2 days ago
Odisha to adopt HAWK for wildlife crime monitoring
BHUBANESWAR: In a major step towards tightening the noose around poachers and wildlife criminals, the state government is planning to replicate the Hostile Activity Watch Kernel (HAWK) system, an advanced data-driven platform that has revolutionised wildlife crime monitoring and enforcement in Kerala.
Addressing the state-level DFO conference here, PCCF (Wildlife)-cum-chief wildlife warden Prem Kumar Jha said the state wildlife wing will soon use HAWK technology to replace manual documentation of wildlife crimes, and equip forest field staff and wildlife crime investigating officials with realtime data tracking, analysis and intelligence generation. The state will also leverage the cutting-edge technology for effective wildlife management.
The cloud-based information management system used by the Kerala Forest department to combat wildlife crime will enhance forest officials' ability to prevent and address illegal wildlife trade and related activities, sources said.
Jha said the state is also planning to launch PRAHAR application for submission of monthly progress report at divisional-level for regular monitoring of forest and wildlife management and to improve transparency.
He spoke on other advanced technologies being used for forest and wildlife management. Use of AI camera towers and AI integrated trail guard cameras have immensely helped officials in Similipal and other forest landscapes to monitor movement of the wildlife and crackdown against the wildlife criminals. Use of thermal drone and other technologies have also proven to be huge success, he said.
