Taking Nature Conservation Into The Future

Data from species and environmental monitoring is often hard to translate into real-world management solutions. Conservationists Dr Pieter Olivier, Andrew Purdon and Michael Mole are solving this challenge with practical software.

- Gerhard Uys

A major challenge facing conservation today is the difficulty of bridging the science implementation gap. This is according to conservationists Dr Pieter Olivier, Andrew Purdon and Michael Mole of MAP Scientific Services (MAPSS).

Although more raw ecological data is collected now than ever before, it is complex and arduous to interpret, and the process is time-consuming and expensive. It is equally difficult to turn this information into practical, evidence-based conservation management actions, they say.

The three researchers, who once worked together at the University of Pretoria, founded their company to bridge this gap.

“We wanted to solve problems in the real world and see implementations that make a difference. We didn’t have a clear idea of the way forward, but began by designing a course for wildlife managers and ecologists based on data analytics,” says Purdon.

ANALYSING DATA

For example, many game reserves use tracking devices and collect vast amounts of data.

“A collar may collect data every half an hour for two to three years,” says Purdon. “This is useful; it tells you the location of the animal as well as the environmental factors that influence how it uses the reserve. Managers can then make informed decisions on where to place water points, for instance, or quickly find out if an animal has broken through a fence. However, analysing and interpreting this data can be difficult.”

Camera traps are another common example of underutilised technology. These are often employed only to monitor the species present in the reserve, whereas they could be used to achieve a great deal more.