Cameras that monitor wildlife being ‘misused’ to spy on women

By Stephen Beech

Cameras to monitor wildlife are being used to spy on women, say scientists.

Cambridge University researchers studying a forest in India have found that remotely operated camera traps and drones are being "deliberately misused."

Local government officials and male villagers are using the new technology to watch over women without their consent, according to a worrying report.

Cambridge researcher Dr. Trishant Simlai spent 14 months interviewing 270 locals living around the Corbett Tiger Reserve, a national park in northern India, including many women from nearby villages.

His report reveals how forest rangers in the national park deliberately fly drones over local women to frighten them out of the forest, and stop them collecting natural resources - despite them having the legal right to do so.

The women, who previously found sanctuary in the forest away from their male-dominated villages, told Dr. Simlai they feel "watched" and "inhibited" by camera traps, so talk and sing more quietly.

He said that increases the risk of surprise encounters with potentially deadly wildlife such as elephants and tigers.

In fact, one of the women Dr. Simlai interviewed has since been killed in a tiger attack.

The study, published in the journal Environment and Planning F, reveals a "worst-case scenario" of deliberate human monitoring and intimidation.

But the research team say people are being unintentionally recorded by wildlife monitoring devices without their knowledge in many other places - even national parks in the UK.

Study lead author Dr. Simlai said: “Nobody could have realized that camera traps put in the Indian forest to monitor mammals actually have a profoundly negative impact on the mental health of local women who use these spaces."

Dr. Chris Sandbrook, who was also involved in the report, said: “These findings have caused quite a stir amongst the conservation community.

"It’s very common for projects to use these technologies to monitor wildlife, but this highlights that we really need to be sure they’re not causing unintended harm.

"Surveillance technologies that are supposed to be tracking animals can easily be used to watch people instead - invading their privacy and altering the way they behave.”

The research team call for conservationists to think carefully about the social implications of using remote monitoring technologies – and whether less invasive methods, such as surveys, could provide the information they need instead.

Women living near Corbett Tiger Reserve use the forest daily in ways that are central to their lives, including gathering firewood and herbs.

Domestic violence and alcoholism are widespread problems in the rural area and many women also spend long hours in forest spaces to escape difficult home situations, according to the report.

The women told Dr. Simlai that new technologies, deployed under the guise of wildlife monitoring projects, are being used to "intimidate" and exert power over them - by monitoring them too.

Dr. Simlai said: “A photograph of a woman going to the toilet in the forest – captured on a camera trap supposedly for wildlife monitoring - was circulated on local Facebook and WhatsApp groups as a means of deliberate harassment."

He added: “I discovered that local women form strong bonds while working together in the forest, and they sing while collecting firewood to deter attacks by elephants and tigers.

"When they see camera traps they feel inhibited because they don’t know who’s watching or listening to them – and as a result they behave differently - often being much quieter, which puts them in danger.”

The Cambridge team says that understanding the different ways local women use the forest is "vital" for effective management.