use AI

To preserve natural resources, artificial intelligence must be introduced to preserve them, and automation must be used to preserve environmental diversity by linking to the use of the Internet today, which is everywhere, controlling it, and following up. It was made into a real reserve and controlled using connected surveillance cameras. Transporting animals to a safe environment protected by surveillance cameras to reduce poaching.

Implementation of adaptive livestock management strategies on farms adjacent to water source protection forests and public and private reserves

Due to their location near forests that protect water sources and public and private reserves, many agricultural productions are vulnerable to human-wildlife conflicts (HWCs). This vulnerability, combined with a lack or inadequacy of farm planning and the prevalence of outdated livestock management practices, puts at risk productivity in these mountain systems, biodiversity conservation, water resources, and associated ecosystem services

We include renewable energy technologies such us solar panels  to power electic fences, improve livestoc water availability and sensored lights to mitigate economical loses in livestoc farms caused by predation over domestic animales, at the same time, we help rural farmer families to access electricity serveces and improve their food productivity, economicla and food founts

Funding availability
Landowners willingness to include new technologies in their agricultural system
Adaptive livestock management strategies designed collaboratively with agricultural extension units, local small-scale farmers, and other professionals with relevant experience.

The predation of domestic animals by wild predators has been addressed by local authorities and external foundations as a technical issue, through the implementation of “anti-predation strategies” such as electric fences, corrals, and other protective measures. However, these actions are rarely monitored for effectiveness or continuity and often end with the conclusion of contracts with private implementing entities. Our experience has shown that these measures are more effective when focused on improving farm productivity and the quality of life of small-scale farmers, based on the specific context of each property. Furthermore, monitoring and evaluation are more sustainable and efficient when carried out by local actors such as agricultural extension units, environmental authorities, and community-based organizations, increasing the likelihood of long-term success and continuity of these strategies.

We have implementing replicable technological strategies to mitigate economical losses by wild felids predation reaching a reduction of the 100% of attacks from cougar and jaguar over cattle in the Cerro El Inglés Communitary reserve, protecting vulnerable individuals by solar powered electric fences and motion-sensor lights and limiting the access of domestic animals to the forest by technifying water provision for livestock and solar powered electric fences. Having a demonstrative and replicable system used for education purposes with farmers from the region.

Applying a behavior change approach to address human dimensions related to jaguars in strategic areas where the species is present

According to IUCN guidelines for coexistence with wildlife, educational approaches are more effective when focused on promoting behavioral change towards wildlife. This can be achieved through well-designed processes targeting key stakeholder groups and addressing specific actions—such as the killing of jaguars or their potential prey, or the implementation of changes in production systems—within a defined time frame.

This approach is grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior, which posits that human actions are influenced by intentions, which in turn are shaped by attitudes, subjective (or social) norms, and perceived behavioral control.

Our objective is to develop educational strategies for jaguar conservation that focus on these three key determinants of human behavior. In this way, we aim not only to ensure structural but also functional connectivity for the jaguar by promoting a culture of coexistence with other forms of life

  • Identification of key stakeholders
  • Informed consent from the community
  • Appropriate public order conditions to ensure participants' safety

Most environmental education approaches developed in the territory to address human–wildlife conflicts (HWCs) have focused on providing information about the ecology of wild cats and promoting short-term deterrent methods. However, these activities have shown limited contribution to fostering long-term coexistence. In contrast, experiences that involve more in-depth processes—such as the active participation of local community  in wildlife monitoring and the implementation of adaptive livestock management strategies on private reserves—have demonstrated positive effects on behavioral change, particularly among former hunters.

Implementation of community-based monitoring of jaguars and ,mammal diversity using camera traps

We develop wildcats and potential prey community based monitoring with the families associated with Serraniagua in their private natural reserves by employing a small set of five trap cameras.

Natural reserve land owners willingness to develop monitoring activities within their lands
Trap cameras availability, this is a limited resouce for our organization 
Financial resources availability
Public Order
Favorable climatic conditions

Through community-based biodiversity monitoring, many new, endemic, and/or endangered species of plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals have been recorded, contributing to scientific knowledge and the implementation of technologies that support wildlife identification and habitat conservation.

A notable result of this effort is the documentation of six out of the seven felid species of Colombia within the area, including the rediscovery of the jaguar in the Andean region of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Antonio, identified as an individual preying on livestock, has been tracked, revealing a movement route. We intend to explore this route as a landscape management strategy by implementing a robust trap camera monitoring program to identify potential anthropogenic impacts on wild mammals.

