This week, PeaceParks.TV is getting the lowdown on infrastructure upgrades in Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park! The park’s vast 10,000 km² area poses significant communication challenges when it comes to conveying crucial information about staff and wildlife. An up-to-speed communications network is key to helping save lives, respond to emergencies, track wildlife and keep daily operations running smoothly.
Bruce Missing, Peace Parks Foundation’s Counter-Poaching Coordinator, explains how radio tower upgrades underway at the park’s Forward Operating Base will assist in all these aspects. “Part of the EarthRanger programme involves extending this tower,” he says. “It’s currently at about nine metres, and it’s going to be going up to 28 metres – so we will then have a complete network where repeaters will talk to each other.” Repeaters are boosters located around the park to improve signal transmission; these are being increased from nine to 13 to further improve coverage.
Connectivity, Safety and Monitoring
The rangers in the north of the park work more than 100 km away from base. Now they will be able to communicate with each other via signals which travel from the tower in the north all the way down to the operations room. Ensuring full, park-wide coverage is a significant step forward in scaling up connectivity, enabling monitoring and improving security which, in turn, increases the scope to use EarthRanger technology. This is conservation software which integrates information collected from devices in the field – from satellite collars and vehicle trackers to radios – into a centralised system which can then be interpreted by the team.
“On the EarthRanger interface we can see the positions of all the radios carried by field staff, which is important for the rangers’ safety,” says Bruce. Knowing the whereabouts of all rangers also allows monitoring of patrols in real time, and records how effective these are based on numbers of rangers deployed, how widely they patrol, and hours spent on the ground.
Limpopo National Park is on an exciting journey of restoration. Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas, Peace Parks and expert partners are working together here to protect, manage and develop the landscape. For conservation efforts to be as efficient and advanced as possible, communications and conservation technology are integral. Enormous credit is due to all those working on constant infrastructure improvements, to Peace Parks’ partners for their expertise, and donors for their invaluable support. Together, we are ensuring the safety and wellbeing of people and wildlife across all corners of Limpopo National Park.
Keep watching PeaceParks.TV for more updates from the field.
