In 2022, drones are being employed in a range of industries. This includes film and video production, leisure, energy, construction and manufacturing, cargo delivery, and agriculture. However, in Africa, drones are being employed to fight a unique battle. With their rapid adoption across wildlife reserves in southern Africa over the past decade, drone technology is one of the best tools in the arsenal of conservationists fighting to preserve the diversity of Africa's wildlife ecosystem.
Over the last decade, poaching has become one of the biggest threats to wildlife diversity and is responsible for the population decline of endangered species in southern Africa. Among the worst affected are pangolins, rhinos, and elephants. The global illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be a $23 billion industry. This includes the smuggling of items such as elephant ivory and rhino horns.
According to the Air Shepherd foundation, from 2007 until the present day, rhino poaching in South Africa alone rose by 9,000%, The foundation estimates that a rhino is slaughtered every 10 hours and an elephant is killed every 14 minutes. The foundation forecasts the extinction of these species within 10 years. According to estimates, today fewer than 30,000 rhinos are found in the wild, down from a population of 70,000 in 1970. Based on data from Save the Rhino International, the height of the rhino-poaching war in South Africa came between 2014 and 2016 when an average of three rhinos were killed every day, with around 1,200 rhinos poached annually.
However, the same data shows that, from 2017, the number of rhinos poached experienced a noticeable decline. Cathy Dean, CEO of Save the Rhino International, stated that in 2020, the frequency of rhino-poaching in South Africa had decreased down to 'every 22 hours'. Dean described this as a 'much-needed decline since the peak of the poaching crisis'.
Bu hikaye Future Flight dergisinin September 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Future Flight dergisinin September 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
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