An alliance developed between Reserva Conchal, McGill University of Canada and the Salve Monos Foundation, will allow, among other advantages, to create real-time alerts to report accidents involving wildlife to take immediate measures and; Incidentally, generate information on the points where these types of incidents occur most frequently.
This effort promotes the integration of learning in sustainability and the generation of support strategies for Non-Governmental Organizations in Guanacaste together with advanced students in areas such as data analysis, artificial intelligence and sustainability from McGill University.
According to SalveMonos records, in 2022 there were a total of 206 wildlife accidents such as run overs, dog attacks or falls. 80 percent of that figure were electrocutions, mostly from howler monkeys (Allouatapalliata).
Taking immediate action
The new tool consists of a report that can be located at mono-sos.com where the person can access to enter the accident data so that SalveMonos can take immediate measures such as taking the animal to a veterinarian or transferring it to a wildlife shelterif necessary.
Inés Azofeifa, Researcher and Field Director of SalveMonos, indicated that the information entered by citizens through the reports will generate information on which are the geographical points where accidents are reported with the greatest recurrence.
Allowing better decisions
“This will allow us to make better decisions such as; For example, if on the site it is more appropriate to build wildlife crossings, locate underground wiring or put in wiring protected with insulation,” Azofeifa explained.
First steps
In an official event organized and held in ReservaConchal on October 11, the results were shown by McGill University, which indicated that the collection of reports in relation to the areas most prone to wildlife accidents has already taken five months.
The web tool instantly offers “heat maps” that identify, according to report coordinates, the sites with the highest frequency and type of accident presented. Based on this information, ReservaConchal, within its sustainability strategy, will invest a budget of $25,000 in order to design and install flyovers for monkeys in Guanacaste.
Magnifying the positive impacts
“We faithfully believe that it is possible to magnify the positive impacts of our actions if we enhance them with ideas, knowledge and technologies from allied organizations. “We are very pleased to present the first results of the joint work with McGill University and excited about everything new that is coming,” said Fabián Fernández, hospitality manager at FIFCO ReservaConchal.
Juan CamiloSerpa, specialist in Artificial Intelligence at McGuill University, pointed out that the use of technology is essential to promote environmental sustainability.
“I want us to promote the use of artificial intelligence for sustainability and the environment. What we want to do is place QR codes on rented cars in Guanacaste where people can enter the report form,” explained Serpa.
The president and Founder of SalveMonos Costa Rica, Simonetta Danielle, added that the application is characterized because it is easy and immediate to use for nationals and foreigners, tourists or residents and for this reason, it will prevent accidents that affect wildlife.
In conjunction with McGill, other additional applications were also developed that will soon be made known to the population, some of them related to improving crop control through applications and others related to monitoring potential environmental impacts of business units in real time in the zone.Among the goals of this project is to create a leading interactive center in sustainability using artificial intelligence.
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