Some of the world’s most endangered forests may soon benefit from better protection, thanks to discarded treasures from the consumer society – mobile phones.
A Californian technology startup, Rainforest Connection (RFCx), has developed a tool – made from recycled smartphones – that it says will pilot new ways to monitor and stop illegal logging and animal poaching throughout Africa’s equatorial forests.
RFCx has formed a partnership with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), an international scientific charity that works for the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats.
The two organisations are planning to install the anti-deforestation, anti-poaching technology in Cameroon this year.