By Sarah LaBrasca | Project Leader
Artisanal fishermen on the island of Busuanga in the Philippines have started sighting dugongs on their fishing trips and dugong mapping is underway!
Mobile phones with the app have been distributed to the fisherman who simply take a geo-located photo when they see a dugong. The local NGO, Community Centred Conservation (C3), has been able to start building a precise and comprehensive picture of the dugong population. The app also tracks the fishing boats to identify dugong-free areas of sea, which allows more targeted conservation activities to be put into practice. Detailed maps are kept confidential by SEN and C3 in order to protect the dugongs from poaching.
Thanks to this campaign, the database is being built up, the local community is engaged and new practices will be identified to better assist the protection of this vulnerable dugong population.
“Technology and conservation can unite to open a new era of environmental action” explains Simon Hodgkinson, founder of SEN. Because you have expressed your interest in this project and your concern for nature conservation, please link up to the SEN website and join (there’s no fee or engagement) and see more updates on conservation issues and technical ideas to help preserve nature.
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