Grasshopper Digital Tool for Conservation MSMEs

A mobile- and web-based project management platform designed specifically for small contractors working in conservation. It enables users to manage teams, track fieldwork, generate quotes and invoices, and monitor project performance. The tool is optimized for low digital literacy, offline functionality, and smartphone accessibility—empowering MSMEs to operate professionally and independently in the conservation sector. 

  1. Quoting tool: this has not been integrated yet to Grasshopper, however a prototype has been developed which uses historical data based on projects cleared in the past with similar characteristics e.g. a vegetation block/unit with Acacia mearnsii on a mountain slope with a 100% density and adult trees. This information will therefore guide the MSME based on thousands of datapoints collected from historical data. It does not provide a price for the MSMEs as these are affected by inflation government price adjustments etc. However it provides some guidance in terms of the number of days that each clearing block will take to remove of all the vegetation. The person days would normally be the driving force behind the actual quote or price of the site taking into consideration some key variables that include site location, transport, team composition and vegetation densities etc. 

The MSMEs must have acquired projects on their own or through the MSME Development programme. However the conservation organisations could also through the partnership further create these opportunities for the MSMEs. The conservation institutions especially the government will benefit greatly from such a Solution as they will be able to achieve some of their obligations for MSME development in the country therefore creating employment and reducing the countries unemployment of close to 40%. The best scenario is to have the government adopting this platform for their own MSMEs who are located across the country and in need of such tools, it must however be noted that the budget cuts especially for conservaiton programmes have affected the sector greatly and the government does not have the funding to support its MSMEs for digital access. 

  1. The conservation organisations who are responsible for the environment and MSME development have no budget available for such initiatives. 

     

Strategic Partnerships for Scalable Impact

Contour Enviro Group has established partnerships with some key conservation authorities in the country which further include local and provincial Protected Areas, where Contour gains access to conservation sites for its training programmes and exposing the MSMEs to conservation projects. Further discussions with other PA management authorities outside the Western Cape province are being discussed.

This provides the facilities that Contour Enviro Group and Grasshopper does not have by using the following conservation areas for training purposes: Helderberg Nature Reserve, and 3x Protected Areas under the management of a provincial conservation authority. 

  1. CapeNature (provincial conservation authority)
  2. City of Cape Town (local conservation authority)
  3. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (national authority)
  4. Department of Business Development

The conservation staff from these sites do provide access for training as well as the sites for practical purposes for the participants. 

Collaborating for Sustainable Impact in Freshwater Aquaculture: State-Level Multi-Stakeholder Platforms

To strengthen the enabling environment for sustainable freshwater aquaculture, state-level Multi-Stakeholder Platform (MSP) were initiated in the states of Assam and Odisha. The platforms were designed to bring together actors from government, the private sector, cooperatives, academia, and civil society to collectively address sector-specific challenges and align efforts across policies and programs.

The MSP development process in Assam and Odisha was carried out over a period of approximately 18 months. It began with a strategic planning workshop involving the Department of Fisheries, where the concept, purpose, and governance structure of the MSP were introduced. Feedback was collected to refine the structure, clarify roles, and ensure alignment with state priorities.

Subsequent workshops facilitated dialogue among key stakeholders, leading to the identification of priority challenges and opportunities in the freshwater aquaculture sector. As a result, in both states thematic working groups were established on e.g., One Health, Feed and Seed, Capacity Building, Finance and Insurance, and Decentralized Renewable Energy. These groups developed draft proposals for scoping studies and potential action plans to address key issues within their thematic areas.

Assembly of different layers for final pad

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Material and machine specification, maintenance, and safety protocols

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Interactive Interface for Citizen Scientists

Apart from common comprehension of wildlife, citizens can also get involved in the following advanced activities and become “citizen scientists”.

1. Verify the existence of wild animals through the AI recognition tool “Species Eye”;

2. Estimate the number of wild animals manually;

3. Select the species of wild animal;

4. Figure out the name of the wild animal through the AI recognition tool “Species Eye”;

5. Ensure the accuracy and consistency of data by marking the geographic location.

Connection with Citizens

This mini program, through scanning or searching, provides the access for every citizen to infrared images of wildlife in his/her geographic location, which allows them to participate in the sharing of nature with wildlife in a simpler and more intuitive manner through this application.

