Hytera Communications announced that its partnership with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has improved the safety of park rangers and reduced wildlife poaching activities. Hytera equipped the rangers with advanced digital mobile radios (DMR) and dispatching software.
As the main government agency for wildlife conservation, ZimParks manages approximately five million hectares of land. From 2020 to 2021, widespread poaching was seen in the parks as a result of a pandemic-impaired local economy and an absence of tourists in the parks. Wildlife-human conflicts were on the increase. In 2020, there were more than 50 injuries and 60 deaths due to growing wildlife-human conflicts, according to ZimParks’ records on its website.
To better equip its staff, especially its ‘boots on the ground’ rangers, with the essential tools they need to cope with the situation, ZimParks teamed up with Hytera to build a communication and dispatch system that allows the staff to be mobilised effectively and efficiently across the sprawling parks. Hytera also provided digital two-way radios to the rangers for park-wide radio communication.
Dr Fulton Mangwanya, Director General of ZimParks, said, “We have rangers who are doing their jobs very effectively on the ground. They are our boots on the ground, but they are facing a lot of challenges as they do their work; poachers want to injure and kill them as do the animals they are protecting. So, the best way for us to help the first line of defence effectively is to provide effective communications. As GSM coverage is not available in all the parks, radio communication is essential in helping protect wildlife and tackle law enforcement issues.”
Ms Theressa Makunike, one of ZimParks’ rangers, said, “The remoteness of the area, the absence of cell phone signal coverage, and the nature of our work with high chances of encountering armed and dangerous wildlife criminals, as well as dangerous animals, reptiles, and insects, make the work of rangers all the more challenging. However, my training, as well as reliable Hytera radio communication coverage in the area, gives me the confidence to engage with the poachers – and continue to work in the excessive heat.”
Mark Zheng, Director of Hytera Southern Africa commented on the partnership, “We are committed to supporting ZimParks’ efforts to tackle poaching and enhance the safety of rangers. Wildlife conservation is crucial to a sustainable future, and we are glad that our radios are making contributions to this. We wish ZimParks all the best in their ongoing efforts to protect wild animals and will continue to work with them closely.”
As a result of the partnership between Hytera and ZimParks, Zimbabwe recorded a decline in wildlife poaching in 2022, with a total of 36 key wildlife animals being poached in 2022, down from 42 in 2021.
For more information, contact Sindy Liu, Hytera Communications Corporation, jia.liu@hytera.com, www.hytera.com
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