New artificial intelligence could save both elephant and human lives
When the elephant arrived in the night, on the hunt for sugarcane, Uthorn Kanthong was waiting for him. Like many of his neighbors, the 69-year-old Thai farmer had taken to…
Conservation Technology News
Wildtech provides news and information on how the conservation community can better leverage technology. Mongabay is a non-profit.
Philippine wildlife reporting app promises to upgrade fight against trafficking
MANILA — In the Philippines, it’s normal for neighbors to share their food, and — since most areas are still under a form of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic…
For the Amazon’s rarest wild dog, deforestation is a very real threat
It’s a warm May morning in 2015, and beneath a chorus of birds and insects, a small gray-brown dog plops down in front of a camera perched in the Amazon…
Indigenous-led technology solutions can boost biodiversity and ensure human rights (commentary)
Over recent years there have been high profile legal challenges, investigative articles in the media, and important reports on the relationship between conservationists and Indigenous peoples. In the latest of…
App harnesses citizen power to keep tabs on Philippines’ coral reefs
MANILA — On June 8, an evidence of coral bleaching in a colony of corals was captured by diver and bleach patroller Dina Mae Rañises in Taklong Island National Marine…
Bubbles, lasers and robo-bees: The blossoming industry of artificial pollination
In an episode of the Netflix dystopian sci-fi show “Black Mirror,” artificial bees have been deployed to pollinate the world’s plants after a massive pollinator extinction. A great idea, until…
Study: Chinese ‘dark fleets’ illegally defying sanctions by fishing in North Korean waters
Chinese “dark fleets” illegally fished a $440 million haul of the squid species Todarodes pacificus in North Korean waters during 2017 and 2018, according to a study published today in…
Using technology, indigenous monitors in the Amazon combat environmental crime
In 2006, when the first large environmental monitoring project began in the Peruvian Amazon, its objective was not to uncover new environmental crimes in the forest. Instead, the project was…
Baby humpback whales bulk up in Hawaii ahead of migration [VIDEO]
Newly released video footage gives us a glimpse of a rarely seen behavior: baby humpback whales nursing in the sheltered breeding grounds of Maui. Here, the young calves must drink…
Does Lucius Fox know? Tiny tech tracks bats (and more)
Small, social, fast-moving animals like bats are notoriously difficult to study. Where do they go? Who do they spend time with? Now, scientists have a new tool to answer questions…
Mug shots and public pics join the dots of whale sharks’ Southeast Asian trips
MANILA — Whale sharks, the largest fish in the sea, are a fascinating and mysterious lot. Growing as big as 10 meters (33 feet) in length and diving as deep…
For Sri Lankans reporting environmental crimes, there’s now an app for that
Kelanimulla is one of the last remaining wetlands in Sri Lanka’s western district of Colombo, and is a refuge for urban wildlife, including the elusive fishing cat. The wetland absorbs…
Tech made to find galaxies sets its sights on wildfires
In mid-October, 1991, a wildfire swept across the hillsides of northern Oakland, California, killing 25 people and injuring 150 more. By the time it was under control, around 1,500 acres…
Philippines bids farewell to satellite that launched enviro policy into the space age
MANILA — When reports came out that the microsatellite Diwata-1 of the Philippines had re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere on April 6, ending its mission, it made headlines for being the…
Painstaking mapping initiative helps indigenous Peruvians defend their land
For the past five years, the indigenous Matsés people of the Peruvian Amazon region of Loreto ventured deep into their territory to draw up a complete map of everything that…
From writing to VR, finding ways to connect to nature during isolation
From her home in London, schoolteacher and therapist Nicki Gilbert is avidly following the comings and goings of an osprey nest in Scotland. She may be miles away, but thanks…
Birds in Amazon forest fragments: New study summarizes 40 years of research
For the past 40 years, researchers have studied Amazonian bird communities in the world's longest-running experiment on tropical forest fragments. This research, summarized in a newly published paper in The…
Through biomimicry, Brazil seeks tech innovations inspired by nature
From spiderweb-inspired shampoo to a hotel whose architecture is based on the thermal properties of toucan beaks, scientists and companies in Brazil are betting on nature’s intelligence to create innovative solutions that reduce impacts on the planet.
Bold project hopes to DNA barcode every species in Costa Rica
Let’s be honest: many conservationists may start their careers with big ambitions. But as they, and their careers, age, those ambitions — especially in light of the Anthropocene — understandably…
Wireless grids and towers of power: Engineering our way out of dirty energy
Julian Hunt is tasked with scouring the Earth, its libraries, and his own mind to engineer a way to cleaner energy. At the multi-government-funded International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis…
A wave-powered ferry aims to forge a new path for shipping in the Philippines
MANILA — The hundreds of islands that make up the Visayas region in the central Philippines are connected by a vast fleet of decades-old cargo and passenger ships. These vessels…
Camera traps in trees reveal a richness of species in Rwandan park
Sneaking up on animals can be tough. That’s why wildlife researchers often turn to motion-sensing cameras, also known as camera traps, to study animals in the wild. However, most of…
Audio: Shah Selbe on how open source technology is creating new opportunities for conservation
On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with Shah Selbe, an engineer and technologist who founded Conservify, a conservation tech lab that uses open-source technologies to empower local…
Philippine fruit bats may be entirely new species of their own, DNA suggests
MANILA — There might be more fruit bat species in the Philippines than previously thought, according to a genetic study, underlining the possibility that each individual species might be more…
Philippines turns to EU’s Copernicus in Earth satellite data collaboration
MANILA — The European Union and the Philippine government are close to sealing a partnership that will provide free, open and unlimited access to raw Earth observation data to monitor…
Answers in excrement: Fecal analysis yields insight about wild primates
Did you ever think about the information we can gain from a simple sample of feces? Wildlife researchers have, and the information they obtain from poop samples can tell them…
Window tech could save billions of birds, and it’s already here
This may sound familiar: you’re sitting at home, absorbed in your daily activities, when THUD; a bird crashes into your window. You jump, or at least look up, and feel…
2019: The year rainforests burned
2019 closed out a "lost decade" for the world's tropical forests, with surging deforestation from Brazil to the Congo Basin, environmental policy roll-backs, assaults on environmental defenders, abandoned conservation commitments,…
Conservation biologist and wildtech journalist Sue Palminteri, 1965-2019
Whether it was radio-collaring elephants across the savannas of South Africa, competing internationally alongside the Israeli national team in tennis, tracking saki monkeys through the rainforest in the sweltering mid-day…
Camera traps yield surprises in West Africa’s largest protected area
Protected lands in the tropics are often managed to curtail poaching, creating a refuge for vulnerable wildlife that face risks of extinction. However, a new study in West Africa’s largest…
