There is a clear growing momentum and buy-in from the conservation community to use more technology but also to develop and create new ways it can be applied. On this basis, we are building on the positive energy and drive to inspire and help it grow a community of technology providers. Through these successful examples in this publication, we seek to spark optimism, action and hopefully replicability of some of the solutions we’re presenting.

In 2021, Tech4Nature sponsored the ‘Technology for Nature’ category in 2021 Pathfinder Award, and building on its success, more case studies and best practices were picked and collected to present in this dedicated ‘Solutions in Focus’ publication.

As the Tech4Nature partnership focus, this dedicated publication was centered around providing insights and initial guidance for some key questions in this growing space like:

• What are the technologies available that can help frame, set, implement conservation objectives, and enable good monitoring and measures of success? What ideas for new technologies, or adaptations of existing tools, could be harnessed for protected areas?
• Which technologies can best help engage people in participatory processes, rights-based and gender inclusive decision-making?
• How can digital technology help connectivity between experts and practitioners alike, and support improved data management and analytics for decision-making?

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There are existing gaps in understanding how technology impacts both wildlife and people, and emphasizes the need for transparency, inclusivity, and responsibility when deploying technology-based solutions.

Ensuring suitability and “appropriateness” of the solutions developed is the means by which the technology can scale up, have the biggest impact and ensure its long-term sustainability. It is as important to consider the social elements as the technical ones when developing and deploying technology applications.

The importance of multi-sector and multi-stakeholder collaboration in developing technology solutions is clear. This opens an optimistic vision ahead to the future, one that bridges different communities and sectors, creating a future that fosters a culture of collaboration that can open the way to more exciting and innovative solutions and unique partnerships.

With this publication, we want to support the uptake and replicability of technology-based solutions and have highlighted success factors for each case study.

We hope that these solutions were inspiring enough for you to want to get involved in this space. This is a growing field, where more research, more applications and more results are needed.

You might be interested in developing a solution for a conservation challenge and we hope you are! So, to help guide you some more on this journey, you will find a detailed technical solution architecture and a quick “appropriate” technology checklist, to ensure you’re considering all the right technical and social elements when planning, developing and deploying your tech solution to ensure its success at all stages.

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