Development of a transdisciplinary plan for managing human–jaguar interactions at the regional scale in the DRMI Serranía de los Paraguas

Both the expansion of agricultural systems and the declaration of new public and private protected areas contribute to the intensification of HWCs. In this context, the development of regional plans that address territory-specific problems and contexts, and integrate all relevant stakeholders, will enable a preventive,comprehensive and sustainable management of human–jaguar interactions, improving quality of life for both people and jaguars

  • The stakeholders are willing to work together
  • Protected areas management groups including comunity based, agrucultural, gender based, and government authorities at regional and local scale working together to make management plans
  •  Fund finding: The co management cometee works together to find financial and technical support to handle with HWI within protected areas 
  • Local initiatives with a bottom-up approach are prioritized over top-down initiatives that favor the interests of companies external to the territory.

National funding sources have primarily supported top-down initiatives, with plans designed outside the territory by external groups. Through a bottom-up approach, an initial pathway has been developed to address level 1 HWCs, involving environmental authorities, agricultural extension units, and grassroots farmer organizations. This has facilitated the collection of reports on jaguar presence and attacks on domestic animals, enhancing our understanding of how jaguars use the territory. Between September and November, the group designed a pilot regional community-based monitoring of wild mammals using trap cameras (TC) within water resource conservation areas and private reserves, recording Antonio after two years since his last sighting. In 2025 (or 2026).

We aim to expand our planning to a more operational and administrative scale through the Plan4Coex approach, building on the positive partial results achieved so far.

 

Inclusive and Participatory Research on nature/environmental culture and CEPA's efforts

When the Ministry of the Environment was seeking the designation of the Amami Archipelago as a national park for the purpose of registration as the World Heritage site, it proposed two management concepts, “Ecosystem Management Type” and “Nature/Environmental Culture Type,” with the support of Kagoshima University, which had launched the Kagoshima Environmental Studies Project, a public-private collaboration aimed at solving environmental problems in the region. The “Ecosystem Management Type” concept aims to preserve the area as a registered World Natural Heritage site, while the “Nature/Environmental Culture Type” concept supports cultural value by providing visitors with a chance to experience the history and culture of people who have lived in harmony with nature in the area, and have skillfully used and passed it on to future generations. The purpose of Japan's national parks is to protect natural scenic areas, promote their use, and contribute to conservation of biodiversity. “Amamigunto National Park” was the first national park to propose the concept of an Nature/Eenvironmental Culture Type” national park that focuses on the nature and culture of the region. The term “Amamigunto” means “the Amami Archipelago”.

The Ministry of the Environment and Kagoshima University conducted an interview survey, as an attempt, in collaboration with local residents in the satoyama area of Amami, a candidate area for a national park, to visualize the language and spirit that represent the culture of the islanders and how they live using nature, and to understand the local nature/environmental culture that has coexisted with nature. Through many workshops and symposiums, including web-based workshops, the results of the survey were shared with local residents and people from Amami living in the city, and through understanding the uniqueness and value of the local environmental culture, the awareness that nature/environmental culture has the potential to strengthen community identity and seed independent economic development in the region spread. This awareness has continued to spread.

What is Environmental Culture?
The concept of environmental culture is closely related to the nature-culture linkage.
In Kagoshima, this concept has been in use since around 1990, and more recently, it has been defined as: “The general consciousness, lifestyle, and production style that local people have formed and acquired while interacting with nature and influencing each other."


Example 1) The topography and geology of the “high island” and “low island” of the Amami archipelago determined the amount of water in rivers and groundwater, which in turn determined how the islanders obtained water for daily use and firewood. On the “high island,” waterwheel-powered sugar manufacturing flourished, taking advantage of the abundance of water in the rivers. The “low islands” had difficulty securing firewood due to the lack of well-developed forests, and trade developed to obtain firewood from neighboring islands, promoting cultural exchange. These “high” and “low” islands have strongly influenced the islanders' culture and awareness of the importance of resources. At the same time, this culture and awareness has influenced the islanders' approach to nature and has defined the natural environment of the islands.

Example 2)  The awareness of the forbidden by the yokai Kenmun in the island's folklore has become a means of appropriate control of natural resources and coexistence with nature. The “yokai” is closely English word for “ghost” or “supernatural creature”.
 

Use of Participatory community survey methods
The sense of efficacy and sense of ownership was increased by generating local knowledge together, rather than by giving knowledge in a one-way report..
 

