ISLAMABAD, 25 October (BelTA - APP) - The Artificial Intelligence
(AI)-based trail cameras installed at strategic locations in the
Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region have turned human-wildlife conflict into
human-wildlife coexistence as this latest technology has significantly
reduced Snow leopard attacks on the livestock at the targeted sites.
This was stated by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) in the press release issued on International Snow Leopard Day observed on Wednesday. To highlight the benefits of these camera traps for Snow leopards, livestock, and local people, WWF-Pakistan also released a short documentary on its digital platforms.
WWF-Pakistan believes that human-wildlife conflict is one of the key reasons for the decline in the Snow leopard population. In the past, several Snow leopards have been killed or hunted by local communities in retaliation for their attacks on the livestock. In addition to this threat, poaching, illegal hunting, and habitat loss resulting from adverse climate change impacts also endanger the Snow leopard population across its habitat range in Central and South Asia.
WWF-Pakistan with the support of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) developed and installed five AI-based camera traps at strategic locations where Snow leopard depredations were reported by the representatives of the local communities. These cameras detect the presence of Snow leopards in the surroundings, transfer the data to a centralized system, and generate alerts for members of local communities about the predator. As a result, local communities safeguard their livestock either grazing in the fields or being kept in the household. The technology has significantly reduced the attacks of Snow leopards on livestock turning human-snow leopard conflicts into a symbiotic relationship.
Commenting on this joint initiative, Director General, WWF-Pakistan, Hammad Naqi Khan said that livestock depredation by Snow leopards is a major cause of human-wildlife conflict in various valleys in three landscapes such as Karakoram-Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Himalaya in Pakistan.
This existential threat has undermined conservation efforts and halted progress to achieve desired outcomes, he said adding that the use of this technology is vital not only for the protection of the endangered Snow leopard population, but it safeguards the livestock.
“This has led to the improvement of the declining population of the Snow leopard and has reduced the economic losses born by the livestock herders at the project sites”, he noted.
This was stated by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) in the press release issued on International Snow Leopard Day observed on Wednesday. To highlight the benefits of these camera traps for Snow leopards, livestock, and local people, WWF-Pakistan also released a short documentary on its digital platforms.
WWF-Pakistan believes that human-wildlife conflict is one of the key reasons for the decline in the Snow leopard population. In the past, several Snow leopards have been killed or hunted by local communities in retaliation for their attacks on the livestock. In addition to this threat, poaching, illegal hunting, and habitat loss resulting from adverse climate change impacts also endanger the Snow leopard population across its habitat range in Central and South Asia.
WWF-Pakistan with the support of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) developed and installed five AI-based camera traps at strategic locations where Snow leopard depredations were reported by the representatives of the local communities. These cameras detect the presence of Snow leopards in the surroundings, transfer the data to a centralized system, and generate alerts for members of local communities about the predator. As a result, local communities safeguard their livestock either grazing in the fields or being kept in the household. The technology has significantly reduced the attacks of Snow leopards on livestock turning human-snow leopard conflicts into a symbiotic relationship.
Commenting on this joint initiative, Director General, WWF-Pakistan, Hammad Naqi Khan said that livestock depredation by Snow leopards is a major cause of human-wildlife conflict in various valleys in three landscapes such as Karakoram-Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Himalaya in Pakistan.
This existential threat has undermined conservation efforts and halted progress to achieve desired outcomes, he said adding that the use of this technology is vital not only for the protection of the endangered Snow leopard population, but it safeguards the livestock.
“This has led to the improvement of the declining population of the Snow leopard and has reduced the economic losses born by the livestock herders at the project sites”, he noted.
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