Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 44 | Page 42

COUNTRY FOCUS : KENYA
Building on the success of protecting rhino poaching in South Africa , Connected Conservation is now expanding to Kenya to support six different conservancies in the East African country . Intelligent CIO Africa finds out how the current rhino poaching crisis began in Africa and how IoT technology is playing a key role to decrease poaching numbers across the continent .

Connected Conservation expands to Kenya to protect local species

NTT Ltd , a global technology services

company for the connected future that provides managed , consulting , support , and technical services to shape the digital world along with long-time partner Cisco , recently announced 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 % of Kenya ’ s rhino population . The latest initiative follows the deployment of similar technology at a game reserve adjacent to the Kruger National Park in South Africa that wanted more effective means to prevent rhino poaching and , thereby , conserve the rhino for future generations .
South Africa is home to 80 % of the world ’ s remaining rhinos . With populations decimated by poaching , there ’ s a real chance the rhino could be extinct by 2025 . 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 .
Together with Cisco and Connected Conservation NTT Ltd uses the Internet of Things ( IoT ) technology to track illegal human behaviour keeping animals safe and free . Connected Conservation ’ s vision is to eliminate all forms of poaching , globally , through continued innovation in intelligent technology .
A private game reserve near the Kruger National Park in South Africa harnessed the power of technology to dramatically reduce rhino poaching . In 2018 , Connected Conservation expanded into other parts of Africa , including Mozambique , Zambia and Kenya .
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 % in the first two years of installation . The project was the brainchild
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