This article was first published in the December 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Give your old mobile to Topher White and he'll use it to save the rainforest. "Illegal logging accounts for 50 to 90 per cent of all logging in tropical regions," says the 33-year-old founder and CEO of San Francisco-based non-profit Rainforest Connection. "It's an immense issue, but it's really not feasible for humans to monitor large swathes of rainforest."
White's solution: a cheap, solar-powered surveillance network of discarded mobiles. "Each can pick up the sound of a chainsaw from over a kilometre away and automatically transmit an alert to rangers within two minutes," he says. "That's a huge improvement over satellite imagery, which takes several days at best."
This audio data is sent to the cloud, allowing Rainforest Connection to receive more than alerts of illegal activity. "We can build an archive of everything that happens in the forest 24/7," explains White. "We could say when a family of orangutan visit, or measure the health of the forest from insect noise."
The biggest challenge has been keeping the surveillance network powered. "Normal panels are very inefficient if there's just a bit of shadow on them, but these work with 90 per cent shadow and occasional rays of light."
A project in Cameroon resulted in the confiscation of a monkey carcass and motorbike from a poacher. Half a dozen of the devices still operate in the Brazilian Amazon, helping the Tembe tribe protect their 6,000km2 of rainforest -- 80 per cent of which is under siege by loggers and settlers. The next installation was due to take place in Ecuador in October.
Rainforest Connection plans to allow anyone anywhere to listen in to their network. "The next thing is making it available through our mobile app, which we'll be releasing this year," White explains. "We want to be a clearing house for all the data you can get out of the rainforest."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
