There is no shortage of threats to our world’s wildlife: illegal logging, mining, wildlife trade, not to mention climate change. And with one third of all wildlife heading toward extinction, the time to act is now. But there’s good news: organizations across the globe are working to harness the power of technology to improve conservation efforts and create human-wildlife coexistence.
That’s why EarthRanger, a product of the Allen Institute for AI, is excited to announce the second annual Conservation Technology Award, which highlights the work of organizations who are developing and using technology to make a positive impact in conservation. Recipients of the award receive a $15,000 grant to further the deployment of technology in various conservation management aspects, including protection of endangered animals, monitoring ecological changes, animal behavioral research and human-wildlife coexistence.
In last year’s inaugural awards, EarthRanger received applications from six continents and 32 countries and awarded grants to two organizations that have demonstrated the power of incorporating tech into conservation goals: the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), which aims to protect and manage giraffe populations in Africa, and Lion Guardians, a conservation program dedicated to finding and implementing solutions for lion-human coexistence.
GCF utilized the award to invest in a new tracking system for giraffes using ear tags.This updated tracking system provides the GCF team with invaluable data that ranges from seeing how giraffes respond to new road developments, to broadening their understanding of how giraffes interact with their habitat. With help from these new technologies, GCF is advancing giraffe conservation at an unprecedented rate.
Lion Guardians also used their grant to enhance their use of technology by innovating the way they track and monitor lions. These investments allowed the team to capture an accurate read of lion population density, a crucial metric for assessing lion population health and the impact of conservation efforts. Lion Guardians is also implementing a new collar technology to track conflict-prone lions that enables a fast ground response and helps communities proactively prevent conflict.
GCF and Lion Guardians’ successful integration of technology into their missions highlights the potential conservationists have to quickly deepen their impact. With this year’s awards, EarthRanger is excited to help two new grantees accelerate their conservation vision.
If your organization is eligible and would like to apply, please complete the grant application by August 31, 2022. Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee of representatives from some of the most well-known and prolific conservation technology organizations, including Google, Andes Amazon Fund, African Parks, California Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
To learn more about the Conservation Tech Award, click here.