Tech4Nature: Protecting the Planet in Partnership with IUCN

Huawei has launched the Tech4Nature partnership with The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s largest conservation network. We aim to use the latest technologies to ramp up nature conservation globally. The three-year partnership will pilot cutting-edge digital technologies in conservation in five countries and provide knowledge, technology, and resources for more than 300 protected areas worldwide.

IUCN is the world’s standard-setter and think-tank for nature conservation. The IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas offers a framework for the Tech4Nature partnership. It can guide equity and effectiveness in management and offer certification for areas that meet and maintain the criteria for success. As it is independently assured and verified by accredited IUCN experts, the IUCN Green List offers the perfect frame for us to do what we can to support committed nature conservation professionals.

IUCN’s Green List evaluation system will benefit from more advanced digital applications, allowing for the better use of technology to help identify and understand conservation needs, and allow for the remote assessment, review and evaluation of participating nature conservation areas.

IUCN’s President Zhang Xinsheng is highly supportive of the Tech4Nature partnership, “This is the first time that IUCN has engaged in a major way with the ICT industry, helping us to bring their know-how and innovation into the important nature conservation sector. IUCN will ensure that our standards and safeguards help guide the appropriate use of technology and achieve outstanding nature conservation successes, together.”

In promoting Tech4Nature, Huawei TECH4ALL and IUCN identified flagship protected areas to help pilot the use of ICT for nature conservation. These areas include protected areas in five countries, in which we will pilot nature conservation schemes with various partners using cutting-edge digital tech.

Projects include working with IUCN to promote the methodology and technologies employed in The Northeast China Tiger and Amur Leopard National Park, where a conservation project to repopulate Amur tigers and Amur leopards has been underway since 2017.

Read more: The Return of the Big Cats

Other projects include:

• Exploring the use of remote observation technologies to support early-warning systems deployed in local communities to detect elephants, so as to avoid crop damage and harmful interactions with local people.

• Underwater image-capture for detailed observation and monitoring of coral reef ecosystems with the aim of regrowing damaged areas.

• AI for image analysis, including a new kinetic (motion-powered) wildlife tracking collar plus Distributed Ledger Technology (similar to blockchain) for evaluating sites in line with Green List standards and verification process.

Overall tech priorities and a work plan for 2021 have already been set, and tech solutions will be identified for each pilot site to maximize conservation performance.

In each case the Tech4Nature activities will help partner sites advance towards Green List certification. 

“Technology can help better understand and conserve nature. This is the idea of ‘Tech4Nature’ that we share with IUCN. ICT can be applied to monitor and analyze habitats and biodiversity, improve operational efficiency, better connect the stakeholders of nature conservation,” says Kevin Zhang, the Huawei CMO of ICT Infrastructure. “We will work closely with IUCN and use technology to improve the effectiveness of nature conservation.”

The Tech4Nature partnership is open for support and collaboration. Please get in touch with the IUCN team or Huawei TECH4ALL team with your ideas.

Disclaimer: Any views and/or opinions expressed in this post by individual authors or contributors are their personal views and/or opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of Huawei Technologies.