Processing of Numerous Infrared Images Driven by AI Species Recognition

The Mini Program, with AI intelligent recognition as the underlying technology and endangered species as the core targets for recognition, trains a large biodiversity recognition model capable of monitoring such systems as mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands and sandy lands. This recognition model features a powerful “engine” – Species Eye. As the fundamental and general model of “Wildlife Friends”, it is primarily characterized by strong learning capability, that is, multimodal recognition based on no or a few samples. It indicates that it can rapidly recognize the location and species information of multiple wild animals based on a few samples. For instance, it may take thousands of photos to be captured and days’ training for a traditional model to recognize a new species, but Species Eye can complete such mission quickly through a small number of photos, as well as trainings and iterations. In addition, it boasts a high extent of tolerance. It is no longer limited to the training and prediction for specific species with a powerful capability of open vocabulary identification and zero-sample recognition, and is able to accurately recognize and locate species without trained data. For instance, traditional models can merely recognize species based on trained data, such as tiger and antelope; while this new model can discriminate snow leopard and fox at the same time even without trained data of those two wild animals before. Another advantage of “Species Eye” is lower costs. Common AI models rely heavily on high-performance accelerator cards, which cause a high cost in hardware environment and its maintenance.

The underlying technology of this mini program is advanced and complex. Firstly, it has a powerful storage function that can store over 100 million infrared camera-taken photos provided by social institutions. 

WeChat Mini Program Development

WeChat Mini Program is an application accessible without download, near at your fingertips just by scanning or searching. It is very simple to design a mini program, as a mini program development environment and developer ecosystem has been established in nearly two years. WeChat Mini Program is also an innovative achievement which genuinely influences general programmers in China’s IT industry for it involves over 1.5 million developers in its development together with WeChat. Its number has exceeded 1 million, encompassing more than 200 subdivided sectors and accommodating 200 million daily-active users.

1. Use without download: Users can open the mini program by scanning the QR code or searching in no need of download, which saves the storage space for mobile devices and lowers the usage threshold; they can quickly visit the mini program directly through WeChat to meet their temporary usage demands.

2. Low development costs and short cycle: The mini program sets a low technical standard and causes a small learning cost to developers based on front-end technology stacks (HTML/CSS/JS); and is compatible among various platforms and supports iOS and Android after development, which saves human labor and time costs.

3. Powerful traffic inlet and social fission: WeChat boasts 1.3 billion monthly-active users so it is easy to cultivate a sound user base. It supports the sharing channels to chat boxes, Moments, official accounts, and Search. Social dissemination, through sharing, group buying, and bargaining, can rapidly multiply and is suitable for marketing activities.

Wildlife Friends is a mini program on WeChat. As a lightweight application, it boasts the following apparent advantages suitable for quick access for users and enhancement of their use experience: Use without download: Users can open the mini program by scanning the QR code or searching in no need of download, which saves the storage space for mobile devices and lowers the usage threshold; they can quickly visit the mini program directly through WeChat to meet their temporary usage demands.

 

Systematic Fire Management and Technology Use

Systematic Fire Management and Technology Use in Ngao Model Forest as involving several key strategies. The community has built small check dams to save water, prevent wildfires, and reduce post-fire erosion. These dams also aid in vegetation growth and create fire breaks, contributing to a more resilient environment. The fire watch team uses walkie-talkies for real-time communication, enabling efficient reporting and response to fire conditions. Additionally, the district authority supports the initiative by broadcasting updates and progress on YouTube live daily, increasing transparency and community awareness. This combination of local knowledge and modern technology has significantly improved the efficiency of the community's fire management efforts, demonstrating the effectiveness of integrating traditional practices with contemporary tools.

The enabling factors for Systematic Fire Management and Technology Use in Ngao Model Forest include building check dams to save water and prevent wildfires, using walkie-talkies for real-time communication, and expanding to YouTube live broadcasts to share activities with a wider audience. These strategies have enhanced the community's ability to manage wildfires efficiently, increased transparency, and fostered greater community involvement and awareness.

The lessons learned from the women-led fire management initiative in Ngao Model Forest include the importance of having a strong understanding of the local landscape. This knowledge has enabled the village to build small check dams that not only prevent the spread of fires but also create water reserves, fostering new economic opportunities. Additionally, combining local knowledge with modern technology has significantly improved the efficiency of the community's response to fires, demonstrating the value of integrating traditional practices with contemporary tools.