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Since the technology for Connected Conservation was deployed in the private reserve in November 2015, the number of rhino poaching incidents has been reduced by 96%. In 2017, no rhino in the reserve were poached.

Every day, hundreds of suppliers and contractors, staff, security personnel, and tourists enter and exit game reserves and parks around the world. The human activity in these environments is often not monitored because the reserve is in a remote location with basic IT infrastructure and access control, manual security processes, and very limited communication.

With the Connected Conservation model, the technology is designed to proactively protect the land against humans. The animals are not touched, and are left to roam freely while a ‘layered’ effect of sophisticated technology, people and gadgets protect them.”

Cisco and Dimension Data’s vision is to replicate the solution in South Africa, Africa, and globally to protect all forms of endangered species including lion, pangolin, elephant, tigers in India and Asia, as well as sharks and sea rays in the ocean. The next project is already underway in an unnamed park in Zambia. This will be followed by Kenya and then Mozambique with a strong focus on protecting elephant.

According to a 2016 ¹Great Elephant Census (GEC) carried out by the Seattle-based Vulcan Inc, which is the engine behind philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen’s network of organisations and initiatives, the savanna elephant population declined by 30% between 2007 and 2014, which equates to 144,000 elephants. The current rate of decline is 8% per year, primarily due to poaching. In Zambia, the elephant count was 21,758, with an 85%² carcass ratio in Siomi Ngwezi National Park, 3% for the rest of Zambia, and substantial declines along the Zambezi River.

The Great Elephant Census was a collaboration between Microsoft co-founder, Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Inc – and Elephants Without Borders, African Parks, the Frankfurt Zoological Society, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Nature Conservancy, the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group, and Save the Elephants

The research also revealed that between 4,000 and 6,000 poachers were from households situated in the Game Management Areas (GMAs). This includes fisherman crossing large expanses of water into the game park.

A control room for Zambia’s special marine unit is being built to monitor operations across the lake and in the park, and a second marine unit powerboat will be deployed to assist with intercepts before poachers get to the animals.

Other equipment being deployed in Zambia includes:

• Fixed thermal cameras mounted on radio masts which creates a permanent, virtual barrier on the park’s perimeter. The cameras which scan the park’s entry and exit gates are controlled by operators located in the control room.

• CCTV analytics will be deployed to create a virtual trip-line that automatically detects the movement of fishermen and boats on the lake. Over time, park officials will be able to analyse the data and build a pattern of movement, as well as alert operators when there’s night-time movement across the barrier.

• Outdoor Wi-Fi will also be mounted on the radio masts so that handheld devices and thermal cameras used by the rangers and security teams can be viewed and shared, and staff on the ground will be able to connect and communicate without their conversations being intercepted by poachers.

The Connected Conservation technology includes digital infrastructure, hybrid cloud, digital workplace, and cybersecurity.