The city of Lima, Peru, is equipping a fleet of black vultures with GoPro cameras in order to locate illegal dumps. While most cities struggle with waste disposal, Lima's illegal dumps are of particular concern because much of this trash ends up in the Pacific ocean. Now the city is launching a campaign to clean up the city with the help of a local species.
The new campaign is the product of a partnership between Peru's Ministry of the Environment, the Museum of natural History and the local university. The project involves using black vultures to track down Lima's illegal dumps. Black vultures have long been associated with garbage, making them the perfect tool for tracking clandestine dumping sites. To gather the data, researchers simply equipped each bird with a GoPro camera. The camera was then used to provide real-time GPS data about where the birds have been feeding.
The campaign demonstrates a unique approach to the issue of urban waste disposal.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Smart Vultures
- Equipping vultures with GPS cameras for tracking illegal dumps represents a disruptive innovation opportunity in waste management.
- Real-time Environmental Monitoring
- Using real-time GPS data from vultures equipped with GoPro cameras presents a disruptive innovation opportunity in environmental monitoring.
- Collaborative Conservation
- The partnership between multiple organizations in the vulture tracking project highlights the opportunity for disruptive innovation in collaborative conservation efforts.
Sectors Adopting This
- Waste Management
- The use of vultures and GPS cameras for tracking illegal dumps offers a disruptive innovation opportunity in the waste management industry.
- Environmental Monitoring
- The real-time GPS tracking of vultures equipped with GoPro cameras presents a disruptive innovation opportunity in the environmental monitoring industry.
- Conservation
- The collaborative vulture tracking project demonstrates a disruptive innovation opportunity in the conservation industry.
