Hytera Smart Park proves to be a valuable tool for Sustainable Wildlife Management
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZIMPARKS) manages one of the largest estates in the country, covering about 5 million hectares of land, or 13% of Zimbabwe’s total land area.
ZIMPARKS is responsible for conserving Zimbabwe’s wildlife and wilderness resources in National Parks, Protected Areas and on other state-owned lands.
Endowed with a rich heritage of plant and animal species, as well as a diverse landscape, the Zimbabwe parks provide an excellent viewing experience for visitors, but also pose great challenges for the rangers.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought tourism to a complete halt worldwide. This caused a major problem for ZIMPARKS, as there was an increased need for rangers to monitor for wildlife crime in areas normally frequented by visitors. But with less revenue coming in from tourism, the park authority could not afford to recruit more rangers to help manage the parks. Even worse, contributions from the private sector and NGO donors and partners were also severely affected by COVID-19.
Further problems are being caused by animal overpopulation issues and an increase in poaching. “Some of our rangers were attacked by wildlife and were sadly found dead in the field,” said Simbarashe Guri, radio technician of ZIMPARKS. “They couldn’t send over SOS messages to coworkers or the main office due to the poor radio communications of the analogue radios we were using at that time.”
It seems clear that despite the adverse financial conditions action needs to be taken immediately to protect both rangers and wildlife. ZIMPARKS made a decision to introduce a Smart Park system to the parks.
The Smart Park system supplied by Hytera consists of both broadband and narrowband networks. Hytera PD485 and PD785G portable radios with built-in GPS positioning technology were issued to the rangers. These two models are known for their robust and rugged design.
In digital mode, the PD485 can support continuous operation for around 16 hours, sufficient for an extended patrol. The radios also support both analogue and digital channels to ease the financial pressure brought on by digital migration.
To guarantee seamless communication between the parks, a large amount of Hytera MD605, MD655, MD785, RD985 and Hytera manpack repeaters were supplied.
In addition, Hytera multi-mode advanced radio PDC760 were also offered to the parks. The PDC760 provides a convergent platform for both narrowband voice communications and broadband data services, ensuring uninterrupted communication in extreme environments.
Most of the time rangers are dispersed across the parks. In emergency situations, the main office needs to dispatch rangers and other park staff to a specific location or locations. This is when the Hytera SmartDispatch system comes to the rescue. SmartDispatch supports all types of calls including private call, group call and all call to meet various dispatching operational needs.
SmartDispatch also provides multiple data services, including GPS positioning services and personal safety features, as well as numerous automated functions. Now, even with limited manpower, ZIMPARKS is able to cope with emergency situations with full confidence.
ZIMPARKS is not alone in facing these difficult issues. In fact, wildlife sectors in Tanzania, Bangladesh, Nepal and other countries are facing the same problems too. To improve the safety of both park staff and wildlife, Smart Park is the way to go for sustainable and cost-effective management.
