World Wildlife Day

Harnessing Technology to Safeguard Gabon’s Forest Elephants and Rural Communities Livelihoods

On 3rd March, the world observes World Wildlife Day, dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of wildlife and the need for its conservation. World Wildlife Day also addresses wildlife’s various threats, such as habitat destruction, poaching, and climate change, while advocating for concrete actions to protect and preserve endangered species and their habitats. This year’s theme is “Connecting People and Planet: Exploring Digital Innovation in Wildlife Conservation.”

Today, we're proud to highlight conservation work in Gabon, where Space for Giants, in partnership with the State of the Gabonese Republic, is pioneering innovative solutions to mitigate the human-elephant conflict spanning 47 of Gabon’s 48 departments.

Gabon hosts a significant population of 95,000 forest elephants, making it a crucial sanctuary for this species across all provinces. However, the Gabonese agricultural context practices shifting agriculture within the forested rural areas of Gabon, which the forest elephants inhabit. This causes conflict when the elephants raid the subsistence farms, threatening the elephants and the lives and livelihoods of local communities.

Space for Giants has implemented an electric fence program to address this challenge, with 637 fences installed from March 2022 to February 2024, benefiting 7,827 people across Gabon's nine provinces.

The fences are low-cost, low-specification mobile electric fences that start as a simple one-strange electric line with an option to add additional wire strands if the elephants break through the first line of defense. This approach suits the Gabonese subsistence farmers’ context, as they can move, fix, and manage the deterrent fences themselves. The project has been successful, with 544 cases of crop-raiding attempts prevented in 312 villages.

Central to the success of this initiative is integrating digital tools for monitoring and evaluation. The deployment and functionality of electric fences are tracked using digital solutions powered by solar energy. Furthermore, 45 camera traps have been strategically placed to monitor interactions between elephants and fences.

Soon, there are plans to install an acoustic sound system for analyzing animal profiles, focusing on elephants around plantations. This comprehensive strategy, integrating conservation efforts with advanced technology, symbolizes a beacon of hope for the harmonious coexistence of wildlife and communities within Gabon’s forests.

Let’s unite to protect and safeguard the planet’s last remaining endangered forest elephant species and the surrounding communities by donating to the human-elephant coexistence program in Gabon.

Your contribution will drive the ongoing expansion of innovative mobile electric fencing and technology to the most needy areas, safeguarding vulnerable elephant populations.