“The INNO-grant was our seed money and was of great importance to the realization of this project.”

80% of all plastic that ends up in the sea gets there through rivers. Therefore, it is important to catch plastic in the rivers before it ends up in sea.

• This is what Recycled Island Foundation does: they catch plastic in rivers with a plastic trap.
• They upcycle the captured plastic and create floating parks.
• The park provides more greenery for the inhabitants of Rotterdam and it has an ecological function.

“INNO stood at the cradle of the development of Smart Parks.”

Smart Parks has implemented a private network, based on LoRaWan technology, in a wild park in Tanzania. They also implanted sensors in the horns of the critically endangered black rhinos. With this network and the sensors, the rangers have the ability to accurately monitor the location and the behaviour of large mammals and protect them against poaching. This network is harder to hack, than previously used networks. This method costs less time and energy, and it is cheaper. Thanks to the support of the INNO-fund, Smart Parks was able to improve the reach of the network in one of the parks they work in. Because of this, all the black rhinos in this park are now protected.

“INNO had a great added value to our project. Thanks to INNO we could take the first step and our foundation could grow after that.”

The Painted Dog Conservation Foundation is dedicated to the conservation of the painted dogs. Less than 7.000 painted dogs live in the wild. Habitat loss and poaching are the leading causes of population declines. Protection is more than necessary to conserve this species. Because of the INNO-grant, the foundation could do DNA research on the health of the population. Next to that, they developed collars that protect painted dogs against snare traps. Thanks to these collars the mortality rates of painted dogs caught in snares decreased with 70%.