Click to learn more about author Harsh Arora.
Big Data is a popular term used frequently by technology experts. Universally it refers to the processing of massive and complex data sets, which help in analysis.
Complex data requires simple presentation and large data needs statistical conversion and comparison; both are likely to be misinterpreted or have incorrect presentation.
What is an Endangered Species and Why is it Necessary to Save Them?
Endangered species include the Asian elephants, blue whales, giant pandas, orangutans, sea otters, snow leopards, tigers, wolves, whooping cranes, and many more.
We need to save them from being extinct because humans cannot live on machines, they need the environment to provide fresh air, water, and growth of forests, and food. These species are depending on us to help protect them.
How Big Data Helps in Saving Endangered Species:
- Awareness: It creates awareness in people, recovery agencies, and the government to take appropriate and timely actions pertaining to endangered species.
- Big Data and Information: Software that can save endangered species helps manage data, identify, and analyze the behavioral patterns, eating habits, health issues, habitats, migration history and trends, their adaptability, impact of climate, and introduces collaborative care.
- Data Accuracy: We believe what we see and that’s what we can expect from Big Data. Data generation and processing with accurate parameters, conditions, and observations leads to precise numbers and facts.
- Planning: The team work of biologists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are trying to increase the protection of threatened species using Big Data tools. They help in strategizing and planning on the time involved, benefits of recovery, and cost factors.
- Budgeting: Recovery and protection both require funds and Big Data can help to in fund allocation, maximum utilization, acquiring new funds and grants, splitting them into different projects, expense control and monitoring, preparing budgetary documents, highlighting the needs of the projects, diverting funds to important projects, setting and meeting the priorities and objectives of the program.
- Identifying Obstacles: These activities are time and money consuming, but to achieve success we need some help and that is provided by Big Data to pin point the obstructions, size of issue, alternatives to the issue, actions for rectification, and movement forward towards the aim of preserving these dying animal species.
- Decision Making: Big Data gives a clear picture of connecting links and missing links in the data, giving humans an idea of impacts, modifications according to the recovery program, or in special cases, where the immediate action is required. Every deciding factor can save some species so managers can then refer to the existing data for other endangered species.
- Projection: Big Data can give an accurate projection on the number of species that can be recovered or protected in the stipulated time with the existing funds, which projects need prioritization, and which can be delayed.
- Monitoring: Everyproject needs people who can monitor, and these project managers need data for scrutinizing, providing inputs and generating reports and feedback.
- Effects of Big Data: The environment is not suitable for the species that are about to become extinct. What needs to be done, what is happening, what is possible, what is irreparable all can be known from the Big Data collected for the scientists. The data of wild and water life, including the photos, facts and figures all are available for perusal.
- Maintaining Balance: When any species are high in number, they tend to create risks for mankind, but that does not mean that we don’t need them. In fact, humans cannot survive alone on the earth and the environment is our strongest support for subsistence.
- Warning: Any unusual activity in the wild, sudden changes in behavior or health conditions of species, decreases in birth rates, increases in death or infectious diseases, and other indicators of endangerment can save a lot of animals.
- Goal Setting: Big Data gives a clear picture to set future goals in order to save the environment and animals. These goals need to be realistic enough for environmentalists, scientists, animal lovers, and volunteers to work efficiently, and effectively.
- Robust Control: The government’s control and interference can save threatened species such as elephants, rhinos, tigers, wolves, bears, mountain lions, and aquatics. This is necessary as poachers kill them for the sale of animal skins, teeth, and even meat. Some of the hunters do it to showcase the trophy and boast their supremacy, or just for fun.
- Business: Few killings are justified for economic activities, business, and survival of humans. Control over these activities is possible if hunting is banned during the breeding periods of the animals.
- Training: Participants or volunteers need training in order to provide day-to-day as well as special care to the endangered species. The study of available information on the animals can help serve them better.
- Faster Recovery: The time needed for these species to multiply in number is part of the criteria, as well as how more and more animals can be saved after identification of their possible extinction.
- Research and Development: Every research study needs historic data and development requires basic information for delivering the change. Big Data provides both through which unexpected solutions can be created.
- Time Sensitive: Yes, this work of saving endangered species is time sensitive, we just cannot ignore the fact; once a species is extinct they cannot be brought back to life. They are gone, there is no rewind button.
Qualities that make Big Data useful for this work:
- Quality Data Processing and presentation
- Data mining, analytics, and visualization
- Interactive dashboards
- Shares Actionable Insights
- Predictions
- Structured Reports
- Handles Workload
- Better Control over data
Some technology that is already being used:
Did you know that currently 41,415 species are on the verge of being extinct and 16,306 of them were listed in the last year? We can stop the threat and save the world with help of Big Data and technology.