Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) is the main Government agency for wildlife conservation, managing approximately five million hectares of land. From 2020-2021, widespread poaching was seen in the parks because of a pandemic-impaired local economy and an absence of tourists in the parks.
Wildlife-human conflicts were on the increase. In 2020, there were more than 50 injuries and 60 deaths. ZimParks was in dire need of a way to improve the safety of park rangers and reduce wildlife poaching activities.
Cross park communications
To better equip its staff – especially its ‘boots on the ground’ rangers – with the essential tools they need to cope with potentially dangerous situations, ZimParks teamed up with Hytera to build a communication and dispatch system that allows the staff to be mobilised effectively and efficiently across the massive parks. Hytera also provided digital two-way radios to the rangers for park-wide radio communication.
“We have rangers who are doing their jobs very effectively on the ground,” said Fulton Mangwanya, director general of ZimParks. “They are our boots on the ground. But they are facing a lot of challenges as they do their work; poachers want to injure and kill them as do the animals they are protecting. So, the best way for us to actually help the first line of defense effectively is to provide effective communications. As GSM coverage is not available in all the parks, radio communication is essential in helping protect wildlife and tackle law enforcement issues.”
Hytera delivered ZimParks a convergent communication solution that integrates both broadband and narrowband technology. A large number of Hytera DMR digital handheld radios, mobile radios, DMR repeaters, dual-mode advanced radios, manpack repeaters, and a SmartDispatch system were supplied.
The entire Hytera radio network covers all the parks managed by ZimParks except NW Matebeleland Region; the goal is to cover all the parks in the near future.
The Hytera PD48X and PD78XG portable radios – known for their robust and rugged design – feature GPS positioning functions and were offered to the rangers. In digital mode, the PD48X can support continuous operation for around 16 hours. Rangers can text each other if they do not want to make a sound to disturb the animals. These two models also support both analogue and digital channels to ease the financial pressure brought by digital migration.
The Hytera PDC760 dual-mode radio, a DMR LTE hybrid device that offers the ideal platform for critical voice and broadband data services, is enabling the rangers to make calls over DMR or public cellular network and enjoy multimedia services such as video recording/streaming, photo taking and other services that a smartphone provides.
Meanwhile, the Hytera manpack repeater, a digital/analogue portable repeater that is compatible with the DMR standard that is compact for easy transport, can be carried by the rangers conveniently. It supports a range of power supply options to guarantee uninterrupted communications when the rangers are on an extended patrol.
Emergency situations are not unusual at ZimParks. Hytera’s SmartDispatch system supports multiple data services, GPS positioning services, and safety features, which together with PDC760, which can access both narrowband and broadband networks and with front/rear cameras, enable instantly visualized dispatching.
“We are committed to supporting ZimParks’ efforts to tackle poaching and enhance the safety of rangers,” said Mark Zheng, director of Hytera Southern Africa. “Wildlife conservation is crucial to a sustainable future and we are glad that our radios are making contributions to this. We wish ZimParks all the best in their ongoing efforts to protect wild animals and will continue to work with them closely.”
A promising partnership
As a result of the partnership between Hytera and Zimparks, Zimbabwe recorded a decline in wildlife poaching in 2022, with a total of 36 key wildlife animals being poached in 2022, down from 42 in 2021.
Moreover, staff reported that they were extremely satisfied with the new technology.
“The remoteness of the area, the absence of cellphone signal coverage, and the nature of our work with high chances of encountering armed and dangerous wildlife criminals as well as dangerous animals, reptiles, and insects, make the work of rangers all the more challenging,” said Theressa Makunike, one of ZimParks’ rangers. “However, my training, as well as reliable Hytera radio communication coverage in the area, give me the confidence to engage with the poachers – and work in the excessive heat.”
