Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant, has partnered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to promote the conservation of a protected marine area along the southern coast of Kenya.
The initiative, named Tech4 Nature, is a three-year project aimed at safeguarding the ecological health of the Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Park, a biodiversity hotspot located in Kwale County.
Key partners in this endeavor include the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Wildlife Research and Training Institute.
Khadija Mohammed Ahmed, Huawei Kenya's media director, emphasized the importance of leveraging technology and innovation to enhance the resilience of marine ecosystems threatened by climate change and human activities. She stated, "Innovative thinking and smart solutions are already helping to address some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges."
The Tech4 Nature project will utilize underwater cameras, photogrammetry, and audio monitoring technologies to track marine life, including biomass and parrotfish populations.
These technological solutions will also monitor substrate coverage in coral reef ecosystems, seagrass coverage, and the presence of green turtles and bottlenose dolphins, which are classified as endangered and vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, respectively.