Rainforest Connection

Mongabay: Bioacoustic analysis made easier: Q&A with Rainforest Connection CEO Bourhan Yassin

May 11, 2023

For scientists and ecologists studying wildlife, listening to the sounds of nature is all the rage now. And with good reason. The exponential growth in the use of audio to study, monitor and track wildlife and biodiversity can be attributed to its very many advantages. This is precisely why passive acoustic monitoring, or bioacoustics, is at the core of our work. Hear from RFCx CEO, Bourhan Yassin, as he explains how we’re using audio data in our bioacoustic analysis platform, Arbimon, which has been designed to specifically address the gap between research and conservation so that we can drive conservation action on the ground today.

Google.org: RFCx CEO Bourhan Yassin is a Leader To Watch

April 27, 2023

Google.org’s annual Leaders To Watch recognizes Rainforest Connection CEO Bourhan Yassin amongst 6 other rising social innovators that are addressing today’s most pressing challenges. The planet will probably never sound the same as it does today. As our CEO, he knows the value and power of listening in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. His ambitions were big even before it became his mission to preserve our world’s forests, and this is your chance to hear it from him. Learn about his beginnings, how he’s scaling a successful conservation tech nonprofit, and his bold vision for the future.

Salesforce: Building a Sustainable Future – Top 5 Skills for Climate Job Seekers

April 25, 2023

Sustainability job openings are on the rise. It’s never been a more exciting time to build a career in climate action. Over the past five years, the demand for “green skills” has grown 8% annually outpacing the supply of talent. A global survey from Salesforce found that although there’s a sustainability skills gap, there is a global workforce eager to get involved. Hear two leaders from the Salesforce Accelerator for Nature cohort share top job skills needed to solve urgent climate challenges. Featuring RFCx CEO, Bourhan Yassin, and Island Conservation’s Head of Innovation, David Will.

Goodness Exchange: How 82 Million Minutes of Rainforest Audio Could Save Your Life

March 28, 2023

It is possible to save all the remaining rainforests in the world when we connect three things: technology, imagination, and our love for the world. On Dr. Ulrich’s Conspiracy of Goodness Podcast, RFCx’s CEO Bourhan Yassin was interviewed explaining how Rainforest Connection has been working towards doing exactly that since 2014. Our founder discovered that we could use simple technology to detect and stop illegal logging, and in less than a decade, RFCx has expanded into using sound and machine learning to protect biodiversity in all kinds of places.

Phys.Org: Low-cost microphones could be used to help track infectious disease risks in the wild

February 27, 2023

Researchers have shown how sounds recorded by low-cost microphones could be used to help track infectious disease risks in the rainforest and in other rapidly changing landscapes. The study—published in Trends in Parasitology and led by the University of Glasgow—discusses how listening to the sounds of an ecosystem can inform our understanding of factors that drive the spread of disease between animals and people.The findings are the result of a partnership between researchers from the University of Glasgow, Danau Girang Field Center in Malaysia and Rainforest Connection, an NGO which uses sound recording to monitor endangered species and send real-time alerts to prevent poaching and illegal logging in the rainforests.

Huawei Blog: Protecting Italy’s Oasis of Biodiversity

January 26, 2023

Alongside Huawei & WWF Italy, this TECH4ALL project covering three ‘Oasis’ sites in Italy, aims to study biodiversity and protect natural habitats by preventing illegal activities such as poaching. Together we are enabling a comprehensive understanding of the biodiversity present, with ‘Guardian’ installation sites chosen to detect illegal activities and monitor biodiversity. To date, the Italy project has collected 272,452 recordings from 72 sites in our Arbimon platform.

Huawei Blog: Safeguarding Biodiversity in Mexico

January 20, 2023

Alongside Huawei, this TECH4ALL project in Mexico is working to protect biodiversity in Mexico’s Dzilam State Reserve in Yucatan. Dzilam State Reserve hosts a rich diversity of habitats and is home to some of Mexico’s endemic and threatened species. Due to human activities and climate change, the local ecosystem is in decline. The jaguar (Panthera onca) is perhaps the most famous species that occurs in the area — it is rare and near-threatened according to the IUCN. The goal is to increase the protection of this species, and others in the area. Read more about what we’re doing in this reserve and listen to species we’re monitoring right now like the Yucatan Woodpecker, Yucatan Jay, and Black-headed Trogen!

Huawei Blog: Protecting Malaysia’s Sarawak Rainforest with Technology

January 16, 2023

Alongside Huawei, this TECH4ALL project in Malaysia is working to protect biodiversity in Malaysia’s Sarawak Rainforest by preventing illegal logging and monitoring their wildlife to better inform conservation efforts. The Malaysia project currently has 874,256 recordings from 7 sites uploaded to Arbimon. The combination of manual validation and pattern matching models has detected 79 species (28 of them categorized as threatened in the IUCN Red List). Learn more about our work in this area and listen to species like the Red Throated-Barbet, the Black Hornbill, and the Bold-striped tit-babbler that are being monitored right now!

Footprint Coalition: Meet the startups developing solutions for the world’s extinction crisis

January 12, 2023

Late last year, 150 financial institutions responsible for $24 trillion worth of assets called on world leaders to adopt an ambitious framework to combat the world’s ongoing, massive extinction crisis. Some targets set at COP15 have been criticized as idealistic, but three startups are “starting the impossible” with one seed, whale, and rainforest at a time. Read about how Rainforest Connection is “starting the impossible” and how the job of protecting rainforests is necessary when addressing the 6th mass extinction.

Infineon: Protecting the rainforest with modern technology: Infineon Technologies and Rainforest Connection use sensor technology to protect vulnerable regions

December 29, 2022

The preservation of rainforests is crucial to prevent climate change. However, illegal deforestation and wildfires threaten the most vulnerable areas of our planet. Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) is extending its collaboration with the NGO Rainforest Connection (RFCx). The partners pursue the common goal of monitoring the vulnerable regions of our earth with modern sensor technology. So that the monitoring technology can not only “hear” but “smell”, both partners are collaborating to equip a number of Guardian devices with Infineon’s XENSIV™ PAS CO2 sensor to increase the protection potential!

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