Recognition of the importance of historical perspectives:
It is important to show respect for the local residents' awareness of nature and culture from a historical perspective.

Integrate existing research on multiple fields of study and use it to understand the holistic environmental culture of the region.
 

Use of Participatory community survey methods
The sense of efficacy and sense of ownership was increased by generating local knowledge together, rather than by giving knowledge in a one-way report.
 

Recognition of the importance of historical perspectives:
It is important to show respect for the awareness of local residents based on historical perspectives in addition to the relationship between nature and culture.

Use of existing research:
The use of existing research on a wide range of topics.
 

Our idea

In the context of fisheries and aquaculture, the fish trap represents an evolution of existing harvesting methods. Unlike active fishing gear, such as seines, the fish traps require less labor and energy, which makes them very efficient in terms of catch effort. In addition, the fish traps do not physically harm the caught fish, so the fish can be taken out of the trap alive and in good health. Early experiments on partial harvests in aquaculture in Malawi date back to the 1990s, when different tools for intermittent harvest were tested. However, due to the inefficiency and labor-intensity of the methods, there has been no broad application or further developments.

Based on this knowledge, further literature research, and expert discussions, the idea was born to build and test a size-selective fish trap to regularly harvest the juveniles of the initial fish stock. This innovation is thought to control the stocking density, to optimize the use of supplementary feeds, and to not exceed the carrying capacity of the pond. Ideally, a successful application of the fish trap would result in households increasing their overall aquaculture productivity, whilst harvesting small quantities of small fish much more regularly than has been customary in aquaculture to date. The intermittently harvested fish can be consumed within the household or used to generate small amounts of regular income. Meanwhile, the initial fish stock (parent fish) will be grown to a larger size for the final harvest.

The challenge

In a fish-loving country like Malawi, where fish is the main source of animal protein, but fisheries yields are in decline, great hope and effort is placed in the development of aquaculture. Better access to and regular consumption of fish, which is an important source of protein and essential micronutrients, can make an important contribution to overcoming development challenges. And food insecurity is one of the greatest in terms of public health. Women and children are particularly affected by malnutrition. The expansion and promotion of sustainable aquaculture represents an important approach to meeting a growing demand for fish.

This development requires – among many other aspects – innovations that contribute to successfully mastering challenges in the sector. With a focus on rural aquaculture, the Aquaculture Value Chain for Higher Income and Food Security Project in Malawi (AVCP), part of the Global Programme ‘Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture’ under the special initiative ‘One World – No Hunger’ of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, is providing technical training to 4,500 small-scale producers in Malawi. Fish farming helps them improve both income and food security.

One of the common and complex challenges in rural aquaculture is the use of mixed-sex Tilapia fingerlings in low-input systems. This means that farmers only have a limited selection and quantity of agricultural by-products available with which to feed a rapidly growing fish population in the pond. This leads to increasing competition for oxygen and food, which leads to poor growth rates and often an acceleration of sexual maturity. Accordingly, final harvests often consist of rather small fish, which does not meet the widespread expectations of harvesting edible – “plate filling” – fish from aquaculture.

Given the unavailability or prohibitiveness of mono-sex fingerlings, fish feed and aerators in rural aquaculture, the project was challenged to find an alternative solution to improve the productivity of rural aquaculture and its contribution to household nutrition.

Data collection

Using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, Landsat series remote sensing data from 1990 to 2022 were systematically acquired, encompassing TM5, ETM+ (Landsat 7), OLI (Landsat 8), and OLI (Landsat 9) sensors. To ensure data quality for subsequent analyses, key spectral bands—near-infrared (NIR), red, and green—were selected and fused.

GBF Alignment: Supports GBF Target 21.
Contribution: Enhances decision-making with real-time, validated datasets, adding value to existing conservation efforts through technological innovation.

  • Only remote sensing images with cloud cover ≤10% were selected, followed by radiometric and atmospheric correction via batch processing.
  • Vegetation-specific information was extracted using optimized band combinations, particularly leveraging the high reflectance of vegetation in the NIR range.
  • Limitations in spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions introduced potential uncertainties, highlighting the importance of robust radiometric and geometric correction methods.
  • Data fusion across different Landsat sensors was essential for achieving consistent long-term time series, though it required substantial additional processing to harmonize spatial and temporal resolutions.
Data collection

Using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, Landsat TM/OLI series remote sensing data from 1990 to 2022 were collected, covering TM5, ETM+7, OLI8, and OLI9. Key spectral bands (near-infrared, red, and green light) were fused to ensure high-quality data for subsequent analysis.