The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) together with LOLC recently embarked on The Multi-Regional Monitoring System for the Sri Lankan Leopard Project, to engage in the research and conservation of an iconic, yet vulnerable species that adds immense value to the nation’s economy and its wildlife.

The project’s initial phase is built on gathering information on the lesser-known aspects of the Sri Lankan leopard, particularly by identifying leopard distribution outside of protected areas, understanding the nature of human-leopard interactions, and classifying areas with heightened levels of human-leopard conflict, a news release on the initiative said.

“To facilitate and streamline the project’s efforts, the Society recently received a donation of two licenses for ArcGIS Pro Software platform for a period of five years. The platform is armed with cutting edge capabilities to transform these spatial data into maps and enable the effective visualization of the project’s data. The ArcGIS Pro Software platform is designed with built-in tools and apps to collect data, and navigate, coordinate, and monitor projects to deliver improved outcomes,” the release said.

“The donation was made with the support of the world’s largest GIS company, The Environmental Systems Research Institute USA (Esri), and the software’s local distributor GIS Solutions Private Ltd, which together have successfully deployed the greatest number of GIS technology implementations in Sri Lanka. At present, a significant number of leading environmental agencies rely on the ArcGIS Software platform in their conservation and sustainability efforts.”

“GIS Solutions Private Ltd together with Esri is proud to support this initiative as we firmly believe in supporting conservation efforts by utilising the best and most effective GIS technology available in the market today. Our principal founder Jack Dangermond himself is an environmentalist and conservationist, and underpinned by these values, our objective lies in deploying the ArcGIS Software platform to conserve our environment and its species. As a responsible organisation, we remain deeply committed towards supporting efforts to safeguard endemic species like the Sri Lankan leopard for our future generations,” stated GIS Solutions.

“To date, very little information is known on leopards outside of protected areas. By understanding the distribution and habits of this enigmatic species, we can take the necessary steps to mitigate the impact of the human-leopard conflict which has continued to plague our nation. The scientific analytical tools that are incorporated within the ArcGIS Software platform will undoubtedly contribute towards identifying key focus areas, and thereby strengthen accurate decision-making for conservation efforts.

“The donated licenses provide access to these invaluable tools, which will in turn enhance the research component of this vital project to a considerable degree. We are extremely grateful towards GIS Solutions Private Ltd and Esri for their support towards this vital project,” said Prof Enoka Kudavidanage from the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society.

The Sri Lankan leopard has long been susceptible to a range of threats including habitat loss, illegal trade and snares that are prevalent within high human-leopard conflict zones across the nation. It is envisioned that through The WNPS – LOLC Multi-Regional Monitoring System for the Sri Lankan Leopard Project and the help of its partners, that the future of these apex predators will be guaranteed in the years to come.