Huawei Technologies will partner with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in efforts to enhance the protection of natural ecosystems.
This partnership was announced this week during the launch of a project aimed at monitoring and protecting the Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Park and Reserve along Kenya’s coast. The three-year project, part of Huawei’s TECH4ALL initiative, is vital for conserving an area that shelters essential marine species, including coral reefs, green turtles, and bottlenose dolphins.
The initiative specifically seeks to support the adaptive management of the Marine Park and Reserve through interconnected data collection and analysis systems. It will leverage technology for effective conservation and management of one of Kenya’s most treasured marine ecosystems.
Khadija Mohammed Ahmed, Media Director for Huawei-Kenya, emphasized the importance of utilizing technology and innovation to address pressing global challenges.
“Climate change and biodiversity loss are threatening the health of our planet and placing our longevity in a precarious position. However, advances in technology are offering humanity and our home a lifeline: innovative thinking and smart solutions are already helping to mitigate some of the world’s most pressing environmental problems,” said Khadija.
Underwater cameras, photogrammetry, and audio monitoring technologies will be used to study marine life, including the biomass and population of parrot fish.
Innocent Kabenga, Representative for the IUCN Kenya Country Office, noted that the technology to be employed for marine conservation is unique in the country.
“It will be the first monitoring instrument and data capturing and analysis in the marine protected area. It is also an opportunity to help the park to obtain green list certification to support the sustainability agenda that most tourists like and as well as to ensure our future generations enjoy the benefits of the Marine parks,” said Kabenga.
KWS Senior Assistant Director for the Coast Conservation Area, Adan Kala, remarked that the partnership will enhance their understanding of resources within the marine ecosystems.
“We are collaborating with Huawei and IUCN to deploy latest equipment that will collect data on marine mammals, corals, and fisheries, enabling us to make informed decisions,” said Kala.
“The advantage of this technology is it can be deployed in wider areas that we couldn’t patrol every single day to get data for day and night for us to make good, informed decisions,” he added.
The technologies to be deployed are also expected to provide real-time, data-driven insights into the behaviours, populations, and distributions of biodiversity in the reserve and reef ecosystem.
Additionally, the project aims to monitor substrate cover in the reef ecosystems, seagrass cover, and the presence of green turtles and bottlenose dolphins, which are classified as endangered and vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
The Kisite-Mpunguti Reserve faces several challenges, including illegal fishing and limited resources for effective patrolling.
Other challenges include the lack of remote monitoring of the reserve’s three coral islands, pressures from tourism (with fringing reefs becoming popular diving sites), minimal community awareness regarding the importance of reef and biodiversity protection, and inadequate communication infrastructure needed for tech-driven monitoring.
