“We face an unprecedented poaching crisis. The killings are way up. We need solutions that are as sophisticated as the threats we face. This pushes the envelope in the fight against wildlife crime.”

The grant enables WWF to test advanced but easily-replicable technologies and create an overarching system to curb poaching—an important complement to the work WWF, partners and governments are already undertaking.

Remote aerial survey systems, wildlife tagging technology and ranger patrolling guided by analytical software like the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) will be integrated to increase the detection and deterrence of poaching in vulnerable sites in Asia and Africa. Our goal is to create an efficient, effective network that can be adopted globally.

Wildlife in crisis

Increasing demand for wildlife from wealthy consumers, especially in Asia, is fuelling a poaching crisis that is emptying the world’s forests and oceans. High profits and low risks have allowed wildlife crime to multiply into an illegal trade worth $7-10 billion annually.

And everyone pays the price.