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Inmarsat joins forces with RESOLVE to revolutionise fight to protect African wildlife

Satellite-enabled solution being rolled out across African wildlife reserves to support park rangers and prevent poaching

Inmarsat, the world leader in global mobile satellite communications, has joined forces with RESOLVE, the Washington DC based non-profit environmental and health organisation, to develop a revolutionary, satellite-enabled solution to safeguard endangered wildlife across the African continent.

RESOLVE’s Biodiversity and Wildlife team have developed an innovative end-to-end anti-poaching system; TrailGuard AI. Intel played a critical role in development, providing engineering expertise and other in-kind support. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and National Geographic Society are partnering to fund and deploy TrailGuard AI. The system uses an advanced artificial intelligence (AI)-powered camera to detect humans in nature reserves, with 97 per cent accuracy, and instantly transmit images to park rangers’ facilities, enabling them to identify would-be poachers and intervene.

The solution leverages Inmarsat’s ultra-reliable L-band, global, mobile satellite communications network to ensure the transmission of these images to rangers, overcoming the lack of reliable terrestrial connectivity in most remote nature reserves. TrailGuard AI utilises Inmarsat’s mobile, reliable and robust BGAN terminals, which are simple to set up and connect to the units, and can withstand exceptionally harsh environments.

The first deployment of the TrailGuard solution, at the Singita-Grumeti reserve in Tanzania in 2018, has resulted in the arrest of around 30 poachers and the seizure of quantities of bushmeat. Having identified the 100 parks with the highest risk of poaching, by the end of 2020 RESOLVE aims to deploy the TrailGuard AI devices at ten ‘chokepoints’ – poacher intrusion hotspots – within each of these parks.

Dr. Eric Dinerstein, Director of WildTech and the Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions Program at RESOLVE, commented: “Wildlife poaching in Africa is at epidemic levels, but despite the best efforts of dedicated rangers, the large park boundaries and rough terrain mean that they often only find out about poaching when it’s too late. The TrailGuard solution acts as an early warning system, transitioning ranger teams into fully mobile, rapid-response units so that they can respond to would-be poachers and stop them in their tracks.

“For the TrailGuard solution to work effectively we need rock solid connectivity, which, in most remote African wildlife reserves, is only achievable with satellite. Inmarsat’s global, ultra-reliable satellite connectivity was the only solution that could help us overcome the connectivity challenges we faced and connect our smart sensors deployed out in the parks. This is expected to detect 80 per cent of poaching gangs operating in each area, which is by far the most effective strategy based on the resources and manpower available.”

Alastair Bovim, Vice President Managed Services Inmarsat Enterprise, commented: “We are delighted to be joining forces with RESOLVE to help support sustainability and bio-diversity in Africa. Our collaboration will ensure that when TrailGuard detects a poacher, rangers are notified immediately of their exact location and can initiate an effective response, no matter how remote the environment. Africa’s poaching problem won’t be solved overnight, but if we can prevent even a small proportion of attacks, it will have a hugely positive impact on the continent’s incredible wildlife,” he concluded.

Human detected during trial of TrailGuard AI

Further Information

About Inmarsat

Inmarsat is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services. Since 1979, Inmarsat has been providing reliable voice and high-speed data communications to governments, enterprises and other organisations, with a range of services that can be used on land, at sea or in the air. Inmarsat operates around the world, with a presence in the major ports and centres of commerce on every continent. Inmarsat is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ISAT.L).

The Inmarsat press release newsfeed and corporate updates are on @InmarsatGlobal.

About Inmarsat Enterprise

Inmarsat Enterprise is focused on the provision of satellite connectivity and IIoT solutions for land-based businesses, Inmarsat Enterprise operates globally across a diverse set of sectors including agriculture, aid and NGO, energy, media, mining and transport.

Contacts

Jonathan Sinnatt
Director of Corporate Communications
Tel: +44 (0)20 7728 1935/1492
[email protected]

James Grisbrook
Head of Communications
Inmarsat Enterprise
Tel: +44 (0)7872 158548
[email protected]

Edward Dodge / Fergus Lynch
Spreckley
Tel: +44 (0)20 7388 9988
[email protected]

About RESOLVE

RESOLVE is a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization that forges sustainable solutions to critical environmental, social, and health challenges by creating innovative partnerships where they are least likely and most needed. RESOLVE’s Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions Program tackles the most pressing conservation problems of our time – the approaching extinction of endangered wildlife and threats to habitats, including tropical forests where most of the world’s species reside – through technological innovation, ambitious global agreements, and targeted land protection.

Contacts

ApisProtect
Andrew Wood
Chair & Co- founder
Tel: + 353 (87) 364 9711
[email protected]

Aoife O’ Mahony
Head of Marketing
Tel: +353 87 6847 440
[email protected]