🐦CyberTracker helps indigenous communities document biodiversity

• CyberTracker's software, developed in collaboration with indigenous communities, enables nearly anyone to collect complex biodiversity data.
• Over 600,000 people in 150 countries have already downloaded previous versions.
• The latest version of CyberTracker features a user-friendly interface and stores data in the cloud to prevent loss.

CyberTracker and the role of indigenous communities in conservation

CyberTracker is a software program developed in collaboration with indigenous communities that allows almost anyone to collect complex biodiversity data, reports Science.

CyberTracker Online is a new version of the program designed to facilitate collaboration between indigenous communities, scientists, and conservation managers. The goal is to enable almost anyone with a smartphone to generate highly detailed and complex biodiversity data.

Even individuals who are illiterate can collect detailed data.

History and development

Since the 1990s, over 600,000 people in 150 countries have downloaded earlier versions of CyberTracker. The program has been used to map wildlife and cultural sites as well as monitor water resources.

The tool has helped conservationists manage vulnerable species and provided researchers with data used in many scientific publications, including some co-authored by indigenous people.

Successes and future uses

CyberTracker has also provided early warnings of Ebola outbreaks in Gabon and Congo. Data showed a clear decline in gorillas, chimpanzees, wild boars, and other animals affected by the virus.

In Australia, CyberTracker has been used by many indigenous communities, local authorities, and researchers.

CyberTracker enables local communities to document biodiversity trends and can help indigenous people earn money. In Africa, the program facilitates trackers' opportunities to get paid for monitoring projects and tracking schools. Scientists and conservationists can use CyberTracker data to estimate the abundance of species and other ecological metrics.

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