Among 700 participants, 53 countries and 60 solutions, the Brazilian BioUp platform was selected as one of the global winners.
The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Brazil, in partnership with We Are All Smart (WAAS), JUPTER and Founder Institute Brazil, are pleased to announce that the global winning solution of Zoohackathon 2020 this year is the BioUp team from the state of Paraná – Brazil. The second-place winning solution is Artemis (Philippines) and DangerZoone (Vietnam) in third place. The BioUp team has developed a platform that unifies the breeding control and wildlife farming and facilitates access to information, assisting the surveillance agents of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment (IBAMA) and the Federal Highway Police in the fight against fraud and biopiracy.
“Our proposal is a blockchain-based platform to serve as a search tool for rigged licensing. In this way, the field agent with an application (which is ready) can search for a leg-rig, for example, and check the bird information with the invoice”, says Sam Adam, Master in Science Teaching and Professor of Biology – who is part of the team along with Ricardo Azanha, Professor of Administration, João Ricardo Recanello, Programmer, Vanessa dos Anjos, Biologist and Fernanda Faillace, Designer. To learn more about the app: https://devpost.com/software/bioup
Zoohackathon is a global competition coordinated by the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs that unites university students, coders, wildlife experts, and members of the public, to create innovative technology solutions to combat wildlife trafficking challenges. This year’s fifth annual competition was all virtual, and one single country and four regional events took place around the world from November 6-8. Nearly 700 participants from 53 countries competing as teams online generated more than 60 innovative technology solutions that can help bolster on-the-ground efforts to fight the scourge of wildlife trafficking. Wildlife trafficking threatens national security, undermines the rule of law, robs communities of legitimate economic livelihoods, and pushes species to the brink of extinction. Technology and innovation are key to tackling this crime.
“I believe that people can contribute by raising awareness among friends and relatives on the issue. Encourage those people interested in raising wild species to buy from authorized breeders. And of course, denounce the sale and illegal breeding to the Brazilian authorities,” says Pablo Valdez, Environmental,Science,Technology and Health adviser at the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia.
The winning team will receive credits to be used in Microsoft Azure, virtual internship slots at TechSoup, and support to continue their project.
