Huawei launches conservation project for marine protection in Kenya

Chinese tech giant Huawei has partnered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to promote the conservation of a marine protected area on Kenya's south coast.

The three-year project, which was unveiled Monday, seeks to protect the ecological health of Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Park and Reserve, a biodiversity hotspot located on the edge of Kenya's southern coastal county of Kwale.

Other implementing partners in the Tech4Nature project, which was launched by the IUCN in partnership with Huawei in 2021, include Kenya Wildlife Service and Wildlife Research and Training Institute, a state agency, according to a statement by Huawei issued in Kenyan capital Nairobi on Tuesday.

The project is aligned with Huawei's TECH4ALL initiative and the IUCN Green List as its primary goal is to improve the monitoring and management efficiency of the marine protected area, which is home to pristine coral reefs as well as iconic but endangered species, like green turtles and bottlenose dolphins.

Huawei Kenya Media Director Khadija Mohammed Ahmed underscored the need to leverage technology and innovations to boost the health and resilience of marine ecosystems, threatened by climate change and human activities.

"Innovative thinking and smart solutions are already helping to mitigate some of the world's most pressing environmental problems," Khadija said.

The project will entail the deployment of underwater cameras, photogrammetry and audio monitoring technologies to monitor marine life, including biomass and parrot fish populations, at the Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Park and Reserve, according to Huawei.

The technological solutions will also monitor substrate cover in the reef ecosystems, seagrass cover and the occurrence of green turtles and bottlenose dolphins, classified on the IUCN Red List as endangered and vulnerable, respectively.

Innocent Kabenga, the country representative at the IUCN Kenya Country Office, said the introduction of the novel technology will help capture and analyze data in the marine protected area, boosting its conservation and unleashing benefits to local communities.

The technological solution deployed by Huawei and partners is artificial intelligence trained to recognize specific target species by sight and sound, providing real-time data-driven insights into the behaviors, population dynamics and distribution of biodiversity in the marine reserve.

It will also be able to identify boats used for illegal fishing and send alerts for rangers to intervene in real time, said Huawei, adding that a digital power solution and improved network connectivity at the park and watch tower will enhance rapid transmission of collected data to a cloud server for analysis.

Adan Kala, the senior assistant director at Coast Conservation Area at Kenya Wildlife Service, said that digital tools, if deployed in a targeted manner, are key to revolutionizing marine conservation in the country.

(Cover: Fish swim near some bleached corals at Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Park and Reserve, Kenya, June 11, 2022. /CFP)