Boris Johnson calls on tech sector to help endangered species

LONDON Jun 04 (APP):British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Monday called on tech sector to help endangered species
and hosted a meeting to derive innovation in fight against illegal wildlife trade.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office statement here said that Foreign Secretary Boris
Johnson had brought together leading technology companies together with conservationists to develop new and
innovative ways to combat the illegal wildlife trade.
Experts from companies including Google, Amazon Web Services, Cisco and Dimension Data, as well as
umbrella body, TechUK and government technology experts from Catapult centres heard what challenges the
conservation sector is facing as it combats the illegal wildlife trade, which is worth up to £17 billion a year
globally, and is a highly organised, sophisticated criminal industry. The Minister for the Illegal Wildlife
Trade, Mark Field, co-chaired the event.
This meeting is the first in a series that will take place throughout the summer in the run up to the
London 2018 Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in October. Further workshops will bring experts and
conservationists together to deliver technological solutions to combat poaching, make it easier to identify
illegal wildlife products at borders or to spot animals in danger in the field.
In his remarks Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:”I’ve just come back from the Amazon, one of
Earth’s natural wonders, where both animals and people are suffering at the hands of criminals who are
committing horrible wildlife crimes. What I saw has only sharpened my determination to combat the blight of the
illegal wildlife trade”.
“I want to make sure we’re using all the great talent we have available to us to fight this problem, so
I’m calling on our finest technological brains to help us in the battle to save some of the world’s most
endangered species”.
In his remarks TechUK’s CEO Julian David said:”Whether it is blockchain to support supply chain
transparency and assurance or drones, satellites and the internet of Things-enabled solutions to monitor
activity in national parks and areas of high scientific interest, new tech is revolutionizing conservation
across the world. techUK and its members are excited to work with the FCO on a sector-led approach to combating
illegal wildlife crime”.
Last month, the government published its Ivory Bill which, when passed, will be one of the toughest bans on
ivory sales in the world.
Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, Minister of State, Mark Field,TechUK, Google
Amazon Web Services,Cisco Alliance Dimension Data Satellite Applications Catapult Digital Catapult,and the Royal Foundation Zoological Society of London representatives attended the meeting.