Safaricom And Save The Elephants Win Mobility in the Environment Award

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Save the Elephants (STE) Trust today announced they are the co-recipients, with Safaricom, of the 2005 GSM Association "Mobility in the Environment Award."

Save the Elephants (STE) Trust today announcedthey are the co-recipients, with Safaricom, of the 2005 GSM Association"Mobility in the Environment Award." According to Safaricom, the award was for its program to applyGSM mobile technology to monitor wild animals to help secure their future.


"We are very proud and excited to win this award by our peers representingthe worldwide GSM community and the recognition of our contribution towildlife conservation," said Michael Joseph, CEO of Safaricom.


"Our program in support of the Save the Elephants GSM Animal Tracking Projectdemonstrates the far-reaching capabilities of GSM technology to transformand improve our world. We look forward to our continued relationship withSave the Elephants to assist in providing a peaceful co-existence betweenpeople and our native Kenyan wildlife."


Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Founder of Save the Elephants, a partner of theUS-based Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN), said, "Save the Elephants GSMAnimal Tracking Project supported by Safaricom goes a long way in our goalto secure a future for elephants and other wild animals by understandingmovement patterns. In our Northern Kenya conservation area elephants sharethe land with people and we need to manage the relationship betweencommunities and wildlife in Kenya to provide the elephants with the freedomof movement critical to their well being. To achieve peaceful co existence,we must understand the behavior of animals. Technology is making thatpossible."


The annual award recognizes organizations and individuals for contributions to promote wireless products, services and initiatives based on the GSM wireless standard. It was announced during the recently held GSM World Congress inCannes, France.


Safaricom under its Safaricom Foundation, with input from the VodafoneFoundation, supports Save the Elephants to deploy GSM and GPS-enabledcollars so rangers and the conservation group can track the herd movement,which is otherwise challenging since elephants graze across thousands ofsquare kilometers - from wild savannah to farmland.


Information receivedfrom the collars is helping to define key elephant migratory corridors thatneed to remain open, providing the animals with freedom of choice in theirmovement. The information also helps STE monitor poaching and to advise onpolicy for animal reintroduction.


Safaricom Limited is a leading Mobile Telephone Operator in Kenya. Formed in 1997, it is a joint-venture between Telkom Kenya (60%) and Vodafone UK (40%).


Source: ENN