Accra, April 2, GNA – The Ghana Chapter of the Global Alliance for Technologies in Conservation (GAfTiNC), an international organization dedicated to harnessing the power of technology to protect and conserve the world’s natural ecosystems, has been launched in Accra.
The organization, the first of its kind to be launched globally, is of the view that by harnessing technology, biodiversity and ecosystem challenges could be easily addressed.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after the launch, Mr Emmanuel Opoku, Country Coordinator of GAfTiNC, said the idea for the establishment of the organization was born out of the desire to save the planet by bridging the huge gap in technology between the developed and developing countries.
“And the reason why we ended up with this Union is that a lot of effort was made to ensure that all the changes we see in terms of the environment and nature conservation could be improved with technology,” he said.
Mr Opoku said that unlike in the past where the issues of climate change and global warming seemed quite distant, the twin issues are now closer and the effects are seen in the current severe weather conditions across the country.
βFor now, we’ve seen this climate change come very close to the point where in January and February, we’re not seeing the way the weather is supposed to be in the other months. The warming and the changes tell us there is something we need to do,β Mr Opoku said.
He said that while there have been many developments in technology overtime, no serious efforts have been made to integrate it into addressing nature conservation and current governance issues worldwide.
“So what we’re doing is we want to bring together all the quality experts around the world so we can share ideas and put more effort into solving the challenges we face in nature conservation,” he said. the Opoku.
He said bringing together ICT professionals, conservation experts, researchers, students and environmental NGOs, among others, will ensure that all available technologies are used to solve the problems.
So by bringing this connection together, we will be able to transfer the technologies as quickly as possible. We could also find a way to get together and devise an appropriate technology to solve the same problems.
Mr. Opoku expressed the hope that the initiative from Ghana will within the next five years spread to every country and affect the whole world.
He said the Association was ready to work with the Forestry Commission, which had done a lot
research on the use of sound detection systems to be able to detect illegal sounds in the forest, the various Ministries and companies to help in conservation efforts.
The GAFTINC mission is based on the belief that by harnessing technology, we can address the pressing challenges facing our planet’s biodiversity and natural ecosystems.
It aims to promote innovation, collaboration and sustainability in conservation efforts, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to address pressing environmental challenges.
From remote sensing and artificial intelligence to blockchain and citizen science, GAfTiNC explores innovative approaches to conservation that harness the power of technology to drive positive change.
GNA