#wildai

Traveling across the country to meet, learn and exchange good practices from the first Natural Park to release bison into the wild in Romania proved to be an exceptional experience for the team of recent graduates.

After a short stop in Brasov to admire the beauty of the city hugged by mountains and celebrate the birthday of our colleague Ariane, the winding roads led us to the Natural Park Vânători Neamţ which is situated in the north of the Neamţ county and spreads across 30.818 hectares, out of which 26.190 hectares are of forest.

The administration of the park, lead by Mr. Sebastian Catanoiu, welcomed the Bison Hillock Team warmly and proceeded to exchange on the state of the conservation project overall and the immense progress noticed both in Vânători Neamţ and Armeniș.

Vânători Neamţ is the only park where bison can be found roaming free (37 bison) in an acclimatisation enclosure (12 bison) and also in captivity as part of the Zoo of the Vânători commune.  

Rangers helped the newcomers discover the 80 hectares of the acclimatisation enclosure and not small was the surprise to come face to face with a male bison just at the beginning of the journey, feeding on leftover hay. We stared at each other for what seemed to be an infinite moment suspended in time after which both parties went on their way through the binding trails of the secular forest.

The next encounter was no less impressive with a male resting and allowing everyone to watch him from less than 10 meters away as he dozed slowly keeping flies at bay with his tail. Ariane captured this impressive photograph above just as the bison was waking up. 

The team gathered information on the state of the herd, 10 bison with two calves from last year, led by an alfa female and a male and also on the two solitary males that roam the enclosure. They also were glad to hear about the bison that are in the wild out of which two males wearing tracking collars, facilitating their monitorisation.

Good news is always welcomed, and the story of a calf born inDecember of 2012 that is now a strong mother to be overjoyed the interns who dreamt probably of being the first someday to witness a bison birth in the wild.

The week ended on a high note with the team accompanying a filming crew which intended to capture the role of the bison in shaping the ecosystem.  The shot-list seemed difficult to accomplish but with the precious knowledge of the Vânători Neamţ rangers and the strategy laid down in a practice round, three teams set out to find the mighty bison.

A large male gave us a great angle of him debarking a fallen cherry tree, but the absolute cherry on top was the herd which allowed us to get very close and personal. Observing them groom, dust-bathe, eat in a glade and in the forest.

Observing two calves suckling, a one year old and a two-year old, left everyone, even the rangers, breathless and amazed.

How fortunate and what an amazing chance for the interns to analyze the behavior inside the herd and create all the links between these majestic creatures and their environment.

We all want to build upon the dream to have bison roaming free across the Carpathians, thus together with the Natural Park Vânători Neamţ we conduct research: comparative studies and integration of data and work in parallel to develop the WildAI project. 

Text: Bianca Ștefanut 

În atmosfera minunată a Munților Tarcu, inițiativa de resălbăticire din Măgura Zimbrilor a găzduit timp de două zile un brainstorming, cu scopul de a dezvolta o idee viabilă care ar permite naturii și dezvoltării durabile să colaboreze mai bine, folosind caracteristicile unice ale tehnologiei blockchain: descentralizare, încredere, transparență.

WWF România s-a întâlnit cu Marcus Dap de la ETH Zurich (Universitatea Tehnică Federală din Zürich), Toni Caradonna și Roman Eyholzer, ambii de la Fundația Porini. Pentru a încuraja o atmosferă inovativă, la întâlnire a participat unul dintre internii din Taskforce-ul Măgura Zimbrilor, Danne Milo van Ronne, și Gelu Stoicănescu, un absolvent recent al Facultății de Finanțe și Matematică. Echipa WWF a fost reprezentată de Oana Mondoc, ghidul spre tehnologiile inovatoare în cadrul WWF România, Corina Gheorghiu, specialist în economie ecologică și Alina Floroi, un partener extern care oferă sprijin în cadrul proiectului tehnologic.

Sesiunea s-a încheiat cu o experiență de urmarire a zimbrilor condusă de rangerul Daniel Hurduzeu. Grupul a fost deosebit de norocos, deoarece participanții au reușit să vadă urme de zimbru, cerb, urs, râs și bursuc pe drum.

După ce au mers pe urmele zimbrilor, au auzit zgomotul lor într-o poiană. Rangerul a ghidat toată lumea în pădure pentru a merge în jurul zimbrului și a căuta un unghi bun pentru a-I vedea de departe. Câțiva membrii ai echipei au reușit să surprindă un grup de aproximativ 6 zimbri și doi viței înainte ca aceștia să fugă în pădure.

Ce implicații are munca depusă

Marcus și echipa sa de la ETH, inclusiv cadre universitare din întreaga Europă, dezvoltă un sistem de stimulare financiară nou, nuanțat și multilateral, pentru a promova o economie circulară, divizibilă și pentru a atinge obiective sociale prin colaborare. Fundația Porini este un mecanism de deschidere a drumurilor pentru aducerea technologiei blockchain în lumea conservării, stabilind soluția descentralizată a lanțului de sustenabilitate pentru a avea grijă de lumea naturală și alte obiective comune care fac parte din Obiectivele ONU de Dezvoltare Durabilă.

Tehnologia Blockchain permite colaborarea unor rețele mari de oameni care nu se cunosc neapărat între ei. Cheia acestei tehnologii stă în faptul că informațiile din sistem nu pot fi modificate de un singur participant. De asemenea, tehnologia permite oamenilor să ajungă cu ușurință la un consens.

Modul în care tehnologia blockchain poate acționa în platforma tech-nature care se dezvoltă în Armeniș se conectează cu nevoia de a activa părțile interesate pentru a aprecia importanța naturii și a înțelege că acțiunile pozitive au cu adevărat un impact.

