Wildlife Photos Turn Former Hunters into Protectors

In Indonesia, a conservation programme is paying villagers to photograph wildlife instead of hunting it, creating new income while encouraging communities to protect animals and their habitats.

“If they take just five photos, they may earn 50,000 rupiah, and the bird is still in their environment, still observable, and still able to reproduce,” said Nardiyono, director of Borneo Futures Indonesia.

The KehatiKu programme pays residents in nine villages for verified sightings of 73 species, from common birds to endangered orangutans, with successful participants earning up to 10 million rupiah ($570) a month. More than 350,000 wildlife observations have been submitted so far, about half of which have been validated and paid for, providing researchers with data on species distribution and population changes. Two participating villages have voluntarily introduced hunting bans, while the scheme uses a mobile app and artificial intelligence to help verify sightings. Funding is secured through 2028, and two more villages are set to join, expanding a model that links conservation with livelihoods and gives wildlife continuing economic value within local communities.