From Radar to AI: The future of conservation

The phone is not lost, quite the opposite. Incongruous but invaluable, the phone is part of a network of devices placed throughout the forest to listen for the telltale sounds of illegal logging. Amidst the rustle of leaves, the scampering of critters, and the steady drip of moisture, the sound of a lorry or chainsaw is an alarm bell that can bring forest rangers hurrying to the scene. It's just one of the ways that technology is helping conservationists in the fight to protect wildlife and the planet. The advance of technology is often seen as a risk for the environment: From the invention of the plough to carve the landscape, through the industrial revolution, to the electronic age's thirst for Earth's limited resources.