Niger is turning to drone technology to help protect a Saharan antelope and other endangered species in Africa's largest terrestrial park.

The Termit and Tin Toumma reserve in the southeast of the West African desert state is at threat from poaching, deforestation, over-grazing and armed conflict.

French conservation group Noe -- its name means "Noah" -- will provide drone surveillance under a 20-year agreement to manage the reserve.

Noe's secretary general, Valerie Collin, signed the agreement on Monday with Environment Minister Almoustapha Garba.

Bazoum Mohamed, the former French colony's interior minister, said drones would be used to help monitor the animals, which include the critically endangered Saharan addax antelope, the dama gazelle and the Saharan sub-species of the cheetah.

"The park's fauna is still there but is badly threatened," said Collin.

The region's Dorcas gazelle and Barbary sheep are listed as vulnerable, while the Arabian bustard and fennec fox are other protected species to be found in the reserve, along with around a hundred plant species.

Created in 2012, the Termit and Tin Toumma stretches over 97,000 square kilometres (37,500 square miles) -- more than three times the size of Belgium.

Part of the park is in the Lake Chad Basin, a region beset by deadly incursions by the Islamist group Boko Haram based in neighbouring Nigeria.

A massive oil-extraction project has also been blamed for encroaching on the land on which the rare addax antelope forages for sparse shrubs and herbs.

Related Links
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Fleets of drones could aid searches for lost hikers
Boston MA (SPX) Nov 05, 2018
Finding lost hikers in forests can be a difficult and lengthy process, as helicopters and drones can't get a glimpse through the thick tree canopy. Recently, it's been proposed that autonomous drones, which can bob and weave through trees, could aid these searches. But the GPS signals used to guide the aircraft can be unreliable or nonexistent in forest environments. In a paper being presented at the International Symposium on Experimental Robotics conference next week, MIT researchers describe an ... read more