Smart system enhances protection of wildlife

By Wang Xiaoyu in Nagqu, Xizang and Daqiong in Lhasa | China Daily

With just a few clicks, an engineer switched the live feed on a big screen from a view of about a dozen black-necked cranes foraging in alpine meadows in Nagqu in the Xizang autonomous region, to a glimpse of the majestic, glistening glaciers of Mount Kulha Dardong on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

These real-time scenes of unique wildlife and ecosystems are now broadcast continuously from 14 monitoring stations scattered across roughly a quarter of Sanjiangyuan National Park and two neighboring nature reserves in Qinghai province and Xizang.

Wang Mingqing, Party secretary of Nagqu's forestry and grassland bureau, said that the 14 monitoring facilities are part of a smart platform that integrates satellites, drones and ground surveillance to track wildlife such as Tibetan antelopes, wild yaks and white-lipped deer, and to monitor glaciers, wetlands and other critical ecosystems.

The system "provides real-time, round-the-clock surveillance footage", he said in a recent interview.

Sanjiangyuan National Park, located in southern Qinghai and established in 2021 as part of China's first group of national parks, spans about 190,000 square kilometers, with an average elevation of more than 4,500 meters.

The smart system currently monitors about one-fourth of the park, which is on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with about 46 percent of the monitored area designated as a core preservation zone.

Construction of the system began in 2023. Now in full operation, it has been connected to regional and national ecological monitoring platforms to improve data sharing.

Thanks to the system's robust capability to detect subtle traces of wildlife that human observers or traditional methods might miss, Wang said that researchers have already recorded a growing number of wild animals in the region.

"The system also helps us respond to emergencies quickly. For example, if it spots an injured Tibetan antelope, we will immediately alert local wildlife rescue centers," he said.

Wang said the system can also play an effective role in issuing alerts for wildfires and unauthorized human activities, such as illegal vehicle entry or unapproved construction.

Easing burden

Yu Wenhao, a project manager of the system, said that during the migration season for Tibetan antelopes, from June to August, rangers are stationed at key locations to follow the movements of the Tibetan antelopes. Now, with the system in place, "the rangers can gradually be relieved of this demanding task", he said.

One key innovation of the system is the deployment of high-throughput satellites, whose advanced technologies enable faster transmission of massive amounts of data, said Yu.

"We have also applied artificial intelligence algorithms to the system so that it can instantly analyze and differentiate the types of species recorded in the surveillance footage," he added.

Yu said the project team includes software developers and on-site construction workers like himself.

"Building each monitoring site takes about 20 workers camping and working for nearly a month in the wilderness," he said. "We have faced many challenges — rough terrain, extreme cold, thin air and scarce supplies in remote areas."

Despite the difficulties, Yu said he has formed friendships with local herders and hopes to upgrade the system. "It is vital to maintain operation of the current system while continuously incorporating new technologies, such as upgrading AI algorithms," he said.