The digital revolution is progressing in all spheres of societies, including in conservation area management. Mozambique’s network of conservation areas cover 233,249km² of land corresponding to ca. 26 % of the country’s terrestrial surface. The size and remoteness of these areas set limitations to the effectiveness of conventional methods of field-based monitoring and response to any biodiversity-harming incidents. Wildfire are an annually recurring event that conservation area managers seek to mitigate with controlled early season burns. Resources are too scarce for fire suppression at scale. Therefore a different approach is followed to dealing with fire events.

Satellite sensor-based fire incident detection systems capable of pooling and categorizing records are increasingly utilized in support of law enforcement operations and biodiversity protection. The technology used in Mozambique is being developed by OroraTech GmbH, and the National Administration of Conservation Areas of Mozambique is experimenting with the platform as it evolves. Fire occurrence serve as proxy of human presence, while the intensity, duration and extent of fires are indicators of the purpose for which fires are deployed. The temporal and spatial precision of the wildfire detection algorithm in combination with the ability of distinguishing fires based on their nature enables managers to identify hotspots, plan field interventions well in advance, and allocate resources timely and location-based. The interception of unwanted human activities in conservation areas acts as a deterrent and while not stopping large wildfires, it contributes to the reduction of biodiversity loss. The authors will present examples that may inspire further innovations.

Keywords: Conservation area management, fire classification, High resolution satellite-based wildfire monitoring