Creating a pathway to tech solutions to curb human-elephant conflict

As the network that strives to find tech based solutions for social challenges, SLT-Mobitel has partnered with the Department of Wildlife Conservation to host ‘The Elephant Decoder Hackathon’ which aims to address the growing human-elephant conflict by way of seeking innovative and practical solutions to help curb its recurrence.

Through this initiative, SLT-Mobitel is inviting tech enthusiasts and anyone with innovative ideas to apply and register for the Hackathon and come up with a solution for an early warning system that could detect an elephant in a pre-defined area. With the lives of 122 humans and 407 elephants lost in year 2019 alone, Sri Lanka is ranked as the country with the highest annual elephant deaths and the second highest human deaths. Hence, the human-elephant conflict is therefore, a lingering problem and one which requires immediate attention where the lives of affected villagers and these gentle giants can be maintained.

To enter ‘The Elephant Decoder Hackathon’, applicants can log on to www.sltmobitel-elephant-decoder.com and submit their ideas and solutions. The hackathon will help pave the way for members of the public who display an interest in this issue to engage with the hackathon and present invaluable technological knowledge or ideas that might support the implementation of an early warning system that could detect the presence of an elephant in a pre-defined area.