State Minister Stresses Significance of Digitally Monitored Wildlife Protection to Tourism

Addis Ababa, July 2, 2026 (ENA) —Digitally monitored wildlife protection plays a crucial role not only in wildlife conservation but also in promoting the tourism sector by providing information on wildlife populations and destination landscapes, Tourism State Minister Seleshi Girma said.

The state minister noted that information technology is receiving growing attention for data collection, organization, and technology-driven information distribution, with wildlife management, tourism satellite accounts, and tourist management among the sectors undergoing digitalization.

Speaking at a validation workshop on a digital platform piloted for managing protected areas at Bale Mountains National Park and Senkele Swayne's Hartebeest Sanctuary today, Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority Director-General, Kumera Wakjira, said the project piloted in 106 protected areas will serve as a springboard for expanding digital management across the country's remaining protected wildlife areas.

The platform offers predictive capabilities that can help address overlapping land-use interests and support long-term planning, he added.

He added that it also serves as an early-warning tool to help authorities prepare for changing environmental conditions that could affect biodiversity.

The Director-General further highlighted the platform's contribution to tourism destination development, scientific research, and evidence-based decision-making, noting that it enables more effective management of Ethiopia's protected wildlife areas.

Ethiopian Space Science and Geospatial Institute Director-General, Abdissa Yilma, said on his part the project integrates digital, satellite, geospatial, and drone technologies to strengthen wildlife management.

The technologies will support the management of Ethiopia's rich biodiversity resources, which serve as pillars of the economy and tourism development, he added.

According to the Director-General, wildlife management had previously been largely manual and unstructured, with limited coverage due to inadequate technological capacity, a gap the project seeks to address.