CAN DRONES BE USED FIGHT POACHERS?

Will the drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) be finally used to contain the escalating poaching of wild animals in Tanzania which has cost the economy billions of shillings in the last few years? That was a big question for scores of people, among them wildlife enthusiasts, who on Wednesday September 16th  witnessed another testing of an unmanned aerial vehicle   at the Mkomazi National Park which could be used to track down the poachers if approved by the relevant authorities. Those behind it say the technology, under which the airborne craft would simultaneously relay images of the territory under surveillance to the computer screens on the ground, can help contain the wanton killing of animals because it was easy to track down the armed poachers be it daytime or night. There was anxiety at the runway of the park as the UAV or drone as it is called, was  put in the air and zoomed over the central part of the 3,245 square kilometre park sandwiched between Kilimanjaro and Tanga regions as its photo images over the terrain were monitored from the ground.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drone) flying over Mkomazi to relay photos to a ground station.		The drone, a Delair Tech DT-18 UAV make ready for take off at Mkomazi National Park airstrip last Wednesday. The trial was aimed at testing its effectiveness in tracking poachers in protected wildlife areas.
As it was airborne, those at the base could easily locate some big mammals, quite visible resting under the trees probably due to the scorching sun as well as the forested areas and ravines which would normally serve as hideouts for the poachers. Controlled from the ground, the US-made drone, which measures hardly three metres from the nose to the tail and the same distance from end of the wing to another, amazed many as it circled several times over the park, picking up details for analysis on the ground. "This craft is fitted with high resolution digital cameras which can pick photos day and night" said Phil Jones, the pilot and CEO of Dallas-based Martin UAV aviation company as he took control of the craft from the ground. Despite its miniature size which can equate a large eagle, it can fly a mamximum of 15,000 feet above sea level and could be airborne for as many as eight hours, making it perfect for those on the ground to track down armed gangs threatening the wildlife if at all tracked down. The drone was airborne from  9:37 am to 10;05 on the day the test was carried out, with those behind the technology saying it was the third successful trial after two previous ones  at the Selous Game Reserve in October 2014  and Tarangire National Park last May. Bernard Hewett, a business consultant based in Dar es Salaam said the idea to introduce the drone technology to combat poaching came from the Private Sector Anti-Poaching Initiative and started in August last year with consultations with the government (ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism), wildlife experts and private firms. The private firms involved include the Arusha-based Bathawk-Recon, which coordinated the trials in Mkomazi and Mantra company mining uranium in the southern part of Tanzania which was involved in the first testing of the aircraft in the vast Selous last year. "The initiative has been taken because Tanzania has to protect its wildlife heritage at all costs from the poachers. Ninety per cent of tourists visiting the country come to see wildlife which is now threatened by poachers", the official told this newspaper. There was no senior official of the Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa) which manages Mkomazi and other 15 parks across the country at the event to comment on the technology. But Mike Chambers, the CEO of Bathawk-Recon described the technology as relevant in the efforts to protect the threatened wildlife. "Tanzania must be proud of its wildlife. Here we are trying to make a model which is less expensive for Tanzania ", he said. He said the technology was not entirely new in the world and that it had been used in surveying, agriculture, oil, gas and mineral explorations and in some countries in the military. "In Tanzania it has not been used for anti-poaching and that is why it is very new", he said, it would still take time before the technology is endorsed by the government to track down  the poachers. African countries where the technology has been applied for wildlife protection include South Africa, Namibia and Kenya. He added that they will have to write a report on the trials so far conducted and forward it to the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and Tanapa, explaining how it could benefit wildlife conservation in the country. "That will be in the next three to four months and we should expect a response sometimes next year", he stated, noting that the choice of Tarangire and Mkomazi for trials, in particular, was not taken in  consideration with the levels of poaching there. Tom Lithgow, a wildlife enthuasist based in Arusha and a member of the initiative said  the Wildlife Division in the ministry were set to benefit from the drones because it was poorly equipped to guard vast areas under their care compared to Tanapa which, according to him, was fairly equipped and had a sizeable number of wildlife rangers. However, an official of the tourism sector based in Arusha, expressed his reservations on the technology, saying it will take much longer time before it is approved by the government for various reasons, including security concerns.