Conservation Technology
Collective Intelligence for Environmental Management
Whether it be camera traps, drones, remote sensing or spatio-temporal mapping, conservation technology has become critical to ensuring that nature, and the human population that depends upon it, thrive in the face of increasing environmental threat.
At The SEA People, our aim is to maximise the effectiveness of all our conservation and ecosystem management efforts, and one of the means by which we do this is through the use of such technology. In an area as large as Raja Ampat Marine Park, with its 2+ million hectares of remote archipelago, effective and optimised management requires the assimilation of widely spread environmental and socio-economic information and data. The sheer volume of data required to effectively manage the Marine Park is not only difficult to obtain (and is therefore often lacking in large marine and terrestrial parks), but compiling, analyzing and interpreting the data is both cumbersome and time consuming. This lagging workflow tends to generate inadequate environmental management response.
By using Esri’s ArcGIS platform to collect, compile and display information, we provide support to Raja Ampat Marine Park Authority and other relevant departments in the management of the regional MPAs, and help to address the diverse range of challenges that exist in managing such a vast Marine Park. With Esri’s ArcGis technology, we help provide solutions to obtaining data, and providing rapid interpretation and communication of ecological events and human actions. These flexible and integrated tools also support our own projects, and the activities of the Raja Ampat Marine Park Authority by providing data collection solutions and real-time information to assist with improved decision making with respect to ecological state, tourism activity and violations of Marine Park Rules and Regulations.
Current Projects
Crown Of Thorns Starfish – Management Response
Through the use of technology we are able to evaluate the extent of COTS outbreaks and the effectiveness of culling events, in order to support the collaborative management response to COTS in the region.
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Orang Laut Raja Ampat – MPA Monitoring
A marine park monitoring and management program based on citizen science, Orang Laut Raja Ampat uses real time web based mapping to monitor megafauna species population dynamics, tourism intensity and human induced degradation throughout the marine park. Read More
Projects Under Development
Raja Ampat Mooring Systems (RAMS)
The SEA People is currently part of the working group responsible for the installation of a network of moorings throughout the marine park, as a means to limit the increasing amount of anchor damage to coral reefs and to regulate the density of liveaboards in tourism hotspots. We provide applied technology to map and communicate the moorings and alternative anchoring locations, which in future will be further developed as a platform to co-ordinate usage and maintenance.
Reporting Marine Park Violations
In a vast and remote conservation area, often real time communication and reporting is difficult or limited. By using conservation technology to report incidents and illegal activity in real time, we can contribute to a more rapid response by law enforcement, and obtain visual data relating to frequency and location of events. This project is under development in collaboration with the Raja Ampat Marine Park Authority and other relevant stakeholders.
Marine Protected Areas
Through the use of conservation technology, MPAs and related zones and regulation, can be more clearly communicated and easily accessed, which assists in increased compliance with Marine Park rules and regulations. In collaboration with local government and other NGOs, we have developed an interactive map of the marine park providing easily accessible details about key aspects of each MPA. Read More
Collaborating Partners
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Click Here to make a donation.. without our
donors, the work doesn’t get done!
CHECK OUR WISHLIST
Click Here to see our Wishlist of skills or items need to support our fieldwork.
