operate unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) in two national parks in a training
program organized by WWF.
Nepal is home to rhinos,
tigers and elephants, among the world’s
most vulnerable species. Poaching of these
and many other animals is at an all-time
high and the hope is that UAV technology
will help capture poachers in the act and
deter others from even trying.
“Nepal is committed
to stopping wildlife crime, which is robbing
Nepal of its natural resources, putting
the lives of rangers and local communities
at risk, and feeding into global criminal
networks,” said General Krishna Acharya,
Director of Nepal's Department of National
Parks and Wildlife Conservation. “Technologies
like these non-lethal UAVs could give our
park rangers a vital advantage against dangerously
armed poachers.”
Nineteen park rangers
and Nepal army personnel were trained to
use the UAVs by developer Mr. Lian Pin Koh,
an ecologist at the Swiss Federal Institute
of Technology Zurich. Participants learned
how to use the planes and conducted field
tests in Bardia National Park.
Traditionally, effective
monitoring of national parks has depended
largely on accessibility of the terrain
by anti-poaching patrols as well as prior
intelligence on poachers in the vicinity.
The UAV gives the patrols
a new strategic advantage with an eye in
the sky, allowing them access into previously
unreachable areas and a safe view of illegal
activities on the ground. The presence of
a UAV also serves as a deterrent to poachers
and illegal loggers since they now know
that the parks are being monitored both
on the ground and from above.
The GPS-enabled FPV
Raptor model planes are light enough to
be launched by hand, filming the ground
below with a still or video camera. They
can fly a pre-programmed route of about
30km at a maximum elevation of 200 meters
for up to 50 minutes. The battery can be
recharged in about half an hour. Each UAV
costs about $2500, making it affordable
even for developing countries like Nepal.
“WWF is excited to be
part of this field test of new technology
in partnership with the government of Nepal,”
said Anil Manandhar, Country Representative
of WWF Nepal. “We see this as a potentially
powerful new tool to improve protection
of Nepal’s national parks from illegal activities
like poaching and logging.”
+ More
WWF welcomes APEC declaration
on wildlife crime
1Posted on 10 September
2012 - Washington, DC - Following a pledge
Sunday by world leaders at the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting to better
combat the illegal trade in wildlife and
timber products, WWF has issued the following
statement:
“Asia-Pacific leaders and U.S. Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton should be commended
for publicly recognizing that wildlife trafficking
is serious and needs to be addressed. In
particular, this is a strong signal from
key demand countries in Asia that rampant
wildlife crime there must be stopped,"
said WWF-US Senior Vice President of Conservation
Strategy and Science Ginette Hemle.
“Wildlife trafficking is a global crime
wave that in its wake is pushing wildlife
populations to the brink of extinction,
with thousands of elephants and rhinos being
slaughtered each year to meet demand for
illegal wildlife products. Customs and law
enforcement efforts must be expanded to
combat the growing criminal syndicates that
smuggle contraband across borders by land,
sea and air, and that make illicit profits
available to finance other illegal activities,
such as corruption, money laundering and
arms and drug trafficking," she said.
“We hope that Sunday’s pledge will turn
into real action on the ground to protect
these endangered species – and that this
happens before it’s too late because this
problem is only growing.”
In their Leaders Declaration, APEC leaders
made the following statement related to
the illegal wildlife and timber trade:
“We recognize that natural resources and
the ecosystems upon which they depend are
important foundations for sustainable economic
growth. We therefore, are concerned by the
escalating illicit trafficking in endangered
and protected wildlife, including marine
resources, and associated products, which
has economic, social, security, and environmental
consequences in our economies. We commit
to strengthen our efforts to combat illegal
trade in wildlife, timber, and associated
products, to implement measures to ensure
sustainable marine and forest ecosystems
management, and to facilitate sustainable,
open, and fair trade of non-timber forest
products. We will take meaningful steps
to promote sustainable management and conservation
of wildlife populations while addressing
both the illegal supply and demand for endangered
and protected wildlife, through capacity
building, cooperation, increased enforcement,
and other mechanisms.”
Elisabeth McLellan,
Manager of WWF's Global Species Programme
said:
"Through the Leaders
Outcome Statement, APEC countries such as
Thailand, Viet Nam and China have all committed
to escalate efforts to combat illegal trade
in wildlife, including through improved
enforcement and reducing demand. These three
Asian countries are all key markets and
consumer countries for illegal African elephant
ivory and rhino horn. This commitment at
the highest political level must be turned
swiftly into enhanced and concrete actions
in order to help Africa preserve its natural
resources of elephants and rhinos."