O mulțime de proiecte legate de natură suferă din cauza lipsei de vizualizare și de înțelegere a impactului acestora. Aceasta este în special o frustrare pentru donatorii care doresc să știe dacă banii donați de ei au un efect.

Cum vedem viitorul 

WildAI [eye] prevede creșterea impactului monitorizării vieții sălbatice, prin proiectarea unui sistem de inteligență artificială (AI) care conține dispozitive mici de urmărire GPS care pot fi montate pe zimbri, carnivore mari și alte mamifere mari. Acest proiect este o platformă de lansare pentru a produce instrumente rentabile pentru monitorizarea pe scară largă a speciilor sălbatice adaptate la terenul dificil din Carpați. Captarea automată a datelor de pe teren va contribui la crearea unui sistem care să permită o vizualizare exactă a stării de sănătate a ecosistemului.

Blockchain poate ajuta la alinierea intereselor zonelor sălbatice și bunăstarea localnicilor și va oferi un scenariu în care o dezvoltare armonioasă poate să ofere protecție faunei sălbatice. "Prin rezolvarea nevoilor naturale, rezolvăm nevoile sociale și viceversa", a fost viziunea exprimată în cadrul atelierului.

WildAI [eye] a stabilit o etapă de 6 luni pentru atingerea etapei MVP în domeniul monitorizarii hardware, a platformei GIS online și a instrumentelor blockchain.

WildAI [eye] este primul pilot al WWF-România ca "Panda Lab". Prin intermediul laboratoarelor Panda Labs, WWF lucrează cu tehnologie, business, design, mediul academic și conservare pentru a dezvolta noi abordări pentru a rezolva cele mai stringente probleme ale planetei noastre. Panda Lab va deveni acceleratorul descentralizat al WWF România, o comunitate de rezolvare a problemelor care are ca scop atragerea de parteneri și finanțarea treptată.

Urmariți dezvoltarea proiectului pe canalele WWF:

Facebook WWF Romania

Instagram

Twitter 

Text: Alina Floroi

In the wonderfully inspiring atmosphere of Tarcu Mountains, the Bison Hillock wilderness initiative hosted two days of intense brainstorming with the aim to refine a viable idea that would enable nature and sustainable development to work together more seamlessly, with using the unique features of blockchain technology: decentralisation, trust, transparency. 

WWF Romania has met with Marcus Dap of ETH Zurich  (Federal Technical University from Zurich), Toni Caradonna and Roman Eyholzer, both from Porini Foundation. To encourage an inquisitive atmosphere, the meeting was joined by one of the interns from the Bison Hillock Taskforce,  Danne Milo van Ronne, and Gelu Stoicănescu, a recent graduate in Finance and Mathematics. WWF’s team included Oana Mondoc, the driver of innovative technologies within WWF Romania, joined by Green Economy Specialist  Corina Gheorghiu and Alina Floroi, an external partner who gives a hand on cohesion within the tech project.

The session ended with a bison tracking experience led by ranger Daniel Hurduzeu. The group was especially lucky since participants were able to see bison, deer, bear, lynx and badger tracks on their way.

Following the bison tracks, they heard bison grunting in a glade. The ranger-guided everybody in the forest to go around the bison and look for a good angle to see them from afar. Some of the team managed to catch a glimpse of a group of about six bison and two calves before they ran away in the forest.

What does the work involve

Marcus and his team at ETH, including academics from around Europe are developing a new, nuanced and multifaceted financial incentive system to promote a circular, sharing economy and achieve social goals collaboratively. Porini Foundation is a road opener in bringing blockchain to the conservation world, having established the Sustainability Chain decentralised solution to take care of the natural worlds and other shared goals part of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Blockchain technology enables the collaboration of large networks of people that don’t necessarily know each other. The key to blockchain technology is the fact that information in the system cannot be changed by a single player. The technology also allows people to easily reach a consensus.

The way blockchain technology can be a piece in the tech-nature platform developing in Armeniș has a lot to do with the need to activate groups of stakeholders to appreciate the importance of nature and understand that positive actions have an impact.

A lot of nature-related projects suffer from the lack of visualisation and understanding of their impact. This is especially a frustration for donors who want to know if the money donated by them has an effect.

How we see the future

WildAI [eye] envisions increasing the impact of wildlife monitoring, by designing an AI (artificial intelligence) system that contains small GPS trackers that can be attached to bison and large carnivores and other large mammals. This project is the launch-pad to produce cost-effective tools for large-scale wildlife monitoring adapted to the tricky terrain in the Carpathians. Automated data acquisition from the field will help create a system that enables accurate visualisation of the health of the ecosystem.

Blockchain can help align interests of wild landscapes and locals’ wellbeing and deliver a case where harmonious development that can provide wildlife protection. “Through resolving nature needs, we resolve social needs and vice versa”, was the vision expressed during the workshop.

The WildAI [eye] has set a 6-month milestone to reach MVP stage in the hardware tracking, GIS online platform and blockchain instruments

WildAI [eye] is WWF-Romania’s first pilot as a “Panda Lab”. Through Panda Labs, WWF works with technology, business, design, academia and conservation to develop new approaches to solving our planet's most stringent problems. Panda Lab is to become WWF Romania’s decentralised accelerator, a community for problem-solving aiming to attract partners and finance gradually.

Keep in touch with the developments by following us:

Facebook WWF Romania

Instagram

Twitter

Text: Alina Floroi

27, I haven't even seen the notebook ahha9, answered x

URL: 10ICON:9.6BLOG:9.8

rocket or drunk in love or flawless cant choose man its too hard

blog 1000000000 url 100000000

I SAW THIS IS THE END YESTERDAY HAHAHA IT WAS GREAT

10000/10

:)))) aww