Where have all the people gone? Enhancing global conservation using night lights and social media

A novel approach combining social media data and remote sensing identifies that half of all visitors to protected areas globally are concentrated in under 1% of these sites, often UNESCO World Heritage Sites with high accessibility. The study used Flickr photographs as a surrogate for visitor numbers, validated by local censuses, alongside night lights data to distinguish between urban and natural areas. Key hotspots like Brazil's Pantanal and Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni were found to attract significant visitation but remain largely unprotected. This integrated method offers real-time insights into spatial conservation gaps and pressures, demonstrating the potential of big data in global conservation efforts.

Levin, N., Kark, S., & Crandall, D. (2015). Where have all the people gone? Enhancing global conservation using night lights and social media. Ecological Applications, 25(8), 2153–2167. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0113.1