At the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Huawei announced the winners of the inaugural Tech4Nature Awards, celebrating outstanding technological innovations that drive measurable positive impacts for biodiversity, ecosystems, and communities. These awards recognize how cutting-edge technology, when combined with conservation expertise and community engagement, can address pressing environmental challenges and contribute to a more sustainable and just world, according to Dr. Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General.
Launched in late 2024 as part of the global Tech4Nature partnership, the awards highlight digital solutions aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including the goal of protecting 30% of the planet by 2030. The initiative emphasizes practical, scalable applications of technology in conservation, bridging innovation with community empowerment.
In the Technological Innovation for Area-Based Conservation category, Jane Glaven of Distant Imagery Solutions was recognized for developing low-cost, modular drones and an AI-powered monitoring system to restore ecosystems at scale. Her approach, which has planted over nine million mangroves, combines local skills training, income generation, and advanced technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells and hybrid propulsion, ensuring long-term ecological recovery that is adaptable and replicable worldwide.
Velvizhi Singaravelu from the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation won in the Species Conservation category for the Mobile Friend Application (FFMA). This multilingual mobile app provides small-scale fishers along India’s Odisha coast with real-time marine, weather, and navigation data, helping protect endangered olive ridley turtles by preventing over 6,800 intrusions into critical habitats. The app enhances safety, reduces bycatch, and is scalable to other species and regions.
In the Custodians of NatureTech category, Neovitus Sianga of African People & Wildlife was awarded for the Sustainable Rangelands Initiative, which empowers Tanzanian communities to manage over 800,000 acres of rangelands using Esri-powered mobile tools. Local monitors track range health, guiding grazing and restoration practices. The program has already restored 20,000 acres, strengthening the resilience of people and wildlife while offering a model scalable to rangelands globally.
Since its launch in 2020, the Tech4Nature global alliance has implemented 11 flagship projects across eight countries, applying digital technologies such as acoustic tracking, infrared cameras, cloud storage, and AI to monitor species and ecosystems. Projects have included repopulating the Hainan gibbon in China, monitoring jaguars in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, studying climate impacts on Brazilian mangrove ecosystems, and assessing human impacts on Bonelli’s eagle in Spain.
The Tech4Nature Awards are integrated with the IUCN-led PANORAMA platform, which currently showcases over 100 technology-driven conservation solutions. The initiative aims to continue scaling successful digital innovations in conservation through the upcoming Tech4Nature Solutions in Focus publication, further promoting knowledge-sharing, community engagement, and high-impact biodiversity protection worldwide.
