Connected Conservation expands to Kenya to protect local species

Building on the success of protecting rhino poaching in South Africa, Connected Conservation is now expanding to Kenya to support six different conservancies

London, UK –7 July 2020 – Today NTT Ltd, along with long-time partner Cisco, announces the expansion of the Connected Conservation project to Northern Kenya. The project aims to support six different conservancies across more than 200,000 acres of land, inhabited by 14 percent of Kenya’s rhino population.

Connected Conservation creates protection for wildlife and the individuals in charge of their safety through technology such as LoRA WAN gateways, radio masts to form a point-to-point reserve area network, sensors, CCTV cameras and infrastructure for reliable solar power. These technologies identify any suspicious or illegal activity before anything happens to the animals.

The project began with a pilot in a private game reserve adjacent to the Kruger National Park in South Africa, reducing rhino poaching by 96 percent in the first two years of installation. The project was the brainchild of Bruce Watson, one of the founders of Dimension Data, now part of NTT Ltd.

Although the project in South Africa has dramatically decreased the amount of poaching, it is estimated that a rhino is still killed every 15 hours in Africa alone. Wildlife is also currently facing increasing threats due to large scale ranger redundancies and decreasing numbers of patrols, as well as a decline in tourism. NTT Ltd. and Cisco believe the project will help aid rangers by providing them with additional eyes and ears if they are forced to operate with smaller teams during these challenging times.

Using the technology, rangers can see the whole reserve and react quickly to any suspicious activity in a specific area. This enables reserves to monitor a large area and leaves the animals to roam freely, without causing any harm to them. An online software tool called Earthranger allows rangers to collect, integrate and display all historical and real-time data available from the reserve so they can keep track of past incidences and respond adequately in a timely manner. This means rangers can intercept poachers quickly, as well as help the surrounding communities with human-animal conflict before any harm is done.

Wireless technology that offers long range, low power and secure data transmission will eventually be used to connect all six of the remote conservancies, allowing the rangers to communicate with each other if any suspicious behaviour occurs.

All the information from each conservancy will come into the main Joint Operations Centre. A satellite joint operation center in the neighbouring reserves connects to the main Joint Operations Centre through a point-to-multipoint network. Livestream video and the infrastructure of reliable solar power and masts enable communication.

Ruth Rowan, CMO, NTT Ltd. comments: “I am proud of the work we’re doing to protect the wildlife and communities devastated by poaching across Africa. It’s proof that when working together we can change the course of the future and do great things. We’ll continue to work with the team in Northern Kenya to develop technology that further protects against poaching.”

“The effectiveness of Connected Conservation has been proven in South Africa so to expand it to Kenya is fantastic. To help reduce the ongoing threat, we need to arm even more reserves with the knowledge and tools to protect animals. Together we can not only drastically reduce poaching numbers, but eradicate it all together.”

Chris Panzeca, Senior Director, Global Strategic Partner Sales at Cisco comments: “NTT and Cisco have joined forces to create a safer, more prosperous, and sustainable world for future generations. Connected Conservation mirrors the innovation we deliver our clients by using cutting-edge technology to solve their business needs, empower local communities, and protect endangered species. We're extremely proud to expand Connected Conservation into Northern Kenya.”

To find out more about the goals of the Connected Conservation initiative visit: https://hello.global.ntt/en-us/about-us/case-studies/connected-conservation

ENDS

About NTT Ltd.
NTT Ltd. is a leading global technology services company. We partner with organizations around the world to shape and achieve outcomes through intelligent technology solutions. For us, intelligent means data driven, connected, digital and secure. As a global ICT provider, we employ more than 40,000 people in a diverse and dynamic workplace that spans 57 countries, trading in 73 countries and delivering services in over 200 countries and regions. Together we enable the connected future.

Visit us at hello.global.ntt

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Marian Scala, Vice President, External Communications, NTT Ltd.

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