East Africa’s largest black rhino sanctuary Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy and Internet of Elephants (IoE) are developing online games to help create new revenue streams for wildlife conservation.
The collaboration between a wildlife conservancy and the technology enterprise aims to bring 20 million people all over the world closer to real wild animals.
“Not only will players connect to animals in a completely new way — playing the game will generate meaningful revenue that is directed back to participating wildlife conservation organizations,” they said in a joint statement.
Elodie Sampere, Marketing Consultant at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, said the initial launch of the product will be by the third quarter of 2017.
“By working closely together, we can draw on the resources and expertise available at Ol Pejeta Conservancy and IoE, and share the stories around our animals in a new, meaningful way,” Sampere said.
Awareness campaigns and nature tourism have traditionally been the only means of funding the conservation sector, but have a low ceiling on the number of people they can engage.
“Through a unique solution combining the scientific data and conservation expertise of Ol Pejeta Conservancy and the gaming, technology, and business expertise of IoE, this partnership will bring wildlife to the masses in a self-sustaining way,” the statement said.
Gautam Shah, founder of IoE, said joint efforts have potential to create big impact for both wildlife and tourism sector.
“Our mission is to develop games that connect people to wildlife on a daily basis. We are using real wildlife data, which will build emotional connections between people and real animals thousands of miles apart,” Shah said.
The social enterprise based in Kenya and the United States is currently designing and building their first prototypes of online games to bring 20 million people closer to real wild animals. Enditem
Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh
