World Wildlife Day: Importance of digital tech in protecting species

MANILA, Philippines — In celebration of World Wildlife Day on March 3, an intergovernmental organization aimed at promoting conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity emphasized the important role that digital technology plays in protecting wildlife species in Southeast Asia.

The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), in a statement on Saturday, highlighted its various technological innovations as tools that helped in monitoring the flora and fauna in the region.

READ: Global wildlife populations have sunk 69% since 1970–WWF report

“Across the ASEAN Member States (AMS), young biodiversity champions help to effectively conserve and safeguard our fragile wildlife and their habitats by combining their innate creativity and technological know-how. They document wildlife using cameras, camera lenses, and drones, while park managers assist them in taking photos using camera traps,” the ACB said.

Their grant program has also assisted in developing technologies and management tools to aid wildlife monitoring in some ASEAN Heritage Parks in Indonesia, it added.

READ: Curbing wildlife trafficking

Additionally, an online platform that can aid in wildlife monitoring, patrolling, and law enforcement was developed in Myanmar.

“The ACB also conducted training programmes on DNA barcoding designed to provide an in-depth examination of species useful for conservation planning and research. The wealth of biodiversity data gathered through these modern technologies should then be made easily accessible to the public,” it said.

Furthermore, the ACB mentioned that its main digital platforms—the ASEAN Clearing-House Mechanism and the ASEAN Biodiversity Dashboard—continuously guide the AMS in their conservation planning, monitoring, and decision-making initiatives.

The organization likewise said that it utilizes digital campaigns for region-wide public awareness on biodiversity.

“The #WeAreASEANBiodiversity: Our home, our lives, our stories featured in our website, is a strategic communication campaign to promote an inclusive, whole-of-community approach to biodiversity actions and encourage a wide range of contributions from individual actions to regional cooperation,” the ACB said.

Their publications such as ASEAN Biodiversity Outlook, project briefs, or technical reports, both online and in print, now have QR codes that readers can scan and access anywhere in the world, the ACB added.